Old reba vs new

bailsofhay

Hi all,
I am looking at some second hand rebas at the moment and was wondering if there was much of a difference between the older models and the newer ones. I know a guy who has some very well kept ones, he doesn't know the age but they are IS brake mount and have the more rounded arch between the lowers. they look like these.


I can get them at a fairly reasonable price but would it be worth the extra cash to get a slightly newer version for a bit more cash on the bay? I'm not bothered by the lack of remote lockout and post mount braking as I hardly ever lock out and prefer the IS.

cheers,
B

cooldad

There are loads of different versions with different forms of damping. Needs more specifics.

bailsofhay

It's an SL dual air version 100mm travel with motion control. Other than that I got nothing and I doubt the guy selling it knows more than that either. It looks like an 07/08 but I am guessing.

rockmonkeysc

It's a decent enough fork if it has been looked after. I'm not a big fan of dual air but it works.
Newer ones with Motion Control are better damped but if you are only considering used then I would take the ones you know have been looked after.

bailsofhay

I just ruled out my mates on account of the steerer length, damn thing was about 10mm too short when I measured earlier.
@Rockmonkey
Any reason you dislike the dual air? At this point it looks like the bay and at my price range most of the forks I am looking at are dual air unless there is something I should be aware of. I have only had coil forks so far so this air thing is new to me.

rockmonkeysc

Dual air can be less reliable and once the problems start they are a real pain in the arse. All three sets I had gave problems with the bottom circlip on the air spring coming off and air leaking from one chamber to the other. I got to a point where I could strip the fork and rebuild the air spring without a manual in under an hour.

The Northern Monkey

On the other hand, I preferred the dual air forks to solo air as you could fine tune the feel of them.

Solo Air automatically sets the positive and negative spring at the same PSI. Wheras dual air you can have different PSI in both, although does take a bit of perseverance to get it perfect.

I haven't yet found a fork that could match my black box dual air revelations. They were bloody lovely, biggest regret was selling those things.

Either way, both dual and solo air Rebas are decent forks.

rockmonkeysc

The negative air volume was so small that it was impossible to set accurately. Unscrew the pump and half the pressure dissapears.

bailsofhay

Thanks for the explanations.
Considering I am going used and the potential problems with dual air I'm thinking a solo air for a few more ££ may be worth it. They will be an upgrade for a set of spring xc32s I damaged in a crash so either would probably be a world of difference. I haven't written off a used fox either but most of the ones I have seen in the £150 range are in terrible/ sub par nick, it may be time to start selling my shed stock....