Upgrading my suspension on my Spesh FSR XC COMP

M4VERICK

Im looking to upgrade the front and possibly rear suspension on my Specialized FSR XC COMP. I've not had to much luck with the budget RockShox 302 SL TORA's which have gone wrong twice since i've had the bike (travel has gone to about 35mm...sent away to fishersports by the shop and they replaced O rings, etc etc and the same has happened again)
I dont really want to spend more than about £400 but am unsure whether Coil/Air sprung is best. I know the air are generally lighter but are they reliable. Im an XC rider so i need a really good fork with about 100mm-140mm travel. I'd like a good set of FOX but i dont think my budget will allow me to get some.
Secondly, im going to want to upgrade the X Fusion 02RLA, Custom tuned for Specialized, rear shock on the FSR XC COMP as well. What are the compatibility issues with rear suspension?? Will all rear suspensions fit all bikes? i was looking at Rockshox Monarch 4.2's as they good a good review in MBR and they're not too expensive... but will it fit my spesh??

Thanks for your help...

supersonic

Air is lighter and more tunable, coil is heavier and plusher (generally)

You shouldn't fit a 140mm fork to the FSR XC, it is neither designed nor warrantied to take it.

You need to get a shock with the same measurements ie eye to eye measurement, stroke length and the correct hardware to mount it. (which can be bought seperately)

Airienteer

For a Spesh XC I'd go for a Rockshox Reba. It will transform it from a good bike into a great one. And ditto Supersonic's comments about shock measurements.

fcumok

Airienteer wrote:

For a Spesh XC I'd go for a Rockshox Reba. It will transform it from a good bike into a great one. And ditto Supersonic's comments about shock measurements.

I'd also recommend the Reba's. I have them on my XC Pro and they're great forks. I run Tora's on my other bike and I really notice the difference.

M4VERICK

Thanks for that! Im not sure why i wrote 100mm-140mm of travel. I knew that 140mm would be too much for an XC bike.... DUH!

Anyways, i've had a look at the REBA's and there are quite a few options race/team/sl etc. Which of these is the best?

I've found this set on Chainreaction http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=31919. Are these able to be locked out? is that what the POPLOC means?

Now, with regards to the rear sus the dimensions are 7.5" x 1.75" which equals to 190mm x 44m. There is a Rockshox Monarch 4.2 available in 190mm x 55mm.... would this fit with the correct bearings etc?

Sorry for all the questions folks. Im very much in the infancy of my mtb obsession and am very keen to learn and try and do things myself rather than pay for a shop to do it!

Cheers

supersonic

For 2009 the Team gets a better damper. The Race is the entry level version, but still a great fork. For 2008 the only difference was that the team had a lighter crown.

Merlin have some good deals too.

The rear shocks can be funny sizes with Spesh, you might have to have it custom altered. The one you have is pretty good though!

M4VERICK

Thank you very much for your help. Think im going to treat myself to the REBA Race Pushloc for £349 from £499 which is a bargain. And with the 12months 0% its a definate!!

Thanks again!

M4VERICK

Finally, before i order and bodge things up.... IS mount or Post mount???

supersonic

What is on the existing fork? IS I think - but check the FAQ for diagrams.

M4VERICK

How about these badboys??

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29868

None of the cheaper Team REBA's on Chainreaction have IS mount but these do!

supersonic

Is a 29er fork so would be too long.

If your brakes are post mount (many are - they use an adaptor for IS forks) then simply remove the adaptor. Though you may need a post mount adaptor plus whatever size your front rotor is as the direct mount is for 160mm rotors.

M4VERICK

Oh, im so confused.......

This is what i have at the moment http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/fsrxc-comp-2009-mountain-bike-ec016447?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

Perhaps you could use your expert knowledge to see what set up i have and which of the REBA Teams would work.

Thanks again. really appreciate the help!

supersonic

I thought they had 185 and 160mm rotors hmmm. Can you measure the diameter of the front rotor? I think Evans are wrong for that bike and its size.

M4VERICK

Looking at the Specialized website http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=40122&eid=95 I think the evans numbers are correct

supersonic

"S/M: 185mm, L/XL: 203mm rotor"

What size do you have? Evans list a flat 203 for the front.

M4VERICK

I have a Large frame.... unfortunately, the bike is in the shop whilst the forks are being sent away, so i cant measure anything. Let me know when you get fed up! lol

supersonic

Hehe, I got it now ;-)

L frame, 203mm rotor. So, if you get a post mount fork, remove the adaptor that is on your brakes, and fit this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=13718

Your brakes are post mount: the existing brake adaptor was post to IS so could fit on the IS mount of the old tora. The above should do the trick!

