I currently only have the stock forks on my hardtail bike being SR Suntour XCT 80mm travel. I want something more, sort of around 120ish but I cannot afford brand new fox forks or anything like that. Are there some good second hand forks to be had around?n

I doubt you will be able to up the forks to 120 as it will mess with the handling and also cause extra stress on the head tube

Can I improve the forks at all though? I’m not heavily into MTB quite yet so don’t ‘really’ know what i’m on about, but perhaps 100mm would be better than 80, surely?

Don’t think more travel is going to equal a better fork. What kind of riding do you do?

All sorts. Pootle along the canal towpath, fly around natural trails in the chilterns, trail centres. I do give trail centres a go but not very confident/good yet so tend to be quite slow >.<

I would of thought a 80-100mm fork would sort you, whats your budget?

recon forks at on-one will do you nicely 🙂

what he ^ said.

If he could stretch to a reba

What bike is it? Do you have an idea of what travel fork it will take? If not I wouldn’t go above 100mm, just get something decent and that will give you a much better result than going big. As others have said it could well screw up how the bike handles.

Edit…those Recons look perfect and a good price but check out the German websites, some cracking deals to be had.

Aye, which bike? Some models use different length forks in the same frame frinstance. Extending fork lengths can be unpredictable

It’s only a spesh hardrock, disc edition but the stock forks just seem poor…

The stock forks are sadly quite poor. You may be able to increase the travel to 100mm by rearranging them internally, but I don’t know for sure on this fork.

Some £100-200 Rockshox or Marzocchi forks will make an amazing difference. Look on the classifieds for a second hand bargain.

Hardrock will definately take 100mm, some models came with that as standard. XCT is a pretty basic fork- OK when they work but the internals are pretty highly strung, poor sealing means dirt and water get in and the bushings aren’t durable. Not light either.

So yeah, definately possible to get good improvements at a sensible price.

Glad some more constructive people commented on this thread as apposed to the ‘lol noob you can’t change forks your bikes crap.’ kinda approach I felt from others…

Rockshox or Marzocchi, what do you suggest?

Whats your budget?

Nothing yet as i’m buying a road bike at the end of this month but it’s likely to be around 200, 250 at the very highest.

I would look on the Sale forum as there are some bargains

Something like this would suit you very well http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-100mm-lightweight-xc-forks-chris-king-nothreadset

‘lol noob you can’t change forks your bikes crap.’ kinda approach I felt from others…

think youre being oversensitive, I havent read any of that, just people asking if you knew what you wanted, more travel or better suspension action? Asking a question then insulting the respondents is rarely productive.

Marz= tend to be heavier, and require essentially no servicing. Had a tough couple of years and lost their previously strong rep, so avoid 2007-2009 era, and is also why they are often cheap new (as most people have stayed away).

RS are pretty strong across-the-board, cheaper models may have a simpler damper, or steel stanchions/steerers compared to more expensive models. Reliable and easy to service.

Fox; expensive, easy to service but need it about every 20minutes or the stanchions wear out.

(I own all three brands, before it descends into a Fox vs RS war…)

I’d look for a Rockshox reduced from On-One, JeJames, CRC etc. Many are spaced internally so a 100mm fork can be changed to 120 and vice versa.

A bit over budget but a quality fork.

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/rockshox-reba-race-dual-air0mm-black-red-id53556.html

much cheaper options here

http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/forks

edit: not when I’d started typing it he hadnt….

He’s already given a budget of 200-250

Edit : Sorry 🙂

Yeah crash, perhaps I am being a bit over-sensitive, I do apologise.

How do those RS recons stack up? It sounds pretty good. In regards to what I want from new forks, more travel/better action really because although i’m new to MTB, fairly, 80mm travel on some forks you never even hear about can only be improved upon? 🙂

I would buy those second hand forks 🙂

Those Recon Silver imho look like a last year Tora. Pretty good fork, works almost as nice as Recon (gold) however is heavier due to steel uppers. I tried all three, Tora (Recon Silver) works almost as nice as Recon Gold but is heavier. Recon Gold works as nice as a Reba but is heavier. You won’t really go wrong with any of the three as long as it’s not a RS Dart 🙂

If you are after a fit and forget fork consider Marzocchi from 2011 onwards. 3 years no service required warranty, my mate has a 44 RLO, nice and plush action, open oil damping so well lubed inside and easy to service. Only downside is they are heavy.

Your budget second hand will get you a very nice fork. Very good condition Reba can be had from this forum for £150 or thereabout. Search through the classifieds and check what was on offer recently. For your budget I would probably look for a Recon Gold (or just Recon in older names) or a Reba. Both are under 2kg, work very well. Never had problems with my Reba. I would not buy SIDs from 2009 due to lowers twisting, my friends SID had that problem. No such problem on a Reba/Recon/Revelation.

I buying new then there are some Marzocchi Marathons R or LR (with Lockout and Rebound adjustment) for around £200 online (UKbikestore for example or CRC). They weight similar to Recon Gold (just under 2kg) but if they still come with 3 year warranty then I would buy the Marathons.

The Marzocchi marathon LR look/sound good VFM and are a reasonable price. I’d prefer to buy from new but if a really good offer popped up on 2nd hand sure. I think i’m sold on the Marzocchi marathon LRs though, thanks all!

the “good” Marz with 3yr warranty started in 2010, I picked up some 2010 model 55RC3ti’s in 2011 half price, and left over 2011s were half price this year.So if you can find an old post-2010 reduced it will be good, cheap, and very very similar to the latest version (and warranty starts at point of sale not manufacturer).

I shall sit here wondering why you haven’t gone for that amazing SH deal 🙂

I upgraded stock 80mm suntour forks on a hardrock to 100mm Recon Gold from On-One/Planet X. They seem to have offers regularly, and they were a good deal. They’ve made a massive difference.

My understanding is that you (or someone else!) can also take a spacer out of the internals to make them 120mm if you want to at a later date.

The Hardrock frame is specced to 100mm, but it is a big strong frame, so I’d be surprised if you couldn’t get up to 120mm if you were desperate. But you might just find a good set of 100mm forks will do the trick for you.

Because Shorty I can’t actually buy any new forks atm as my money is going into the Allez this month lol, or I would’ve had them by now 🙂