2010 Specialized Rockhopper SL 26er: What Fork

bigmitch41

Hi Guys, Another noob question related to forks. Here go's, Ive recently bought the Rockhopper second hand, She looks like new & had an easy life up to now. I want to upgrade the Rockshox Dart3's and looking to spend £2-£300 on a new set. Nothing too beefed up as I wont be doing any big drops/jumps etc
The forks are 80/100mm with a 1-1/8 headset. Anyone had any experience, what can you recomend please.

Heres a link to the specs

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ ... ersl#specs

Cheers

supersonic

Have a look at the Rockshox Reba RL/RLT.

The Rookie

+1!

bigmitch41

Thanks Supersonic, been looking at those, also the Sektor Solo Air RL are within budget.
Any thoughts on Air vs Coil spring btw, any particular advantage or is it a personal prefernce thing :? ?

Cheers

cooldad

Air is more easily adjustable and lighter and would be my choice anytime.

bigmitch41

Thanks Cooldad, sounds like air is the way to go then...

tudj

I recently replaced my Dart 3 with a set of Rockshox Recon Silver TK 100mm and the difference is huge, I actually have usable travel now

You mention the Sektor, those are 140-150mm travel arent they? You want to make sure your frame can handle that if it was designed for 100mm forks.

bigmitch41

Yep your right tudj 150mm. And the Reba's have a tapered steerer, unless they do both?

Recon's looking good...

chez_m356

BigMitch41 wrote:

Yep your right tudj 150mm. And the Reba's have a tapered steerer, unless they do both?

Recon's looking good...

plenty of reba's about if you look, for instance http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-RockShox ... 4169d5fae1 , no doubt others will be able to show you more links

benpinnick

Personally I would get these http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/f ... forks.html in the 120mm Travel - 15mm Axle - White - Poploc option, and then try and find a cheapo 15mm front wheel to match.

supersonic

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/rockshox ... 98129.html

benpinnick

If you did go for those (and they are great value) I would opt for the 120mm option.

supersonic

Only thing though is they are in the 'not quite perfect' section, hmmm. I'd call them about warranty and stuff.

benpinnick

They are OE, so I am guessing off a bike. Should be ok nick but what about steerer length too?

bigmitch41

Mmm just starting to think about steerer length, I need to match the length of the standard steerer length to those on the new ones, assuming Id have to cut down to size. And my Rockhopper is all black, id like to keep the theme going, wouldnt it be wrong to fit white forks to a black frame lol..

benpinnick

Someone might be able to assist in whats better about a reba than these... http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/f ... -2012.html but if its 'not much' then I'd be tempted to get these for 200, and use the 100 you saved to get a new front wheel to suit.

mac_man

Love the Rebas on my 08 Rockhopper. So +1 from me.

supersonic

benpinnick wrote:

Someone might be able to assist in whats better about a reba than these... http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/f ... -2012.html but if its 'not much' then I'd be tempted to get these for 200, and use the 100 you saved to get a new front wheel to suit.

Good fork, but newer Rebas (2012 onwards) are 250g lighter. 2012 is Dual Air too.

mcnultycop

I went from Darts to Reba RL Dual Airs and the difference is ridiculous.

bigmitch41

Guys, What exactly will I need to swop the forks over, apart from cutting the stem to size? Will they drop straight in, will I need a new star fangled nut etc..

benpinnick

You need a new Sfn, and to swap the crown race from your old forks

bigmitch41

Thanks guys, I've gone for the Reba RLT 2013 Solo air Rockshox in Black through Merlin, with the 10% discount these came in at £315 delivered plus another £3 for a sfn, should get them in a few days, can't wait to test them out now! 8)

bigmitch41

Reba's landed yesterday, looking good so far! Dropped out the old Dart 3's and was amazed at the weight difference straight away, took measurements of the steer tube and will be setting too with a blade tonight before re-mounting and fixing up the sag etc on the new air fork. No doubt more Q's to follow on!

cooldad

Sometimes a good idea to leave the steerer tube a bit longer - gives you options with bar height - you can put a spacer or two on top.
You can always chop it down again later if you want but you can't add to it.

chez_m356

cooldad wrote:

Sometimes a good idea to leave the steerer tube a bit longer - gives you options with bar height - you can put a spacer or two on top.
You can always chop it down again later if you want but you can't add to it.

one of the best pieces of advice you will ever get

bigmitch41

Great advice thanks Cooldad, So I can add another 20/30mm, add some spacers to give extra adjustment, thank god I didnt set to with the blade last night...

felix.london

BigMitch41 wrote:

Great advice thanks Cooldad, So I can add another 20/30mm, add some spacers to give extra adjustment, thank god I didnt set to with the blade last night...

Also - if you want or have to change frame at some point leaving extra length on the steerer will give you more options.

2012 (dual air) Reba RL on my '06 'hopper - best upgrade I've put on the bike

bigmitch41

Gave the forks a test run today with some pretty tough rocky rutted trails, loose mud and wet rocks, my old setup wouldnt of stood a chance, but the Reba's handled really well, well chuffed! Going to experiment some more with air pressure but I think were in the ball park. Thanks everybody for the hints, tips and advice! Can't wait for the next run out!