2015 Rockhopper Sport 29

Velve

My baby

Added Extra's

HT Nano AN 01 pedals
RockShox Reverb Seatpost
RRP 'guards

To Do

Those forks have got to go.

Giraffoto

Nice looking bike.

The Hardrock I used to have came with a similar spec fork to that. Changing it for a Recon Gold must have saved at least half a kilogram and made it the bike it should always have been.

Velve

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710736#p19710736]Giraffoto[/url] wrote:

Nice looking bike.

The Hardrock I used to have came with a similar spec fork to that. Changing it for a Recon Gold must have saved at least half a kilogram and made it the bike it should always have been.

Thanks

When you upgraded, did you stick with 100mm or move upto 120mm, Also, crown or poploc?

bob6397

I wouldn't change the travel from what it came with - you will wreck the geometry of the frame.

I personally use crown-lockable Recon Gold TK's (They came on my bike).. If I could, I would upgrade to a Reba instead of the Recon - the adjustable compression damping is more useful than you might think..

bob6397

Velve

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710798#p19710798]bob6397[/url] wrote:

I wouldn't change the travel from what it came with - you will wreck the geometry of the frame.

That was my concern. As a younger, dumber man, I put some suspension forks on a ridgeback hybrid, totally knackering the handling in the process.

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710798#p19710798]bob6397[/url] wrote:

I personally use crown-lockable Recon Gold TK's (They came on my bike).. If I could, I would upgrade to a Reba instead of the Recon - the adjustable compression damping is more useful than you might think..

bob6397

I'm looking at the Reba's now http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-reba-rl-solo-air-forks-9mmqr-2016/rp-prod136307 and they look like the come with an axel. Would I need to swap out the one currently on my front wheel?

Up until you suggested the Reba's my 3 considerations were:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-recon-silver-tk-solo-air-forks-9mmqr-2016/rp-prod136309
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-30-gold-tk-solo-air-forks-9mmqr-2016/rp-prod109665
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/manitou-marvel-comp-forks-9mmqr-2015/rp-prod117113

Any thoughts?

bob6397

The picture of the Reba's you posted is the 15mm Maxle version - but as they state it is a 9mm quick release, it just means that they are using the same photo for more than one varient of that fork (and there are many - the one you picked is one of the better ones though).

For the others, I would look at the weights to give you a general feel of how good they are.

(All weights are for the 26" versions)

Rockshox Reba RL - 1586g
Rockshox 30 Gold TK - 1660g
Manitou Marvel Comp - 1798g
Rockshox Recon Silver - 2182g

From a quick google, your current forks are somewhere between 2700 and 2800g - meaning that any of these would be significantly lighter. They are all also Air springs, which are generally lighter and easier to adjust to you - but don't forget to buy a shock pump - any brand will do.

Notably, the Recon silver has steel stanchions (rather then the aluminium of the other 3) and therefore is much heavier..

My choice would be between the Manitou's and the Reba's - Both have adjustable compression damping, adjustable rebound damping and a decent lockout. Having not ridden either of them, I can't comment on how good they are (Although I have ridden a pair of Reba RLT's and they were noticably better than my Recon's and easier to adjust to what I wanted).

bob6397

Velve

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710901#p19710901]bob6397[/url] wrote:

.

You my friend, are a star. My knowledge has increased exponentially thanks to you. If you're ever down south, I'll get the beers in.

bob6397

Down south?? I only go that way if someone forces me to lol.. Yorkshire all the way

Glad I could help - any more questions, just ask..

Velve

Funnily enough, I used to spend a lot of time in Yorkshire as a nipper. My Gran used to live in Sandal and we had a cottage just down the way, in Walton.

Giraffoto

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710768#p19710768]Velve[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19710736#p19710736]Giraffoto[/url] wrote:

Nice looking bike.

The Hardrock I used to have came with a similar spec fork to that. Changing it for a Recon Gold must have saved at least half a kilogram and made it the bike it should always have been.

Thanks

When you upgraded, did you stick with 100mm or move upto 120mm, Also, crown or poploc?

I stayed with 100mm. The original plan was to get the version with the lockout on the crown, but it was out of stock and the shop very decently offered me the poploc version at a bit of a discount.

Bob6397's figures suggest that the weight saved was closer to a kilogram! When you lose that sort of weight (all from the front!) and gain some functional shock absorption and damping you suddenly realize what a great bike you've got.