fork upgrade

jkshaw · February 2018

i have only recently started riding and by recent i mean ive been out like 3 times so far but im already starting to wish i paid a bit more (double) what i paid to get a FS with bigger travel than i have.

i have the merida big seven 500 2017 hardtail 18.5 frame with 27.5 wheels. already im crying out for a bit more travel up front than the 100mm it currently has. is it worth upgrading the shocks i have as they are only the rockshox tk silver solo air 100mm which i believe are very entry level for something with around 140mm? im already looking at upgrading the handlebars from the 700 to 760 and possibly a single chainring as i never change between the 2 rings while out anyway. i have upgraded to a dropper post albeit a cheapo kindshock suspension post.

i dont want to keep throwing money at the bike if its not going to be beneficial or am i better off just sticking it out for 12 months and see how i go and just upgrade to a whole new, higher spec bike?

wilberforce · February 2018

You would not be able to put 140mm forks on a bike designed for 100mm without voiding all warranties and seriously increasing the risk of large dentist bills.
What makes you think you need 140mm forks? What riding are you doing?
As your current forks are air, have you got a shock pump and set them up correctly for your weight and sag?
If you type of riding and terrain does truly warrant a 140mm bike, then it looks like you have purchased the wrong bike.

jkshaw · February 2018

Wilberforce wrote:

You would not be able to put 140mm forks on a bike designed for 100mm without voiding all warranties and seriously increasing the risk of large dentist bills.
What makes you think you need 140mm forks? What riding are you doing?
As your current forks are air, have you got a shock pump and set them up correctly for your weight and sag?
If you type of riding and terrain does truly warrant a 140mm bike, then it looks like you have purchased the wrong bike.

Just general trails riding tbh but i have had a go with my mates all mountain with 150 front travel and was so much nicer to ride so that’s what I’m basing my comparison on.

cooldad · February 2018

You bought an XC bike. You can't turn it into an AM bike.

slc123 · February 2018

I started with a 100mm XC and rode most trails fine. Yes a bigger travel bike will be more comfortable and make things a little raiser but not a necessity.

Upgrade the bits you can on the XC bike to make it a little better eg bars, tyres etc no point in investing to heavily and as the others say geometry limits what you can do to make it a usable bike.

Then save up to buy a slacker longer travel bike which is meant for The type of thing you are suggesting.

The Rookie · February 2018

You can buy better forks, and you could make it more trail orientated by upping travel to 120mm, anything more would just make it horrid.

jkshaw · February 2018

slc123 wrote:

I started with a 100mm XC and rode most trails fine. Yes a bigger travel bike will be more comfortable and make things a little raiser but not a necessity.

Upgrade the bits you can on the XC bike to make it a little better eg bars, tyres etc no point in investing to heavily and as the others say geometry limits what you can do to make it a usable bike.

Then save up to buy a slacker longer travel bike which is meant for The type of thing you are suggesting.

Cheers mate. Exactly the kind of info I was after

jkshaw · February 2018

The Rookie wrote:

You can buy better forks, and you could make it more trail orientated by upping travel to 120mm, anything more would just make it horrid.

Cheers pal. That’s what I was after. 120mm looks like a good option but i think I might stick as is for now with the forks.

I was going with the idea of buying upgraded parts for this then buying a slacker frame with the idea of then transfering the parts across but I may just end up buying a complete bike in 18 months or so.

Uber_Pod · February 2018

As already mentioned, at least make sure the fork you have now is set up right.

slc123 · February 2018

jkshaw wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

You can buy better forks, and you could make it more trail orientated by upping travel to 120mm, anything more would just make it horrid.

Cheers pal. That’s what I was after. 120mm looks like a good option but i think I might stick as is for now with the forks.

I was going with the idea of buying upgraded parts for this then buying a slacker frame with the idea of then transfering the parts across but I may just end up buying a complete bike in 18 months or so.

I would definitely ride the bike you have for a while and add some incremental upgrades and see what it improves and what you like. You will then have an idea of what you want/need on the next bike. I’ve kept my last XC bike as the other will be overkill for some of the riding I do. You can make some relatively cheap improvements that will help it on more technical trails.

Like I said before wider bars and tyres should improve the handling. You could go up to a 120mm fork but if you’re thinking about changing in 18 months I wouldn’t waste the money unless you can pick something up second hand.

joebristol · May 2018

One cheap way to try the bike with longer forks maybe to pick up something older but higher up the fork range. I’m not sure if Rockshox made a 27.5 Revelation with u-turn - might be worth checking.

I picked up a 26” revelation U-turn recently which I haven’t ridden yet, but has travel adjust between 100 and 130mm travel. I had 100mm on the bike but this allows me to try it set with 100 / 115 / 130mm travel. I think 130 will be too much - but perhaps 115mm will be a nice in between.

fork upgrade

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