New Fork Advice
Hi!
Sorry if this is the wrong area for this post but I'm a First time poster...so please be gentle!
Cutting to the chase. I have a Specialized Rockhopper 2003 edition bought at end of 2002 which came with 2002 Manitou Axel front forks. I recently snapped them in half and now have to find a new pair. Bit of a bummer really as I've only got back into the sport after a couple of years of problematic leg injuries and just when the weight is starting to fall off and the fitness is incresing! Also, i'm currently unemployed and was hoping the bike would have lasted another year before I upgraded after finding new employment.
Anyway...because of this i'm ideally going to find a replacement around the œ100-œ200 mark that will suit a 17.5 stone 6'1" male who generally rides roads during the week for fitness and cross country at 7-stanes centres at the weekend (usually Glentress , Mabie or Ae).
from What i've read so far most people seem to suggest Rockshox Tora 318's or Marzocchi MZ Comps. Are there any others worth considering and are they suitable for my weight and 7-stanes riding. Will/can i adjust the shocks easily enough to suit my weight? I noticed on the Rock Shox website that the Tora 318's have a travel of: 80/100/130mm / 85-130mm what exactly does this mean? Does it mean i buy the forks with either 80/100/130mm travel or that they can be adjusted to between 85-130mm of travel? (did that make sense??!!) if they are of fixed travel what doe sthis mean in relation to handling and bottom-ing(??) out!
Should have added that i used to notice that my manitou's used to bottom out if any drops were greater than 1.5' - 2' but this was probably due to my weight and also that i currently have v-brakes but would rather get the roght fork and fit disc brakes if required.
Thanks in advance for any help.
MickyMick
Sorry if this is the wrong area for this post but I'm a First time poster...so please be gentle!
Cutting to the chase. I have a Specialized Rockhopper 2003 edition bought at end of 2002 which came with 2002 Manitou Axel front forks. I recently snapped them in half and now have to find a new pair. Bit of a bummer really as I've only got back into the sport after a couple of years of problematic leg injuries and just when the weight is starting to fall off and the fitness is incresing! Also, i'm currently unemployed and was hoping the bike would have lasted another year before I upgraded after finding new employment.
Anyway...because of this i'm ideally going to find a replacement around the œ100-œ200 mark that will suit a 17.5 stone 6'1" male who generally rides roads during the week for fitness and cross country at 7-stanes centres at the weekend (usually Glentress , Mabie or Ae).
from What i've read so far most people seem to suggest Rockshox Tora 318's or Marzocchi MZ Comps. Are there any others worth considering and are they suitable for my weight and 7-stanes riding. Will/can i adjust the shocks easily enough to suit my weight? I noticed on the Rock Shox website that the Tora 318's have a travel of: 80/100/130mm / 85-130mm what exactly does this mean? Does it mean i buy the forks with either 80/100/130mm travel or that they can be adjusted to between 85-130mm of travel? (did that make sense??!!) if they are of fixed travel what doe sthis mean in relation to handling and bottom-ing(??) out!
Should have added that i used to notice that my manitou's used to bottom out if any drops were greater than 1.5' - 2' but this was probably due to my weight and also that i currently have v-brakes but would rather get the roght fork and fit disc brakes if required.
Thanks in advance for any help.
MickyMick
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Comments
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see your other post
nick
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Ah! thought the forumns looked similar in setup didn't realise they were the same forumn!
apologies!
M_M0 -
Right then. Let us sift through this.
Firstly, obviously the more money you spend, the better the quality of fork generally.
There are many reviews of differing fork models on this forum, but a general concecous seems to be that Manitous are light but flex-tastic, Marazocchis are strong and plush, but generally heavy...and they are very model dependant. Rock Shox tend to be a good comprimise. Feel free to disagree anyone!
I recently bought some Rock Shox Recon Solo Airs for œ229.99, but could have had the Recon U-turns within your budget, or the Tora Solo Airs (though the latter has been known to leak air, so ive read).
The differences in spec of Rock Shox, escpeically the ones in your range, are that you can have Solo Air or U-turn.
Solo air means that one leg has an airchamber (or air spring) that you can pump up to set the spring rate to something ideal for your weight. The travel of these (80/100/130) cannot be adjusted 'on the fly': rather, you have to get them stripped down and insert rubber 'washers' to set them at the travel you want.
U-turn is where you have less control over the spring rate, but allows you to adjust the travel 'on the fly'. For this you may need to buy an extra (stiffer) spring. U-turn is cheaper, a bit heavier, and more flexible for travel adjustment.
Personally, i would definately recommend Rock Shox, as I have had no problems with mine as yet, and they ate up Glentress 2 weeks ago (putting many Dirt jumpers to shame on my Kinesis Maxlight made for XC!), and likewise perform brilliantly for my commuting (14 to 30 miles a day, depending on the destination.
It's a personal choice. But hopefully that is of some help. Also, unless you are going to upgrade to hydraulic discs, your V's should be fine. I hate cable discs!
Find the colour, sight and sound, a new exposure brings you round.Find the colour, sight and sound, a new exposure brings you round.0 -
Thanks FTC!
great insight into the terminology and general differences!
M-M0 -
Also, as one final point, it might be important to find out the limitations of your frame. Some frames are limited to/set up to work with forks of a certain travel.
If you go for adjustable travel ones (i.e. U-Turns), you may need to keep them set within a certain range of travel. Having forks with too much travel might effect handling, or damage the frame at glentress.
Solo airs, or other forks could need to be bought with, or have the travel modified to, what your frame is designed to take.
As an extra bit of info, i would 'expect' the Axels on the Spesh were 80 or 100mm travel.
Find the colour, sight and sound, a new exposure brings you round.Find the colour, sight and sound, a new exposure brings you round.0 -
Go for Tora 302 U turn, but you may consider a spring upgrade to a stiffer one due to your stature. I'm 14.5 stone and can find the standard setting a little soft at times. Tora's are quite cheap now, CRC have them for œ90. Spring upgrade is œ35 from http://www.tftunedshox.com/rockshox/rssprings.htm.
This is obviously at the lower end of your budget, and I'm sure other recommendations to the higher end will appeal much more to the pimp in you!
GT Avalanche Expert 20060 -
Marzocchi MX Pro 100mm - added them to my 2004 'hopper and it's transformed it's handling tremendously.
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I should also have added previously how much maintainence is req'd with RockShox and Marzocchi forks, how easy it?
cheers,
M-M0 -
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Ticaboy and coolnick, cheers for the replies.
How do you find your forks with 1'-2' drops and also on jumps both taking off and landing?
M-M0 -
Just to update...after the discussion on here and with the sales rep in dales, my LBS, i decided to go a little out my range and go for the the Rockshox Recon 351 U-turns with poploc. i've stripped the old manitous off the bike and once i cut the stearing tube to size tomorrow (any hints on doing this?!) i'll finish fitting it and let you all know how they ride.
I'm following the guide for fitting the forks from this site http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/forkoff.htm
It seems straight forward...is it really as easy as it's made out on the site?
cheers for all the advice given
M-M0
