which forks - XCR/XCM/Rock Shox etc?

stiscooby

I am currently looking at a few bikes (you may have already come across a few of my posts ) and starting to pay closer attention to the forks that the bikes have, as from reading around the forums its worth while getting a bike with half decent forks in the first place.

I seen a few different types of fork mentioned - XCR/XCM/Rock Shox etc. Could any of you kind people please explain the difference or at least which type are better/ones to avoid?

I am quite keen on the Giant XTC 4, bearing in mind this use to be a £600 bike I would assume the Rock Shox (Dart 2 if that makes any difference) are not too shabby?

Thanks

baba123

dart 2 forks arn't that bad i think that they are better than most forks from suntour( ecspecially xcm and xcr)

Northwind

Dart 2 are about on the same level as the XCR, not as good on day one but less vulnerable to neglect (XCRs work well as long you look after them, but they die fast if you don't) Neither one has any place on a £600 bike tbh, the Dart 2, XCM and XCR are all "Least good forks which you'll ever possibly want to ride on" pretty much.

The magic words here are Tora and Epicon. Dart 3 is decent too. Reba if you're lucky.

othello

I managed to pick up a pair of Reba's heavily discounted at Merlin Cycles, which replaced the stock Maintous on my 6 year old Marin.

Oh. My. Word. The difference is unbelievable, and the bike is totally transformed. The Marin frame is still going strong and I love the ride but the forks have just transformed the bike into a whole different league for me.

So spend as much as you can afford on some forks.

supersonic

They vary - for the simple reason these ranges have a top and bottom model.

The bottom Dart is catastrophic - a 5.5 lump of steel with no damping.

The top XCm has hydraulic damping and weighs less, ie the XCM DA, and XCM HL.

The top end dart, the Dart 3, has full rebound and lockout hydro circuits. This is better than the bottom XCM, which like the Dart 1, has no real internals.

The XCR I like as a budget fork. Get the RL model, or speed lock, and you have useful damping and a sturdy structure.

stiscooby

Thanks for the replies.

hhhmmmm...... so maybe I might be better or to carry on looking for a bit and see if there is anything else within my budget which has better forks than the Giant XTC 4 then?

God, I hate looking for bikes, lol, too many makes models! :?

Northwind

How much is the XTC going for? I think I always sound really down on XTCs but the fact is they're s**t value at RRP, you can find them at huge discounts and sometimes they're still s**t value

tom_fun

ridden on lots of Darts, manly 2's & 3's and dont like them, Had a cheapy old bike with budget Suntour XCMs and they were much more responsive than the Darts (IMO)

stiscooby

Northwind wrote:

How much is the XTC going for? I think I always sound really down on XTCs but the fact is they're s**t value at RRP, you can find them at huge discounts and sometimes they're still s**t value

The XTC 4 is going for £449 at paul cycles.

I have also seen a Carrera Fury for £349 (from Halfrauds online, an 08 bike i think?), which has better shocks so which one would be a better bike do you think?

Northwind

It'd depend a wee bit what you want it to do, the Fury is a bit burlier, the Giant is a proper old school XC bike. That said the Fury's spec is better basically everywhere and it works out lighter too so personally I'd still choose it over the Giant even for light XC duty.

No contest IMO.

stiscooby

Northwind wrote:

It'd depend a wee bit what you want it to do, the Fury is a bit burlier, the Giant is a proper old school XC bike. That said the Fury's spec is better basically everywhere and it works out lighter too so personally I'd still choose it over the Giant even for light XC duty.

No contest IMO.

I'm no "pro", i'm just after a half decent bike which I will use for general everyday type stuff. Bit of on road as well as messing about in my local woods, nothing too major.

My only thought with the Fury is it's a 16" frame so not sure if it will fit me as yet (i'm 5'8). Will try go and look at one this weekend. If it's too small then any other fury will be as much if not more than the Giant/not quite the same spec as the 08 fury.

piker

Fury 08 or 09 you will not be dissapointed,mate has a 08 and i have a 09 both very good bikes and i am biased to the 09.If you can get the 08 with tora fork for a good price and it fits you then its a steal.

stiscooby

piker wrote:

Fury 08 or 09 you will not be dissapointed,mate has a 08 and i have a 09 both very good bikes and i am biased to the 09.If you can get the 08 with tora fork for a good price and it fits you then its a steal.

Lets hope the 08 fury (16") aint too small for me then. There doesn't seem to be any other sizes for this year/model. The only other fury's seem to be 09 models and are £150 more taking the cost of the bike to £529, which is more that I want to spend.

As a matter of interest, how tall is your mate?

piker

stiscooby wrote:

piker wrote:

Fury 08 or 09 you will not be dissapointed,mate has a 08 and i have a 09 both very good bikes and i am biased to the 09.If you can get the 08 with tora fork for a good price and it fits you then its a steal.

Lets hope the 08 fury (16") aint too small for me then. There doesn't seem to be any other sizes for this year/model. The only other fury's seem to be 09 models and are £150 more taking the cost of the bike to £529, which is more that I want to spend.

As a matter of interest, how tall is your mate?

He is about 5"8' and has an 18 inch frame but see if you can try one out as everybodys reach ect is different.