Upgrading forks - Rockshox Recon Silver/Gold or Reba?

muzzle1

Hi, I have a Cube Acid with Dart 3 forks and I'm fancying an upgrade. Considering RS Recon Silver or Gold or possibly a Reba. I know the default answer is usually to go for the Reba cos they're the best, but do they really justify the extra expense on a bike that only cost £729 new? I see On One have the Reba for £249, but the Recon Silver is half that, and the Gold somewhere in between.

I also really want a set up and forget fork without all the tweaking etc that a dual air Reba may (or may not) involve. I'm still relatively new to mountain biking and not sure I'd get the benefit of all the fine-tuning available on a Reba - would I notice a significant difference in performance between the three options, and would any or all of them be a noticeable improvement over my Darts?

Between Recon Silver and Gold, what's the difference? I know Gold is air and Silver is coil - will that make a significant difference to the performance? Apologies if these seem like a lot of idiot questions - there's so much choice, and I'm trying to identify what's important and what isn't! Would anyone be bold enough to make a firm recommendation based on bike, cost and the factors I've mentioned? Any guidance would be hugely appreciated.

Finally, why are On One and Merlin much cheaper than elsewhere? Are they selling discontinued models? Would people recommend them? Thanks for reading all this, and thanks for any responses...

bennett_346

Reba if you can afford it. Recon gold is also good. Coil is heavier and less adjustable than air but feels slightly better i think.

muzzle1

That was quick, thanks. Not seen Recon Gold coil, just solo air available at price I mentioned. What's the difference between the air and coil in terms of performance?

bennett_346

They're much of a muchness these days but coil can sometimes be more supple over small chattery bumps. I'd still go for air myself given the choice.

Ryan Jones

I'd personally forget the silvers, they wouldn't warrant changing the existing darts. 2012 model reba's use the SID chassis with the hollow fork bottoms and are considerably lighter than previous versions as well as the recon gold.

I'd look for reba's from 2012 which are in that price range. And to answer your question I'd say they'll make a big difference, certainly from a feel perspective and will enhance the ride of the whole bike with better damping characteristics as well as taking off not far from 2 pounds of weight from it !

Chunkers1980

Must be those new lowers as onOne now have the raba with 100 kg rider limit

Dub L

Just bought the £249 Reba's from One One. They are last year's model, an absolutely fantastic fork though. I had Dart's on my Cube Attention and the Reba's have transformed my bike. Get the Reba's, you won't regret it.

Greer_

Air is more adjustable. I would choose the rebas if I had the money, otherwise the recons are great (just not as adjustable with damping and as light). I just wouldn't be happy about spending £700 on a bike and only getting darts

Bikerguy15

Ive had no problems with the Recon silver since i've had it. Bearing in mind that I run a triad at the rear, I would say that once you get the air pressure right, the difference is barely noticeable between the two.

But then again I haven't tried an air fork before so...

If you have the money then go for it, I'm sure the gold and reba will be better controlled than the silver.

felix.london

Obviously go for the best fork you can afford (or for the maximum amount you are willing to spend)

Check out SRAM's site for descriptions of each fork in the line. The Reba is lighter, stiffer, more adjustable. Is that worth an extra £80 ? To me it's a no brainer

Got the 120mm Reba RL (2011) on my '06 Rockhopper. Once you get it set up properly it really is amazing the difference it makes to the ride (mine replaced an '06 Marzocchi MX - not a bad fork by all accounts)

diy

Go for the reba, try to avoid cutting too much off the steerer if you can, so that you can transplant the forks to your next bike. You can stack 30mm without any real problems.

Reba's are good, but are fidly to set up and the solo air is much easier to set up. However the reba's have the ability to be stiff and sensitive to bumps which can make a huge difference.

muzzle1

Thanks for all the replies - I ordered the Rebas from On One/Planet X in the end. Should be getting em today, so no doubt I'll be back on here soon asking for fitting and setup advice! Cheers.

Chunkers1980

Fitting is easy.

Remove old forks. Prise under the crown race on old forks and slowly tap it off.

Fit on to new forks, slowly taping with bar and hammer, careful not to damage the race's face or twist it.

Fit SFN, whack in some spacers, preload. See how you get on then decide if you need to cut the steerer. If you do you may need to tap down the SFN a bit.