you don’t need new forks to help with the Peak district’s rocks, you need more practise.

new forks might make the difference between riding through a section at XX.2kph, and XX.5 kph, they won’t make the difference between dabbing and riding.

Oh don’t get me wrong, i’ve ridden 90% of this. I’d just rather ride it without my eyeballs shaking out of their sockets! Pretty sure it could be done on a fully rigid if I had the skills. It probably has been done on a fully rigid.

So maybe a coil rev or sektor could be on the cards then. I would go for an older fox 36 (pretty sure the vanilla would be nice) but i don’t want to add any more weight. I like the look of the 160mm x-fusion forks but i’m having trouble finding one with a straight 1.125 steerer?

Interesting to see that not many people are recommending Fox forks, they used to be regarded as the smoothest on the market but i guess things change as technology moves along. When i first decided i wouldn’t mind a fork upgrade i immediately thought a 150mm float with 15mm axle would be a logical upgrade from what i have now, something between that and a 160mm maxle fork but i can’t find one with a straight steerer anywhere. I’m sure they exist, just my interweb says no..

There is a pair of marzocchi 44 RC3 Ti forks in the classifieds at the moment.

Get them. They are awesome. (not mine)

Bolt through axles make a massive difference.

Fox arent all they used to be. They had a couple of iffy years. new stuff is okay, but bang for buck rockshox is the fork to beat nowadays. can pick up a coil sektor for 200 ish if you shop around.

So simple to service yourself and work great.

My Marzocchi 55 160’s are a 1 1/8 steerer – cheap as chips secondhand, and the plushest fork I’ve ever ridden.

The marzocchi’s are a bit heavy though aren’t they?

I’ve just gone from a set of 140 Float RL from 2010 to a set of 2nd hand 2012 Rev’s with a QR15 on my 2010 Heckler (1 1/8 head tube). The change to the geometry and handling is negligible but the extra stiffness is very noticeable, especially when I was playing around with pressures etc on a rocky descent at speed. They just feel more substantial than the Floats – I don’t think I was riding any faster than normal but I certainly felt more in control.

20mm of extra travel won’t stop your eyeballs being shaken out.

is it worth asking if your suspension is correctly set up for you?

[video]http://youtu.be/XKOeBKHfR-c[/video]
150mm travel both ends needed as a bare minimum! 😉

I’ve just gone from a set of 140 Float RL from 2010 to a set of 2nd hand 2012 Rev’s with a QR15 on my 2010 Heckler (1 1/8 head tube). The change to the geometry and handling is negligible but the extra stiffness is very noticeable, especially when I was playing around with pressures etc on a rocky descent at speed. They just feel more substantial than the Floats – I don’t think I was riding any faster than normal but I certainly felt more in control.

That’s good info thanks

Bobby that is a perfectly reasonable question. They’re the Talas R version so they don’t have much in the way of adjustment but I tend not to have the rebound too fast and run them at about 30% sag. I’m 11 stone and I run about 75-80psi. I find if I put less air in I get brake dive…

Does compression damping fix brake dive?

Maybe I’ll just man up and live with the weight penalty, or just put a rev on like 1000 other people have already mentioned. Almost seems too easy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKOeBKHfR-c

Haha Rob that’s awesome!

Be honest though, that’s not the first time you’ve ridden that section is it?

I do need to get better…

Oh no that’s definitely not me I mince down like a good un.
On a 140mm hardtail usually though…

To be fair, he makes that look very easy. It’s quite steep in places, especially that left hander at the top where it’s easy to sh@t ones self at the sight of what’s in front of you (a big drop). I love it up there though! I can ride from my house to redmires to there, to foxhouse and back to mine in about 23 mile round trip and this is the only bit that gives me problems.

Loving the peak district.

to foxhouse and back to mine in about 23 mile round trip and this is the only bit that gives me problems.

There is some cheeky stuff near there that makes stanage plantation look like Sherwood pines. Time to explore a bit more! 😀

Sounds like you are loving the peaks riding, great isnt it! Hard to say exactly what might be causing you to feel so unbalanced with actually looking at your full bike set up and body position but it might be worth having good shop or coach give you some set up pointers. Just to avoid buying forks for the reason that they match your colour scheme. Hope this does not come across as condescending.

There is some cheeky stuff near there that makes stanage plantation look like Sherwood pines. Time to explore a bit more!

I am sure there is, i’ve found the Blacka Moor trail after reading “Dark Peak mountain biking” but it’s verrrry muddy in winter, the jeep path is almost impassable in places. I made the mistake of leaving my bike unwashed for a couple of months after riding that and went back to it to find the bottom bracket completely ceased up!

It’s difficult for me to explore as much as i’d like because i work away from home a lot so don’t get much time so when i do go out i tend to stick to places i know, but if you’ve got any pointers or fancy getting out for a ride some time just drop me an email.

Sounds like you are loving the peaks riding, great isnt it! Hard to say exactly what might be causing you to feel so unbalanced with actually looking at your full bike set up and body position but it might be worth having good shop or coach give you some set up pointers. Just to avoid buying forks for the reason that they match your colour scheme. Hope this does not come across as condescending.

No not at all, i actually like the way my bike’s set up it’s just i crave a bit more cush on sections like this and others where i just feel like ploughing through some of the boulder gardens! I know people say a 36 is great fun on a heckler but i just don’t fancy the extra weight penalty.

At the end of the day, i should have bought the Revelation XX that has just gone for under 200 on the classifieds – i would have lost a few grams and gained more travel and a bolt through axle but alas, i am a plum 🙂

The difference between QR and 15 or 20mm is pretty noticable… But it’s nothing like the difference between a 32 and a Rev! Fox basically just took their XC forks and kept stretching them over the years, they’re extremely bendy. So, if that doesn’t bother you just now, don’t worry about flex- you have probably the worst performing modern fork in terms of stiffness, and you don’t mind, so fahgeddabadit.