I’ve just had word a nice little bonus coming my way from work and I’d thought of upgrading the forks on my hardtail. I can get the murdered out Revelation RL fork in 140mm travel, 15mm axle and straight steerer for £230 ish brand new from one of the euro sites. It would be to go on my On One 456 Evo, straight steerer, steel framed, 27.2 seat post 26″ wheeled bike. My pal thinks I’m crazy and should just sell up and get a 650b hardtail to match my full suspension bike.

The thing is:

A. I don’t want to spend all of my bonus, I get married this summer so the dosh would come in useful!

B. On One bikes are cheap to begin with, so I would get very little for the bike after two years and 3500 miles!

The bike is a bit of a mish-mash of parts nowadays. Up until recently it was standard, but the front shifter exploded and I got two deore shifters and a 9 speed XT rear mech for a tenner! I swapped the bars out to some Klein ones I paid a fiver for and my mate sold me his Hope Pro 2 evo/Stans Flow wheels for a ton! He also sold me some brand new cheapo shimano brakes for £30, alvio I think as my Deores were pissing oil all over the pads. All in all, it’s probably worth about as much as the brakes are on my good bike!

I know it’s an old fashioned bike now, but the thing that for me is blaringly obvious that holds it back (other than the rider) are the forks. They are OK, but they are the Sektor solo coil model and the spring doesn’t suit my weight so I’m always deep in the travel when things get steep. They dive a lot under braking and as a result I load up the front too much and get spat off on a certain cheeky off piste section over the chase, whereas I can happily get down on the big bike! The other obvious short fall is lack of dropper, but I may buy a T mars one for £60 if I do keep it.

What’s the opinion then? Is the old girl worthy of spending a few hundred on for a better fork? Or is it time to pass her on to a newbie and let them have fun with her?

I’d get the forks if you like the 456 and could use the balance for a honeymoon upgrade or something.

What does your intended think, rather than your mate?

If you still enjoy riding it then just get the forks,
And poke your mate in the eye for being a fashion victim..

Send your sektors off to loco for a service and spring to suit you, then mucho holidays?

I’d say, that if you generally like the bike and that you want to use some money for other things, go for the fork.
I’ve been horribly skint this past five years and it’s been all I could do to keep my old Trance running, it was a bottom of the pile model and came with a 100mm steel Tora, which I’d increased to 130. Bike was nice enough, but heavy. I replaced the wheels with a Hope / Mavic pair and took some weight out.
When I did have a few quid, in went a 140 revelation. That saved a kilo over the Tora and along with the wheelset and a much better fork, the thing transformed from a reasonable bike, to a very nice bike indeed.

[/quote]What’s the opinion then? Is the old girl worthy of spending a few hundred on for a better fork? Or is it time to pass her on to a newbie and let them have fun with her?

Wait until after the wedding

If I send the fork off for a service and firmer spring it will cost me over half the cost of the brand new fork. I don’t even ride the bike that much, it’s normally reserved for hilly natural rides as it’s 2×9 so gives me a better range of gears. I’ll also use it for the odd 40 mile canal ride. It’s a bit porky but the forks are over 2200g and the revs are down as under 1700g. I’m just trying to work out if it’s worth more to me than the return on selling it.

I’d buy the Revs and sellthe Sektors – you might get 50-70 for them. you’ll get a lighter, better sprung version of a bike you like, it’ll have some new/shiny factor for a while which is worth something.

If you sell and buy, it’ll cost a load, have wheels a smidge bigger, and will probably have worse forks than the revs, unless you spend loads+

They are OK, but they are the Sektor solo coil model and the spring doesn’t suit my weight so I’m always deep in the travel when things get steep.

Buy a new spring in the weight you need?

I’ve a 26″ HT, and when the forks die I’ll just buy another pair. It’s on its 4th set already 🙂

+1 nedrapier

New springs are about £50 and with only 4 to choose from, I’m unlikely to get one that suits my riding style and weight perfectly. I like the adjustability of air and the fact that If I decide to go to the local downhill trail on it I can whack some more air in and not worry about bottoming out on every feature!

Get the forks

I just got some nice new straight steerer, 26 in Fox forks for my Cotic Soda – along with a nice 27.2 Thomson dropper post.

bike is just too nice to get rid of just because the industry says I need bigger wheels

Tell your friend to get off the band wagon

few hundred on for a better fork

£230 is not a few hundred!

I’d go for the fork.

I’m leaning towards a new set of forks then….

In fairness to my pal, he isn’t a victim to trend. It’s took two years to convince him to get a dropper (which he still hasn’t fitted) as he doesn’t think they are needed and he still hasn’t gone tubeless. He is also much better than your average rider.