I need some 130mm forks for my PA.

I ride A LOT (quite possibly an average of 5 times a week since January) and I’m not the most subtle of riders, which means I tend to ride as fast as I can into things (like trees) and forks don’t seem to like this. This in turn means I’m definitely NOT interested in spending much on them any more!

Rockshox are pricey and I’ve killed 3 of them (two revs, one pike). Good warranty though! 😯

Fox – killed some ages ago (possibly (well, almost certainly) due to neglect…). Vanillas seem tempting, but I don’t want to splash out £330 on something I don’t entirely trust reliability-wise, pull them apart once a week and still have them die.

Magura – seem ok, but quite short A to C and my PA is twitchy enough as it is.

Marzocchi – new ones have terrible reputations for reliability. Merlin have some 2008 XC600s cheap though, which offsets that somewhat.

My old Manitou Minutes were awesome. A pain in the ass to pull apart, but awesome, but seem hard to get hold of now, especially in 130mm.

Your job? Convince me that something’s going to last or that I’m better off buying cheap stuff! Or do I just ride too much and have to accept that I’ll be pulling forks apart once a fortnight?

Anything here beefy enough? http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fork-brakes-amp-crank-clearout-middleburn-raceface-etc

Not really the right lengths, but cheers anyway!

I’ve got some old school Dirt Jumper 2’s for sale, you’d be hard pushed to break them! (granted they weigh a ton and only have 100mm travel)

Get some pre 2008 marzocchis 2nd hand. You can look at past models on the marzocchi site, id say something from 06 or 07 would probably fit the bill.

Some sort of Z1’s or All mountains

I should probably add that I’m trying to keep the weight of the PA under that of the Cannondale MX… they’re pretty close as it is and I don’t really want two 35lb bikes! So the lighter the better… I tend to wear forks out more than I break them, even when doing my best to maintain them properly.

Stone the crows!

How the smeg are you killing RS forks?

By riding them? I’m yet to be convinced of this ‘legendary reliability’ everyone keeps going on about.

And the damping’s poo.

Edit – seals mainly. I think the last set might have been a friday afternoon pair – went back 3 times under warranty (first time was after the 3rd ride) before I gave up. Previous sets just kept developing leaks from various places – the Pikes I’m still running have parts from three different forks in them…

06 zocchis all the way.

although hte damping is shite in comparison to my manitous.

stop riding into trees?

But then what would my mates have to laugh at?

I’m all about the community spirit.

I have 06 MZ AM2’s. Was just thinking the other day how they’re possibly the best forks I’ve ever had. I think the ETA failed on them, but they were due a service anyway and don’t remember any expense incurred to fix the ETA – think something had just slipped out of position. Needless to say, been fine since. Only problem would be needing to buy 2nd hand now, I guess.

I’m struggling to find any 06 zocchis. I think they’re probably a touch hefty anyway. (I just need to accept that and get some, don’t I?)

If you’re riding pretty much everyday, and wearing stuff out at that frequency, I’d be tempted to get something properly reliable and sod the weight penalty. So old or brand spanking new ‘zocchis should fit the bill. They reckon they’re sorted the reliability problems for the ’10 forks, according to the story on the front page. You sound like the ideal man to find out if its true 🙂

Yeh get some, they’re heavy cos there full of oil which in turn means you dont have to service them every week. Do you want 20mm or qr axle?

If its the former then I know 05 Z1 freeride II’s and 06 Z1 Sports (i think) are both 130mm of travel and they’re about the same weight as coil pikes (426)

By riding them? I’m yet to be convinced of this ‘legendary reliability’ everyone keeps going on about.

And the damping’s poo.

Edit – seals mainly. I think the last set might have been a friday afternoon pair

Well for a start, popping seals ain’t killing them.
I take it you’re meaning air forks? Try coils.
Although by the sounds of it someting beefier might be better – Domains? Fox 36s? Those DJs above sound good too.

And having 140mm Vanillas on one bike and 140mm coil Pikes on another, I’d say there is precious little difference in the damping between them. And for all their issues, Fox are known to have the best damping in the business…..

Cheers for the suggestions!

Merlin are doing 2008 XC600s for 200 quid. I’ve just had a bounce on a mates pair – pretty notchy, but they’re only 2/3 rides old, so I doubt they’re even close to being broken in – and not amazing, but £200… (as opposed to at least £400 for 2010). Is this a terrible idea?

Well for a start, popping seals ain’t killing them

It is when they are constantly going. Or at least, it’s poor reliability. It also means that they’re getting pretty worn stanchions and getting a lot of gunk inside.

Re. reliability – Ok, fair point, the damping isn’t poo and air ones don’t seem so bad, but I found coil revs would go crazy down very rocky descents in the Peak. They’re fine for places like Swinley.

If you ride them everyday, your service interval will shorten. You sure you’ve been looking after them properly?

QR or 20mm? as I have some 05 or 06 AM1’s that I am thinking about selling.