Looking to upgrade my forks

thebatfink

Hi. Never brought a pair of forks before and looking for some advice. I have a 26" Specialized HardRock SE which I've now swapped almost every component of and currently running a full XT groupset and some American Classic \ ZTR Crests but it still has the original Suntour XCT forks on it.

I'm looking to spend around £300-350 and was initially looking at some Rockshox 2014 Revelation RL's on Merlins but having read a review for the RCT3's I saw that the length of the fork is practically 100mm longer than the current ones. First I even realised that forks have differing lengths of that magnitude so I'm glad I didn't impulse buy!

The reason it bothers me is I recently swapped out the stock handlebar setup for a 0 degree pitch X4 Elite stem and some Nuke Proof risers and I'm finding the riding position much better than when it had an angled stem on. Pushing up the bars another 100mm makes me feel like I'll be in an even more upright riding position than when I started so that's something I'd like to avoid - or am I making too much of it?

As far as what the bike is being used for, I currently ride lots of bridleways and general moderate terrain, but having been around Cannock the other day I'm looking to move on to some single track and get myself round the dog for the first time.

Any advice would be appreciated at this point!

Thanks!

bailsofhay

What travel did your original forks have? It's not a good idea to increase fork travel too much from the original frame spec as this can cause issues with geometry and put dangerous levels of stress onto the frame. For example if it has 80mm travel as stock maybe try some 100mm forks if you think you need more travel. Also if you haven't already you will need to take into consideration the steerer options (i.e. straight 1 1/8th or tapered depending on your frame) and wheel axle type.

thebatfink

I think the original forks are allegedly 80mm but I find they only get about 40mm? They are obviously cheap things hence the price of the original bike and me now wanting to upgrade. I think they are straight and not tapered and the current hubs are American Classic 9mm QR but I have seen an upgrade kit to take them to 15mm through axles http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... wTsq_D_BwE

This is the frame I have - http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec053415 it is size L, I'm 5'11" and weigh around 95KG partly why I'm hitting the riding again lol

Current axle to crown (I assume this is the top of the fork arms) is approx 450mm.. Any recommendations for good 100mm shocks?

bailsofhay

I have been toying with the idea of a fork upgrade myself and from my research I think RS Rebas represent the best value/ performance for me and it sound like we do similar riding so I would say have a look at them.

thebatfink

Funnily enough I was just looking on Chain Reaction for 100mm travel forks and spotted these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rock ... prod109672 which are the Rebas. They seem a good price too?

I guess my questions now are:

- How do I find out what the axle to crown length is (couldn't see anything on SRAM's website)
- Are these 'enough' of an upgrade from the Suntours (I don't want to shell out £300 to feel only slightly different if spending more is a better idea?)

Any used these forks before?

bailsofhay

Seems a reasonable price though in my case I will be going used. On an old bike I had xcts and when I upgraded them to some xc32s which are a fairly budget coil fork I noticed a big difference so without having any prior personal experience with the Rebas I would guess it would be like night and day as they are much lighter and adjustable to suit the rider. As to its dimensions axle to crown I read on another forum they are 473mm.

thebatfink

Just for info, Chain Reaction guys are fetching a pair out of the warehouse to measure them up for me. If they come in under 475mm I think they could be a contender.

mcnultycop

The Reba's will be spot on for you.

poah

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1464046/

bartimaeus

If the original forks were 80mm then you probably don't want to go more than 100mm. Rebas will be much lighter and much plusher than the forks you have - they will make more difference than any other upgrade you have made. Next you need to swap the frame for a Rockhopper!

thebatfink

Well, I originally brought the bike as I was falling more and more out of love with my (now vintage lol) K2 Proflex 4000 and really wanted to try out a hardtail. I only brought the bike 2 months ago and it was just going to stay stock, but no sooner had I got it home from Evans, I caught the bug again. At this point only the forks, headset and seat post are left as original kit

I think the Reba could be around 500grams lighter than these coil Suntours so that's definitely another driver for doing it. I think at that point it's a light as it's realistically going to get - I don't have pockets for XTR kit and I'm a bit of a Shimano fan boy (and a bit of a MTB noob in fairness) so nothing else has come within my radar.

