I have a set of Fox Float 100 RLC's from 2004.
They need new uppers (stanchions eroded) and a service that will come in around £240ish with postage.

Or should i buy some forks from the classifieds, they look the part but how do i know what condition the internals are in? If i get my own forks serviced at least i know everything will be fine out of the box.

Hmmm…

You could buy a new set of Reba Team 100mm forks from On One for £250 recently, if still available I'd get those instead of spending £240 repairing yours – and flog yours for spare or repair.

I've already got a pair of 2007 Reba SL's on my bike, the Floats are what came orignally. The Reba's now need a service and i'm toying with the idea of having two sets of forks that i can switch about.

I like the Rebas but they are more flexy than the Floats, plus it's been a while since i've used them!

Are the Foxes still working OK? Holding air? If so, just run 'em into the ground first! 🙂

I sympathise re-fox service costs, I'm currently selling a load of stuff on the classifieds to fund the service costs to avoid a more costly repair later on.

I too am toying with the idea of a more fit and forget style fork bought S/H for the cost of the service.

They're holding air, just a bit 'gritty' now and the left-hand stanchion is shocking!
They've been sat in the shed for the last 2 yrs and i'm thinking of bringing them out of retirement – after all they were some £580 when new and a rebuild will bring them back to life!

That's what i did with the Rebas. The Fox's repair was more than the cost of a new set of RS Rebas (£210 IIRC).
I did like the way the Fox's worked though and keep looking at them in the shed. It seems a shame to leave them to rot…

There is another option, although addmittedly there is a cost attached, you could service the forks yourself. The 2004 service manual is still available in the Fox tech centre online (if you've lost the original manual that is) and it walks you through doing a full service.

In the short term if you have to tool up for the job it won't save you money, but over the longer term it will – especailly if you replace the stanchions yourself while you're doing the service.

I went back to using my 2004 Floats after my 2006 Reba's turned into a floppy mess after two years, despite TFT telling me that the bushes were fine. Long term to my mind Fox are just a better investment as they're well engineered and parts are pretty reasonable.

Isn't the problem that the stancions have to be bought as a pair with crown and steerer, so the vast part of the 240 quid is made of that? How would doing a home service on the seals and oil solve that? Of course subsequent services become cheaper done at home… I'm in the same predicament pretty much exactly!

The upper assembly is £119 from Mojo, the service is £89.

Not sure if you can actually buy the uppers..