forks for '07 Kona Stinky

KWYNO32

hi guys

i'm new to the forum and new to mtb in general so please bare with me.
i have an '07 Kona stinky which i bought a while back that i have hardly used but i've recently started to get out on the local trails.
The stinky is the first mtb that i've owned and to be fair i really like it (even tho' it is a bit on the heavy side)
but as i've got a bit more brave with the jumps etc i've quickly realised that the forks are crap !

I've owned, raced & ridden MX bikes all my life so as soon as i started on the trails naturally i wanted to start hitting jumps...trouble is the forks bottom out really easily and generally just make loads of noise.

i guess the question is can anybody recommend a replacement fork ?(the current ones are marzocchi drop off's )
... also any other modifications worth making to the stinky that might make my life a bit easier !!!

cheers

bennett_346

First, what is your budget?

Also, don't write your thread title in all caps.

cooldad

Lose the CAPS lock.
and
Lose the CAPS lock?

KWYNO32

probably looking to spend £300-ish !?
CAPS lock is off ! (noted)

bennett_346

I'd be looking at something like a domain RC if you can find one under £300.

KWYNO32

what i should have said was 'hoping to spend' !
i'll pay more if it's going to mean a drastic improvement but because i have nothing to compare the stinky (or the drop off's) with it's kind of difficult to know if it's even worth spending the money !?

bennett_346

Well it depends how much you like the rest of the bike.

KWYNO32

what i mean is, if it's going to take loads of money to get the bike to handle better would it be worth just putting the money towards a new bike with a better spec fork ?

maybe i should have asked if the stinky was a good bike for a beginner to start with and what peoples opinions are regarding upgrading it !?

bennett_346

I was never hugely impressed with them but a new fork should improve it a lot. Like i said, only you can say how much you like the bike and whether an upgrade is worth it. You'll probably have to spend at least a grand on a second hand bike to get something worth the improvement.

Would you rather do that or spend ~£300 on a new fork? Only you can say.

KWYNO32

Hmm, food for thought! ...the bottom line is that i just don't feel confident with the current forks !
my initial plan was to ride the stinky and just replace/upgrade stuff as it broke but i definitely think the forks are holding me back already.

bennett_346

If you decide to buy forks, my advice is make sure they have adjustable compression damping. Nothing worse for DH than forks that dive.

KWYNO32

aside from the forks are there any 'obvious' changes that people make to standard bikes to improve handling ?
...as i say my mountain bike knowledge is very limited !!!

EH_Rob

It really depends whats already on there. There are certain bits that if upgraded you're more likely to notice (e.g. wheels vs drivetrain), but it really depends on what you already have. Does the bike fit you well? If not then wide bars and a short stem is a common change. It might not actually improve things for you though.

One thing to do that's very important is to work out at what point you stop throwing money at it - regardless of how much you spend it will always be the bike it is now.

If you're really struggling with the forks then you could do worse than put some Domains on it. They are heavy, but do work pretty well.

felix.london

I bought a set of Domain 318's for £150 Something like that might be a good compromise?

KWYNO32

cheers for the advice. will start looking at the Domains tonight !
are there any other forks out there with similar spec / price that i could look at aswel ?