tora sl big mistake?

halcs

Hi i currently have manitou axel comp on my giant xtc 4 and have the chance to purchase a set of tora sl forks brand new for £90 is this a step up or am i better saving for something better?

u05harrisb

tora forks are a good step up from what you have, however what sort of condition and how old are they, why are they only £90? that would be my only concern personally.

if in good nick and work well then go for it money well spent! only other thing work spending money on/saving for would be a good set of tires (inless youve got good ones obviously ) and wheels because they make the biggest amount of difference, but sicne there for £90 id get them first

hope that helps!

halcs

Thanks the chap has took them off his new kona as he bought a set of totems hes says they are still brand new.

u05harrisb

new kona? if genuinely new then go for it but bear in mind that inless you can fit them yourself your gonna have to fork out another bit to get them fitted in you LBS they are well worth the money, good luck

rockmonkeysc

You can get them new, with warranty etc for about that price if you shop around. I have got a set and for the price they are very good.

halcs

its the right length of steerer etc is it hard to fit them i thought i could manage i am a spark and think i could manage hopefully.

rockmonkeysc

Easy enough job. Park tools website will have an instructional video if you need it. Personally I would fit a new headset as well but it's not essential.

thel33ter

halcs wrote:

Thanks the chap has took them off his new kona as he bought a set of totems hes says they are still brand new.

Hold on, he took a set of presumably 100mm Toras from a Kona, and is replacing them with a set of Totems, which are 180mm...

He's gonna need a new face when his frame snaps :roll:

rockmonkeysc

Do Kona make a bike that takes 100mm - 180mm forks? :?

halcs

Now that you mention it i suppose it doesn't make sense anyway its local gumtree so meeting in person.

cooldad

Gumtree is your first mistake. They'll be stolen.

canada16

Or they will beat you up and take your money. :shock:

I cant understand why anyone shops on gumtree.

I would rather spend the extra, have a full warranty and peace of mind.

thel33ter

Plus somewhere was selling them online for that much

halcs

Na i spoke to the chap just a young lad lives in a nice part of town so not really worried but beginning to think there not that cheap seen a set of reba 2007 model for a little more think these might be a better deal.

thel33ter

halcs wrote:

Na i spoke to the chap just a young lad lives in a nice part of town so not really worried but beginning to think there not that cheap seen a set of reba 2007 model for a little more think these might be a better deal.

Yea, they are.

Tell the guy not to put totems on his cheap hardtail while you're telling him you don't want them.

bwfc4eva868

JE james are selling them for £94.99 brand new!

diy

I heard it mentioned here before that all the "SL" models forks have a mix of the model below. So Tora SL have Dart components and Reba SL have recon components etc. I understood that the SL model is OEM only and is a way of putting a good brand on a bike at a lower cost.

Atz

Not true. I have 2008 Reba SLs on my HT and they're kosher.

Clark3y

SL is super light isnt it? Shorter stanchions and can't be extended beyond 100mm. Could be mistaken though so dont take that as fact.

thel33ter

As far as I can tell, all RS forks are pretty much random, but you can buy SL models from shops.

cavegiant

My understanding is that SL means you get the model below internals.

So a Tora SL has a dart dampener, and reba SL has the Tora's.

The Tora SL will be miles better than the Dart, but still probably better than the axel.

I would spend the extra and get the reba, the difference is significant.

p.s. Can you ask the guy to post a photo of his HT with a totem, it will look awesome.
Then explain to him that the additional torque produced by a longer fork is liable to rip his head tube off the bike when he jumps it. It will also make the bike hard to steer.
So he will make the bike harder to control, and untrustable.... not a good move.

Darryl_1983

They're only £95 new from here:

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/rockshox ... 60988.html

Think On-one and Merlin are still selling the Recon Silver cheap too.

supersonic

The tora sl has the turnkey damper. While the dart 2 and 3 has a tk damper, it is not the same unit as does not physically fit. Most reba sl forks have the moco damper with internal adjustable floodgate. Tora and Recon that have moco have fixed floodgate.

cavegiant

I never cease to be surprised by the extent of supers knowledge

halcs

Ended up with neither lost out on the rebas a bit gutted so still looking also considering fox now just have to be patient for a good second hand set.

jayson

I put a set of 2010 Tora SL's on my old bike to replace the god awful suntours it came with and they were fantastic forks especially for that sort of money its an absolute steal if u ask me.

I paid £140 for mine and i thought they were well worth that, if they're goin for less than a ton 2day then snap a pair up quickly cos its a cracking deal for such a well performing budget fork.

halcs

Seen a set of vanilla r 2006 for sale how would these compare to the toras and other forks i understand that it doesnt have lock out but is that a big deal?

rockmonkeysc

Very nice forks but are they a suitable length for your frame. Are they 32's or 36's?
If your looking for used XC forks probably best to look foor Rockshox Recons, Rebas or Sids or Fox F series. Fox need more maintenance than Rockshox but I do really like my Fox F120's.
I never use lock out myself, only really usefull on the road.

halcs

After all this i think i am just going to go with the tora sl no one has said anything bad about them and at the price i can't really go wrong.