Front Fork Compatiility

Snapper3166

Hopefully this is in the correct area! I have done a couple of searches but cant find what I am after so hopefully someone more intelligent than me can resolve it!!!!

I've had my Specialised Stumpjumper for aout 10-12 years now it has been a great bike but more and more I am wanting front suspension..... SO:

I dont have the money to buy a really good quality fork (was looking at a rockshox reba?!?) so want to pick one up in the classifieds, however, I am not sure if all forks fit all frames (which seems unlikely!) if not what do I have to match up and how difficult are they to fit (I am mechanically competent... but on cars!)

Thanks for any time in advance

Steve

supersonic

Steerer length, type and diameter. (ie threadless, 1+1/8th inch diameter)

You need 80mm of travel ideally for this bike.

Snapper3166

OK you will have to be more simple!

How do I check these things on my existing bike (i.e. to have them to compare)

EDIT: Ok just been on Wiki, now know exactly what the steerer is and that there a 3 different diameters! SO, I assume I will have to remove the front forks first to get this information, then refit until I can find suitable replacements??

Also are the brake carriers and hub width standard?

diy

Steerer length is the length from the top of the current forks to the top of the headset (-3/4mm).

I have some 2004 insych 80cm, which should fit £5 quid if you wanna collect from surrey.

you'll need to transfer the headset bottom ring.

anjs

if he has a threadless headset and the right diameter

Snapper3166

£5 ?!?! Which one are they - wrecked or rubbish

Seriously, no idea what they are so any further info welcome, also how do you knwo they will fit?

Snapper3166

anjs wrote:

if he has a threadless headset and the right diameter

Cheers ANJS!

diy

They are from my 2004 Marin bobcat

as seen here

- In-Sync Grind 323, 70mm travel They were in use until 2008 when I swapped them for RS Tora's - since then they have been oiled and stored ready for ebay.

They are fine but substantially inferior to RS Reba's

According to another site the 96 stumpy was the last non sus fork bike in the range it has a 1 1/8" headset Tange-Seiki - but its not clear if it was threadless or not
the '97 model definitely had a threadless headset. some in the range were fitted with RS Judy's

Snapper3166

Well they may do as a start until I find some better ones. I think mine is a '96 and the specs on bikepedia seem to match up.

Is stripping them off to check they are threadless an easy job and if so could you give very brief instructions and I will check this weeken (or if you have a link to a page that has already covered this).

Cheers

joshtp

some pics of the headset area would be enough to help us tell you, the two types look very diferent.

bomberesque

10-12 years old I'm going to guess;

1 1/8" steerer diameter (abso-almost-lutely definitely)
Aheadset style headset (most probably)

measure from the fork crown to the top of the stem. This is the minimum steerer length you need. on a new fork this is unlikely to e an issue, but on a 2nd hand one where the owner cut it down to fit his / her bike you need to be a bit careful

as SS says, sounds like you have a non (or only slightly)-sus corrected frame so 80mm fork would be best (least effect on handling) but 100mm with a bit more sag ... well that would widen your options (not sure how many 80mm forks there are out there atm aside from top end XC racey ones, like the SID)

picture of the front end from top of stem down to top of tyre would confirm or correct my assumptions

anjs

Pictures here, which type do you have?

http://www.evanscycles.com/buying-guides/headsets

diy

The steerer tube on my old forks is 220-225mm or there abouts - I think uncut most new forks steerers are about 250-270mm.

Personally if you are going through the bother of changing the forks - I'd do the headset at the same time. Particularly if you end up going for RS Reba forks (which are IMO decent mid-range/high end RS forks) I personally think it will not be worth the spend on a 10 year old bike even if you can get them used sub £100.

The problem is £50 quid here, £30 quid there all adds up and (as I did) you very quickly get to a point where you have spend £400 quid building a bike you could have bought used for £300.