XC mountain bike forks - reccommend me some

[Mr Gear]

The suspension forks are a bit of a weak link on my mountain bike, so I am looking to source a replacement pair on ebay.

The bike is a GT Tempest, and therefore is fitted with Rockshox Jett (elastomer type I think) with about 65mm travel. I don't want to replace these with some kind of crazy downhill forks, because I don't want to add weight or upset the bike's excellent geometry (too much travel could make the bike sit too high at the front).

So, my selection criterion is as follows:
- Between 70 & 80 mm of travel
- V-brake mounts
- Plush movement
- Torsionally stiff
- Can be had for about £50

So, any makes/models you think I should scour ebay for?

[Mr Gear]

itsnotarace said:

Pace RC36, travel was adjustable from 70-90mm on the early models and 80-100 on teh later ones

Boooo! The only ones listed are fitted to this (rather interesting looking) bike http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Handsome-Dog-titanium-mounta...

[Mr Gear]

itsnotarace said:

I found these

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pace-RC-36-Suspension-Forks-...

Disc only mounts on that pair though. The V brake mounts are quite expensive to add later, approx £40 I think I paid for my RC31 set (was a couple of years ago)

Cor, they look tuff! But v-brake mounts are a must-have. I haven't accounted for a hydraulic disc upgrade in this purchase....

[Mr Gear]

johnnyboy666 said:

Although Pace are exellent forks they are a bit top end really, infact some of the most expensive forks out there so surely not the best choice for a £50 ebay bargain?

I'm with the Toras sensible travel and cost and geat performing. If you are after weight savings you could get some RS Sids from a few years back. Also you could look at an almost new pair if RS Pilots. They look a bit weedy but I have heard some really great reports on them. Only £100 for Pilots with lockout brand new so sensible money to begin with.

John

Edited by johnnyboy666 on Tuesday 18th May 10:21

I'm either being thick, or I am failing to find any of these on ebay right now. I appreciate the suggestions though.

[Mr Gear]

mk1fan said:

Rock Shox Tora's can be set at 80mm (iirc) or an older set of Rock Shox Judy's. Both have V-brake tabs but are heavy.

Personally, any forks bought for £50 are going to be pony, or in need of maintenance or both.

Rock Shox Reba's can also be set at 80mm travel. As for the 'V' brake. Avid BB-7 cable brake is what you need. As long as your hubs have the six bolt fixings then yo can do the conversion for £40ish. Just need a new cable and outer.

If you can't stand riding the forks then why not stick on a set of rigid forks. Exotic ali ones are £50 and come in 1 or 1&1/8 steerers, 'v'-brake and disc.

It's not that I can't stand my current forks, it's just that I guessed my current ones are out of date and there MUST be some better options kicking around on the second hand market for a relatively small upgrade fee.

You might be right though- maybe I need to spend a lot of money to get any benefit, in which case, I won't bother.

[Mr Gear]

johnnyboy666 said:

I just gave away a nice set of forks that I had kicking around, as it happens they were 130mm Bomber Z1 QR20 of the 2000 vintage. What an amazing old chool pair of forks! I'm afraid I don't have anything else that would work. Surely someone on the forum has an old pair of forks kicking around?

John

My girlfriend's bike has Rockshox Tora and they are a big improvement over my forks, so I am currently waiting for a suitable pair to come up. They seem to go fairly cheap.

Any offers from PHers considered!

[Mr Gear]

john_p said:

How critical is fork length to the bike's geometry?

I have some very crappy Suntours which are due replacement as I'm not convinced they actually do anything but I think they have 50mm travel or maybe less (M3000)
If I put 80mm travel forks on, what happens?

You will upset the steering head angle. Steep steering head angle makes the bike steer fast and feel nimble, but makes it also a bit unstable.

A shallow steering head angle (caused by long forks) will make the steering feel heavy and slow, with the added bonus of "flopping" into corners at low speed. You can get away with anything, but its a pretty fundamental geometry change you are making and it will make the bike handle very differently.

[Mr Gear]

These look OK. I just need to check my steerer-tube length. The oil leak is probably an easy fix with them off the bike.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...