Rigid fork advice for 26er

passout

Hi

I want to buy some rigid MTB forks & am interested to hear your views on my options.

Equilavent to 100mm suspension fork (or maybe a little less)- for my 26" wheeled hardtail. They will be around 440mm tall I guess.
1 1/8 steerer.
For use with regular discs.
I want a reasonable rake, so 30mm or more
Can't be 'really' heavy - i.e. much over 1.2kg
Not bothered if curved or straight blades.
Colour is flexible, black or white preferred.
Material is flexible, been looking at both carbon and steel.
Usage will be commuting, long distance trail riding in the Highlands and the odd all dayer on the Lakes Bridleways....possibly the odd trail centre.
Clearance for at least a 2.2 tyre, preferably a 2.35.
Looking for something comfortable, able to soak up some trail buzz. Would value this over stiffness but in a perfect world you'd want a bit of both.
Something durable - want to run them for 5 years or more.
Max outlay is £200.

So far I've been looking at Exotic carbon forks (these seem as good as any straight bladed carbon forks within my price range to me) and Orange F8 (curved) steel forks. What do you think of these?

I've also seen some steel DMR OW forks in white that look alright. Although they named jump forks - does this matter, are they OK for XC/trail riding I'll be using them for or would they be too harsh?

Salsa 26inch forks seem a little short - 80mm equivalent I think. Kona Project 2s are hard to find. One one steel forks are said give a harsh ride. On One Carbon forks aren't as good value as exotic - otherwise fine. Pace RC31s are expensive, even on E-Bay.

Do you have any other alternatives or relevant opinions? And no I don't want, or need, suspension thanks!

Cheers.

EDIT - FYI my bike is a kinesis decade versa prestige (quite a mouthful). Geared & quite light.

blister pus

I was surprised at how much I could do rigid and how much i enjoyed it, I really thought I'd hate it. Don't forget there's a weight limit on the Exotic forks and don't forget On-One's carbon forks (no weight limit, or wasn't), quite stiff but decent quality and value.

passout

blister pus wrote:

I was surprised at how much I could do rigid and how much i enjoyed it, I really thought I'd hate it. Don't forget there's a weight limit on the Exotic forks and don't forget On-One's carbon forks (no weight limit, or wasn't), quite stiff but decent quality and value.

Thanks. I forgot about weight - my winter weight is just under 13 stone. Yeah, on-one are an option.

What forks do you use & how do you find them?

blister pus

I think you'll be fine at that weight but double check as I can't remember what the limit is. I've still got the On-Ones and put them on if I do mini touring like excursions. But I could do a fair bit of cross country with them when I modified riding style and handlebar grips and put fat tyres on. I quite enjoy the change over from time to time. It mixes things up nicely. I had thought about spending more on some fancier ones but there always seemed to be other priorities.

supersonic

I'd get the OnOne fork and save the money, it is the same as many others on the market that cost more:

http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=43&p=196&

passout

supersonic wrote:

I'd get the OnOne fork and save the money, it is the same as many others on the market that cost more:

http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=43&p=196&

Thanks supersonic. Can you clarify (as the link you gave is for cheaper exotic forks) - are on one or exotic forks better value in your view?

supersonic

Ooops, I meant the Exotic!!!

passout

Thanks supersonic. I think I've got it down to 2 now:

Exotic Carbon as above or orange F8 ( see: http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/125995.html ) which are suprisingly light at around 1kg for steel forks.

Anyone got any thoughts on the F8s?

passout

That said, these DMRs still 'look' good!

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=13202

and here for review:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... k-10-39494