Upgrading my Forks

mikelavis

Hi i am relatively new to mountain biking and love it, i currently have a Giant talon 0 2010 model and am pretty happy as a starting bike.

But........

I am never happy and love getting involved and personalising and upgrading things i am interested in.

I want to upgrade my forks on my bike to some new ones. The bike comes with Rockshox Tora 302 10mm. I want to get some new ones but am a little unsure if i can do what i want to do.

In my ideal world i would like to buy 2011 Fox Float 140mm forks, but ive been warned off doing this as the bike may not be able to handle it. But i think it may. Ive heard lots of people saying that 120mm are fine and a massive improvement. But i dont want to spend 500 quid on 120mm forks and later down the line want to upgrade my frame and go "doh" should of got the 140mm.

Dilema..

Firstly has any one put 140mm forks on a giant talon 0 or know of any one who has and can let me know if it works out ok, and secondly can any one other advice on this problem im having??

My long term plan is to custom build a trail bike over time replacing bits as and when i have spare money.

Please help so i can make my decision quickly and get out on those trails with some sexy fox forks.

Cheers Mike

shm_uk

Can the travel on the 2011 Fox 32 Float's be reduced from 140mm?

The 2011 Fox 36 Floats are designed so that travel can be reduced from 160 down to 100 (I think) by the use of spacers.

If the 32's are the same, this would solve your travel dilemma...

mikelavis

interesting ill have to find out, does any one else know???

supersonic

I doubt it is warrantied for forks that long: if in doubt contact Giant UK or the retailer.

I'd also look at the RS Revelation RLT. More adjustable, cheaper.

mikelavis

i dont mind if it takes the warranty out of the bike as i plan to keep upgrading over time.

Had a look at those forks they look good and nearly 200 quid cheaper...nice

leaflite

I would definately stick to 100-120 mm forks on that frame,130mm tops. If you put too long forks on it it will handle like a barge. You could even snap the headtube. How about U-Turn/ TALAS forks?

mikelavis

will i be disappointed if i had 120's though and not having 140's in the long run if i upgraded my frame???

Pretty set on getting fox forks, i love the look of them. Fox do the f series in 120mm any difference between them and the floats other than travel??

supersonic

F series is the racy XC stuff. Are you sure you know what you want from this bike?

mikelavis

i want a bike that i chuck around trails in wales and so on, thats why i wanted the floats 140mm.

The stuff that gets me going is the down hill trails with jumps and drop offs.

supersonic

Longer travel doesn't always let you do that though - for one it slows the handling down. A tough, stiff 120mm fork that works with the bike geometry may allow you to ride harder and better. Unfortunately the F series is none of those lol.

If you do want to run a longer fork, I'd seriosuly consdider a different bike.

The Tora is surprisingly capable, if a little heavy. Some can be internally adjusted to 120mm too, so worth downloading the service guide and having a go.

I'd still look at a reduced travel Revelation, or Recon RL 120 if wanting to change, or even a Uturn Sektor RL.

cavegiant

Just a though Super, but can he upgrade the dampener in the 302?

That could be a big improvement for not much?


The Tora is quite stiff, so with the upgraded internals you could get a much better ride.

supersonic

You can indeed, need a new rebound assembly and moco cart. Is about 65 quid.

stampedingturtle

I have the same bike as the OP with the Tora 302 air forks and would be interested in upgrading the internals. Firstly what is the quickest / easiest way to check whether the forks can have their travel extended to 120mm? Secondly which rebound assembly and moco cart would I need? Would this pretty much "upgrade" the fork to a 318?

Thanks in advance.

The Spiderman

Or why not condider a 120mm RS Reba?