Upgrading fork, is it worth upgrading wheels from QR too?

Roostoids

Hi peeps.

Currently running quick release wheels front and back with a full sus spesh camber comp.

Fork is a Recon Silver which I believe is something I can upgrade to a noticably better fork, such as the REBA RL.

Obviously, spending several hundred pound on a fork is a big shellout, and I wondered what the real benefit of going that bit further and getting a screw through axle would be for the front wheel. This would mean a new wheel as well, adding to the cost, but it's a long term project as the current forks aren't broken.

I'd hate to spend 350 quid on the new forks with a QR option, only for the ride to be significantly better with a screw through I didn't wanna spend the pennies on.

I know reviews say a screw through axle is stiffer, more responsive but these are from people who spend all day every day riding and can isolate the different aspects of a bike and their effects. What are the real world effects to a casual twice a week persons riding, or is it literally just better feedback from the trail? (I ask because I'm realistic about my skill level and abilities, I'm not gonna be scaling alps or smashing 15foot jumps, I just ride twice a week on trail centre stuff at an average pace).

Persons who've made a similar upgrade will hopefully read this and can voice the changes they noticed. I imagine it would be tough to tell where the improved fork ends, and the screw through axle begins in terms of ride feel. Anyway, here's hoping...

mcnultycop

How will you know if you are going to notice the difference of the replacement fork?

supersonic

A lot depends on the rider weight - some don't feel it. And a heavier QR fork like the Recon may well be stiffer in some areas anyway.

Roostoids

I'm 6'4" and 17.5 stone. Tall and heavy, so the fork has to do a fair bit of work.

On repetitive bumps, or the brake bump types you get going into berms and corners the fork emanates a hissing/psshing sound. Hard to describe but you can tell it's working! (had the bike two years almost, not serviced forks yet, would rather just upgrade when they wear out).

One of the reasons I want to upgrade McNulty, is that a few pals have smaller lighter bikes (and bodies) and are leaving me for dead on hills. The Camber is a fairly heavy bike as standard, and I'm looking at ways to trim some weight from it. I know I'm no lightweight but weight on the bike hits harder going uphill. It's not a fitness issue, I'm as fit as them I just am taller and therefore heavier, coupled with the extra bike weight I really suffered on some recent hills.

So the Reba is a lighter fork, it's also widely regarding as a good fork, and that's why I'm looking at it for a long term upgrade (might buy now though as its currently on a sale at CRC). I just didn't want to miss out on what might be a big difference with the screw through axle.

I'm also looking at an SLX crankset/bb as it is a reasonable price and a significant weight difference. Already have newer wheels but sadly didn't consider the screw through aspect of things when I bought them at the end of last year. A new handlebar has been chosen and that will probably do with the planned changes but it's a helluva lot of fun to shop around and think about what next

bennett_346

It's not really a heavy bike. I'd just keep the wheels you have.

snotty badger

The difference between my Reba Race (standard qr) and my Pikes (20mm Maxle) is very noticeable, but then they are very different forks. But saying that I wouldn't go changing the Rebas and the wheels just for the sake of it...

The Rookie

Roostoids wrote:

One of the reasons I want to upgrade McNulty, is that a few pals have smaller lighter bikes (and bodies) and are leaving me for dead on hills. The Camber is a fairly heavy bike as standard, and I'm looking at ways to trim some weight from it. I know I'm no lightweight but weight on the bike hits harder going uphill. It's not a fitness issue, I'm as fit as them I just am taller and therefore heavier, coupled with the extra bike weight I really suffered on some recent hills.

Compared to your weight your bike is probably a smaller percenage of the toatl weight your moving uphill than your friends, if you are as fit as them, then it suggests you need to look at technique rather than weight loss.

I outclimb a lot of fitter people as I sit and spin efficiently while they are out the saddle honking away and puffing and panting and sweating buckets as I pass them......even easier to sit and spin on an FS, so learn to!

Loosing weight of a bike costs, my has been economical to loose weight from as I built it mostly using second hand parts so lost little when I sold the stuff on!

Roostoids

You're not wrong Beginner, but the point remains that a heavier bike is harder to get up a hill than a lighter one, no matter who is riding it!! As it happens we went to Swinley yesterday (avoided most of the rain thank god) and there are some short pebble strewn hills there that we rode up. I spun away like I always do, pacing myself up them, and got up quicker than one of the guys on most of them, but spent more energy. It's inevitable!

I want to trim pounds of myself by the way, and grams off the bike, so it's getting off lightly (pun intended)


Thanks for the input folks, appreciate it. Decided in the end that I couldn't justify the extra outlay of wheels as well as a fork, for an improvement I might struggle to notice. So I got the quick release skewer REBA's, might start a 'my bike' thread on here, to document the changes/upgrades.

Thanks again. :P