Hi all, I hope you will indulge what I am sure is a frequently asked question.

I bought my first “proper” mountain bike under a bike for work scheme months ago which meant it had to be from Halfords.

I got the Voodoo Hoodoo with suntour raidon forks which I thought would be ok. however, after getting into it more and tackling red runs at various trail centres, I find that the forks don’t really move much over the small bumps and that by the end of a 2hour ride my arms and hands are killing me.

I am therefore looking for a new bike, a hardtail, and do not really want to spend much more than a grand.

I want the new bike to have much more forgiving forks, especially over the smaller stuff.

Below is a list of forks on various bikes that I have been looking at from £750 to £1,039. All the fork names seem pretty similar to me, are there any in the list which are significantly better (or should be avoided), or, are they all pretty similar?

Fox 32 Float 27.5 CTD Evolution 100mm
RockShox 30 Gold Solo Air 100mm
RockShox 30 Gold TK Air 120mm
Rockshox Recon Gold TK29 Solo Air 120mm
RockShox Sektor Gold 27.5 TK Solo Air 140mm
RockShox Sektor TK Solo Air 130mm
RockShox XC30 TK Solo Air 120mm
Rockshox XC-30 TK solo air 120mm
Rockshox XC32 TK29 100mm

I am focusing on the forks as from what I have been told, this is the most important bit! Thanks in advance for any comments posted!

Forks are important but only as part of a complete bike package. List the bikes you’ll get some better feedback.

Your bike gets pretty decent reviews and in the price range you’re looking at I don’t think you will get anything that much better,same goes for the fork.Some of those listed won’t be anything that different performance wise.Maybe check your fork is set up and working properly first,then upgrade your fork rather than your whole bike if you still feel you need to. Rockshox Reba?

If you like the rest of your current bike have you considered saving some money and just replacing the fork that’s on it?

I’ve got 140mm Raidons on my bike (Sunn Tzar S2) and I find them ok- have you set the sag and stuff to suit you?

edit- just because Suntour aren’t as ‘badge’ as RS or Fox doesn’t mean they’re not as good (or possibly better, for a given price point).

There’s nothing wrong with the forks on your bike. I think they’re pretty good for the money, at least as good as Rockshox Recons. The XC series will be a step down.

Do you own a shock pump (to make adjustments to the air pressure in the Raidon)? That would be my first port of call. You may have the forks set too firm for your weight and riding style.

Once the forks are all dialled in, if you’re getting arm / hand pain it could just be bike setup or general fitness. Some thicker / softer grips could help as well.

Cheers guys, I did go back to halfords and they did make them softer (i dont think they are air forks) which helped a bit.

It may well be that I am being soft which I went on here! Bike sales people are usually pretty dismissive of the sun tours but they obviously have a vested interest!

I would consider just upgrading the forks as I don’t mind the rest of the bike but was worried it would be pointless putting a 300 pound plus fork on a 500 bike.

For what its worth, the new bikes I was considering were pinnacle Ramon 4 2015, orange crush 2014 and a 13 incline gamma (new range at halfords because of the allure of bikes to work!)

Not thought of going to an LBS who takes the Halfrauds vouchers?

I bought my Orange Clockwork S at Wheelspin in Huddersfield through the bike to work scheme & they were more than happy to accept the Halfords vouchers ( didn’t ask for 10% more like a lot of stores seem to do either – so bear that in mind ) .
I found a list of stores that would accept them when I was looking -try & Google it ….you don’t just HAVE to use them at Halfords .

I have not ridden one but the bike and fork both get good reviews.

The fork will be air sprung which means it is very tuneable and you should only have problems if you are very light or very heavy.

You need to get the manual, if it was not provided, which you can usually download from the manufacturers site. Get a suitable pump and then get riding with the forks set to your body weight.

I didn’t realise other stores accept halfords bike for work vouchers, that is good to know.

I know both Chevin & Leisure Lakes used to ( going back 3 or 4 years though , so best check first ).