Advice on changing suspension forks

thegoatboy
thegoatboy Posts: 23
edited September 2017 in The workshop
Hello

I'm slowly upgrading my MTB for commuting.

One thing I was thinking of doing is ditching the suspension forks on my GT (zoom forks i think) for hard ones

I asked in Evans cycles, and he said it would be 90 bucks for the forks + labour so it would be close to 150 quid

that seems a lot!

is it easy to change the forks? the guy mentioned measuring the forks to get the right ones.

is it a difficult job to do?

Comments

  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    Rather depends on how good with such stuff, the fork will need to be the right length etc, though that's not difficult to find, the fork stearer is likely to need cutting and so on.
  • thegoatboy
    thegoatboy Posts: 23
    Hmm cutting sounds above my pay grade..
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    All you need is a hacksaw and half an hour.
    Easy job.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Mosso forks (on evil bay from £50 up) are great for an MTB conversions, I ran a pair for 2 or 3 years and they are now on a friends bike, lighter than many carbon, have enough 'give' to have some comfort.

    Make sure you get one with the right axle to crown (a2c) height to be similar to or slightly shorter than your current forks.

    A bike shop would cut and insert the star nut for about £20-30 and then you can fit yourself.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,141
    Swapping the crown race has always been the hardest part IMO (specifically getting the old one off undamaged).
    It can be done with a chisel, screwdriver and hammer but you have to be careful and take your time.

    I think my LBS charged £10 the first time I did it (I've done it myself since). If you get the to cut/star nut it for you at the same time they might do it for free.
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    I was just about to mention the Crown race ...... I am in the process of moving my old bike bits off a broken frame to a less broken frame

    forks don't quite fit ...... 1x google later and I have just learnt all about headsets, bearings, races, cups, washers, o-rings, compression rings and degrees of stuff

    now waiting a crown race remover and fitter ! .. oh and a new crown race
  • thegoatboy
    thegoatboy Posts: 23
    Went into tredz on the weekend

    Bloke said 15 to 20 bucks to fit.

    Happy with that
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Hammer + screwdriver = crown race in hand, never had an issue.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.

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