Was that your bike? I've got white rims on my Hardrock and I've been obsessing over some white shocks but I can't help thinking the black would look nicer on my bike. Maybe I will give it a bath and put some pictures up. Decisions decisions. Thanks to all for the advice so far. Appreciated.

bartimaeus

It's my son's bike... an XXS Rockhopper. He's only 12 and pretty light, so the Dart 3 forks it came with only really moved if he hit something sizeable, despite being pretty decent 80mm forks. Swapped the Darts for 100mm Rebas and it's now a really great bike for him. It's pretty much all second hand to keep the costs down... only the bar, stem and shifters are new. Spec wise, it's as good as my HT - good frame, good fork, good brakes and decent shifting.

thebatfink

He's got a generous father too! Nice looking bike. I guess its kind of a jump bike? Notice they have the lower seat mounts usually?

I'm still not on the singletrack yet, you probably see me on the walkers paths on a Sunday but I'm trying to move on lol

Cqc

Get a new frame. You can get a good condition, high level hardtail frame for under £200 second hand which will weigh way less than your current one and well accept forks with more travel. The frame is the weak link on your bike. So look for a second hand on one 456 or a ragley piglet.and then get a new fork.

supersonic

But those frames weigh more than the Hardrock lol.

Cqc

Do they really?! Ok my bad, I assumed the Hardrock would be really heavy. But they both can accept a longer fork. What about some cube reaction hardtail frame or some thing?

jairaj

why are you suggesting a long travel frame?

The OP is only just starting out riding off road and the bike he currently has is ideal for his needs and should be fine.

rockmonkeysc

The Hardrock frame is actually not too bad, I wouldn't replace it with a 456. Maybe an On One Carbon Whippet or something similar

thebatfink

I'll have to weigh it now it's got all the decent bits on it. But the forks will shave off another 500g. It's definitely lighter than my other bike. It's made me enjoy riding so much more.

Seems there isn't much love for lower end Specialized kit and probably seems odd I would get a beginner frame and load it with reasonably decent kit - but I never intended too, it was supposed to be a cheap hard tail and after I got the wheels I just started ordering stuff en-mass.

If I were to buy a 'good' frame only in the future to move everything on to, how much money would need to be set aside?
Taking into account I've worked in the carbon composites industry for 20 years and have no fascination with the stuff nowadays and would rather go ally or titanium or something?

Thanks!

jairaj

The lower Specialized bikes don't get a good rep mainly because of the spec to price ratio. The frames are usually quite good.

If you wanted to upgrade the frame at a later date you'd be looking for ~£100 - £300 for a second hand Alu frame (I'm not sure if many people offer new Alu frames). A new Ti one would be around ~£700. The best choice IMHO would be a carbon frame, light, strong and cheap they can be had new for around £300 - £500

The Rookie

Good used ally frames can be found from £35, and of course you can get new ones! You are in the UK with web access right?

thebatfink

Clearly!

I mean, I don't know what a good or bad frame is, I thought this one was OK after all! I originally looked on chain reactions etc. but found they don't sell many frame only's. Originally I was after a Giant frame I'd seen on Ebay but they are all from China etc. and I worried they are cheap copies.

Anyhow, I'm not finding anything wrong with it at the mo. Will get the forks ordered this week and see how it goes for a few months.

rockmonkeysc

To be honest you won't see a huge improvement with most aluminium frames. The Hardrock isn't all that bad. Carbon will be more worthwhile.

thebatfink

Forks ordered. Chain reaction had an extra 10% off until lunch time today so ordered quickly last night. £247 for the 2014 Reba RL 9mm QR's. Another 1kg off the front of the bike