120mm Fork Advice

simonp123

Looking for advice on a circa 120mm travel for use on a 2006 Stumpjumper FSR 120 frame.

It looks likely (though I will confirm with a strip-down) that my Tora 318 Solo Air forks, which are currently at 100mm travel, I am not going to be able to convert to 120mm as they are OEM ones so probably fixed.
Due to this I am looking at options for forks around 120mm of travel (max for the frame is 130mm).

I have been looking at some of the Reba forks as the 2009 onwards ones can all be set to 120mm, and there are some cheap deals around. It has also been mentioned that the Revelations are better, but the 2011 ones can only be set down to 130mm, and I’m wondering whether I would be carrying unnecessary weight with the extra stanchion that I will not use.
There is also the Fox 120mm range but they seem to be much more cash (partly due to less discount offered), are they worth the extra?

My riding is green lanes and towpaths in the evening and XC and trail on weekends.

I’m also around 220lb which may be an issue with some forks I guess, though I have to drop 40+ lb on doc’s advice.

I was very keen on some Reba team forks from Ribble ate £275, but have just heard they are 2009 OEM so most likely will not be able to go to 120mm

ride_whenever

120mm maxled sids... lovely little fork!

simonp123

ride_whenever wrote:

120mm maxled sids... lovely little fork!

Even for a lard-arse like me?

rockmonkeysc

I use a Fox F120 and it's great, I am a bit of a lard arse (16 stone) and they work very well. I also have the 15mm bolt through and the front of the bike feels nice & rigid.
They are expensive though.

simonp123

Hmm, quote from Ribble Sales "The description says that the forks have ‘all travel’, which means they should be adjustable to 120mm". Worth the risk?

joshtp

I'd go for 120mm sids.... very good fork... and the new one is surprisingly stiff and strong.

supersonic

They say that, but many are not convertable. Always ring them first to check, many I have checked are 100mm max.

simonp123

supersonic wrote:

They say that, but many are not convertable. Always ring them first to check, many I have checked are 100mm max.

My quote was from their sales team via email in reply to my question about the travel, so I would hope that it is true. Never can be sure though I guess.

I have also asked about the steerer length, quote "They’re the standard 300mm, they are OEM but come in bulk boxes, they have never been fitted to a bike."

Sounds like there is a reasonable chance they are the same as the aftermarket, but hard to know for sure.

I'll be waiting to see what other suggestions come up before jumping in though.

supersonic

Let's see what the Toras bring ;-)

My OE 318 was convertible to 130mm, was pleasantly surprised!

ride_whenever

I'm not that far off you and my 100mm qr sids aren't hugely flexy.

simonp123

supersonic wrote:

Let's see what the Toras bring ;-)

My OE 318 was convertible to 130mm, was pleasantly surprised!

Maybe, it's the ally steerer that has me worried. I'm going to try and pop them apart at the weekend. Need to sort the travel before I do any proper trails, it feels OK on loose, but I reckon the head angle will make it nervous on seetp turns etc.

simonp123

ride_whenever wrote:

I'm not that far off you and my 100mm qr sids aren't hugely flexy.

Handy to know, my Toras seem to flex somewhat, well at least the wheels dives off to one side, and it isn't the wheel. Can't seem to find much in the way of SID with Maxle, not at a sensible price anyway

supersonic

SIDs aint as stiff as Toras though! The whole Tora structure is stiffer. Though a maxle may increase torsional stiffness.

simonp123

I did a bit of investigation, and it looks like the original forks for the better version of that year of Stumpjumper has a Fox Talas 90-130mm fork, so I suppose in some ways a U-turn variant of fork would be best suited to the bike. Not many seem to be in this range now, the trrend is towards longer travel, plus they seem to be less available as bargains, maybe fixed travel forks are more common as OEM fits.

Oh, and when push came to shove Ribble could not guarantee that the OEM forks could go to 120mm. It would be an expensive gamble I feel :roll:

simonp123

Wonder if these might be worth considering? Seem to be highly rated in reviews.

Fox F120 RLC 2009
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... 9_2488.htm

simonp123

Hmm, well that makes the decision as to whether to upgrade or not easy. Just taken the left fork leg apart (piece of cake by the way) and not a spacer in sight, so I'm stuck with 100mm of travel as the max :twisted:

I have to say I am quite miffed as I was having real trouble finding something suitable at a good price so was going to wait a bit. Now I have to find something and then explain to the wife why I have to now re-purchase one of the main things I swapped from the old bike :roll:

I decided on a ride a couple of nights ago that on steep declines the steering is too nervous to stick with 100mm, so guess I just have to find a 120mm fork soon. Definitely not going to risk the OEM forks that MAY go to 120mm again though!

Glynnd111

My 2 pence worth right on budget

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=51002

ride_whenever

Might a new set of uppers not work?

supersonic

I am pretty sure the air cartidge is 100mm only too, if no spacer in there. Just wont be long enough to allow 120 of travel.

getonyourbike

ride_whenever wrote:

Might a new set of uppers not work?

they'll probably end up costing as much as the forks are worth anyway. It doesn't make sense when you can get a better set of forks which have the right travel without having to strip them apart for the same or slightly more money.

simonp123

Yeah, no point in messing around with the Toras now.
Currently I'm thinking Rebas (pref Team) at 120mm if I can find any at sensible money, possibly the Reba with U-turn as there are some around not too silly on price, or Fox F120. The Revelation could be spacered down I guess too so may be on the list.

simonp123

OK, so given that I have no choice but to get a new fork, there seem only a few options open to me:

1. Get a fixed 120mm fork, probably 2010 Reba Team or Fox F120 RLC.

2. Get a earlier model Revelation and put spacers in to limit travel to 120mm.

3. Go for a later model and spacer down to 130mm (max for frame).

4. Go for a Reba or Revelation (older model) U-turn.

I have seen some comments about knocking on the U-turn air forks, and also that the action is not quite so smooth. Any views on this? Would I be better with the fixed travel?

Cheers,

CycloRos

I used to ride an 06 Stumpy FSR and always ran the fork at 130mm (the bike just felt well balanced that way).

I now run the Fox TALAS off the Stumpy on my Duster (set at 110mm) and it's just as lovely. So my advice would be to get something travel adjustable, probably a Rev and get it set at 130mm.

simonp123

CycloRos wrote:

I used to ride an 06 Stumpy FSR and always ran the fork at 130mm (the bike just felt well balanced that way).

I now run the Fox TALAS off the Stumpy on my Duster (set at 110mm) and it's just as lovely. So my advice would be to get something travel adjustable, probably a Rev and get it set at 130mm.

Probably why mine feels a little twitchy at 100mm then. The front seems very keen to lift up when I try to list my weight over holes, ruts etc. I guess the extra travel and greater sag would curb this a little.

simonp123

OK, in the end I went for some 2010 120mm Reba Team Maxle Lite forks that CRC had on clearance and I had a 10% discount loyalty voucher making them quite attractive on price.

Hopefully they will do the job well enough.