M4VERICK

Fantastic!!

I am now going to buy some new forks! Thanks so much for your help mate. I've always been into my biking but never had the money to buy anything remotely decent. New job prompted my new bike. I love riding and i want to get more knowedgeable about the technical side of things.

New REBAs...here we come!

supersonic

Can take a while to get your head around all the standards lol, but once you get into it is fairly logical! I hope you understood what I said lol.

M4VERICK

New 2009 REBA's finally fitted. They are fantastic forks and the remote lock-out (pushloc) is fantastic.
The shop i took them to to get them fitted (which was the shop i got the bike from) completely balls'd it up as the lockout wasnt working at all. The chap in the shop assured me that there was meant to be about 30mm of travel with lock out on...but i wasnt convinced.
Took it to another bike shop in town (authorised Orange, Commencal dealers) and they saw the problem straight away. The pushloc was on the wrong side and fitted upside down and there wasnt enough tension on the cable which is why it wasnt locking out.
They even noticed problems with how my brakes were set up to and corrected that for me, as well as adjusting my cockpit to what i found comfortable.... ALL FOR NOTHING!!
I told them i would definately get my bike serviced there in the future... and two fingers to the other store!
Anyway, here's some pics of my bike with the new forks!

Airienteer

Sweet! The only trouble now is that the fork will out-perform the shock

M4VERICK

The shock is surprisingly good.... i dont have anything to compare it with as this is my first Full Sus bike.

The plan is to replace it with either Rockshox Monarch or Fox RP23 but at the mo its fine!

supersonic

Be aware the fork will still have a little travel when locked - usually about 20mm from full extension. It is there to aid traction.

M4VERICK

Yeah cheers for that!

Thanks for all your help Supersonic.... i'll know who to ask in the future!

BoardinBob

You do realise that Reba fork is 100mm travel?

I'm in a similar position. While I've managed to resolve the travel problems with the Tora on my FSR, it's still a very heavy fork.

The problem is there's a real shortgage of decent 120mm travel forks at sub £400 prices.

I was looking at the All Travel Rebas on Merlin and the SRAM website suggests they can be changed to 80mm/100mm/120mm travel. An email to Fisher this week came back with the reply that they can only be adjusted down to 80mm. They did acknowledge that there were some OEM 120mm Rebas out there, but they didn't sell them and could offer no advice on them. They did say that the All Travel mechanism had been removed completely to offer 120mm travel.

The only 09 Reba with 120mm travel is mega expensive and it comes with the Maxle Lite system when they requires a new hub and/or wheelset.

The 09 Fox Vanilla R cannot be adjusted down from 140mm to 120mm.

Coil sprung u-turn Pikes are too heavy.

Marzzochi 44 TST2 forks look alright.

There really seems to be a gap in the market for aftermarket 120mm travel forks which is surprising given the number of bikes that came with them this year.

supersonic

Revelation reduced down? After market ones should all have the All Travel system.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=18

Air Uturn there for simplicity, and the 140mm Rev

Some Recons too may be available too, and the 130 air can be dropped to 120mm.

BoardinBob

Those Revs only have a 185mm steerer. The large FSR needs a steerer length of circa 250mm

They have All Travel Revs for circa £350-ish but they can only be adjusted to 125mm and the Spesh warranty restricts you to a max of 120mm

supersonic

I am sure 20mm All Travel spacers are available somewhere, I'll have to check.

ANother budget option is this:

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/rockshox ... 35526.html

OK, not as light as a Rev, but my version weighs 4.35lbs.

Spesh do like going their own way with sizing lol, but I agree that more 120mm forks are needed, or at least an easy route to reduce longer ones for this warranty reason.

BoardinBob

I'd rather go up the Rockshox family, than stick with the Tora range

supersonic

They are not always better mind: depends on the model. The 2008 Recon, Rev and Tora all have the same lowers, bushes and seals with only the uppers varying (and in the case of the Rev, dual air/air uturnoption and adjustable floodgate). A base Recon often works out heavier and performs worse than the top end Tora, and top end Recon can be lighter than a Rev!

Is a huge and confusing line up with a lot of overlap!

M4VERICK

Im sure my Reba's came with spacers to increase the travel to 120mm.... There was a plastic bag with 2 black plastic cylinders.

They're great forks and in my opinion feel much lighter than the Tora's that i took off.

I'll have some Tora 302 SL's for sale soon if anyone is interested??