For a while now I've wanted to replace the Dart 2 that came on my Felt hardtail as it's the weakest component (in terms of quality) on my bike and I'm now getting into racing so the weight saving as well as performance improvement would be welcome. I was waiting for the summer sales thinking I could snap up an F100 RLC or Sid for around £300… not so. The Fox's are only down to £500 on Chain Reaction and the cheapest 100mm Sid's (Black/Red Teams) are £365… with the white ones that would look better on my bike about twenty quid more.

What's a student that was budgeting around £300 to do? I could get some secondhand ones for under £300 but would they be anywhere near as good as the 2010 ones? I've also seen loads of F100 RL (no compression) going here on Singletrack but no one seems to want them so I'm guessing compression is pretty much mandatory? Could anyone point me in the right direction with regards to the second hand market and the whole RL/RLC thing? Cheers.

Go get some RS Reba's, go check out the merlin sale and buy some before they all sell out! (the extra 10% discount is removed at the till [or you sign in], so they are cheaper than advertise – very strange).

There far too many horror stories about 2nd hand Fox forks for me to even even consider buying them – thats my own personaly opinion and lots of ppl don't agree, some even manage to get great bargains due to these stories/opinions.
My two friends with fox forks – both paid almost £300 to get them repaired when they had them serviced.

This has a further 10% when you get to the checkout
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Frame++Forks/Forks++Shocks/Rockshox+Suspension+Forks/Rockshox+Reba+RLT+Forks_RS-REBA-RLT.htm

As do all RS forks at Merlin. You'll get Reba's for well under £300

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Frame++Forks/Forks++Shocks/Fox+Suspension+Forks/Fox+32+F100+RL+Forks+-+2009_1550.htm

If you do want Fox – F100 2009 down to £399

Thanks for the replies all. I don't think I'll go for a Reba as it is a more 'trail' oriented fork rather than one for XC racing and as such is a bit heavier. I know also that at some point I'd want to upgrade it, so I may as well get top-of-the-line now rather than wishing I'd got it in the first place and paying twice.

The Fox's seem like a bit of a rip off, about £40 more than Sid Teams for the ones that don't have compression adjust. I've been reading about them and they do seem to have some reliability issues. Guess it's paying for the name to some extent.

Think I'll get these unless there are any serious objections? 😉 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25861

Think I'll get these unless there are any serious objections? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25861

Ive got the exact same and love them, pretty light too.

Think I got them from an ebay store in the states and I think I actually paid more than that, looks like a good deal to me, go for it.

Heres Mine

Another vote here for Rebas; got mine, the Team version, from Merlin almost 2 years ago and haven't been disappointed.

£250 for SID's on On-one

Looks like a good deal Alejandro.

£250 for SID's on On-one

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FORSSIDRDC80/rockshox-sid-race-disc-canti-80mm-fork

Yeah just saw this but was unsure of it – "Travel: 80mm (adjustable to 100mm via spacer)" does this mean that I would have to take it apart to get it to 100mm? Would it then be a 'true' 100mm travel or just that ride height with 80mm of actual travel? Also does 9mm QR just mean standard QR with no bolt-thru?

Also I'm trying to work out if it is worth the money to go for team's or if the £250 race's are fine… ahhh

For 250 those on-one SIDS are a bargain. Yes, they are a legit 100mm travel fork with the internal spacers changed. Yep – you'd have to do that yourself or get an LBS to do it. It's easy to do – google for guides on how to do it.

9mm QR is bog standard QR

I'm with Speedy Gonzalez – A Reba!

Just put a Reba Race on my Soul and it's transformed the bike

you aren't at notts uni are you by any chance? If so, we've met, and if you want a hand changing the travel i've done the same thing to my rebas – fairly easy job with the right tools, and I think they're similar to take apart. Not much help until September though.

Rebas are pretty good mind, and still only ~1.6kg

Hey John, yes we have met before and thanks for offering to help with the spacers. I'll give you a shout if I'm unable to figure it out.

Okay so I've narrowed it down to either the Race above or, for £70 more (£320), I can get the Team version, also on On One: http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FORSSIDTC80/rockshox-sid-team-canti-80mm-fork

I've been trying to ascertain exactly what the Team adds that the Race lacks, I know it has 'Blackbox damping' and have been trying to research this, but I'm not technologically minded enough to understand how all the marketing garbage translates to real life use. Some people say they don't notice a difference between it and the standard Motion Control damping found on the Race, others say it makes a bit difference and that the damping on the Race's is rubbish. It's doing my head in to be honest. Can anyone explain if the £70 for the Team's is worth it and what exactly this Blackbox thing does?

Blackbox is RS's latest damping mechanism/circuit as opposed to Motion Control that has been around for a few years. At the end of the day you may find Blackbox the best thing since getting regular access to girly parts but you'll only find out by using them back to back with a Motion Control damper. The Team is slightly lighter is it not?

Price seems to be you main driver so ….. personally, Reba would be more than enough fork for you until you get to the front of the start line of the world champs/cup.

[/quote]Guess it's paying for the name to some extent.

Excuse me, we as Fox owner's pay for performance, so no, name is irelevant.

Reba's like said umpteenth times are your BEST punt for a mid priced xc fork.

I'm glad I clairified that point 😉

Got Reba Races on my SS, and love them long time, awesome fork, better than my Revs I think too

In the end I went with Sid Teams for a number of reasons:

– Even though I've been hearing great things about the Reba's, they are a slightly heavier fork aimed at general trail riding rather than strict XC duties. XC is what I do, therefore I felt better going for a fork specifically suited to that. Also the Teams from On One weren't much more expensive then the Reba's on sale at Merlin.
– It may be that I will be able to tell little, if any, difference with the BlackBox upgrade over the standard Motion Control, but I'd rather buy these and that be the case then find out that BlackBox does indeed make a difference and then be kicking myself for not buying the Teams.
– 'Buy the best you can afford'/'You get what you pay for', call it what you want, I'd rather get the best I can afford then spending a bit less money but compromising. For half price, you can't really go wrong with those Sids.

Should be arriving tomorrow 😀 Thanks to all for making the effort to advise me.