Forum menu
As part of the grand plan for the next bike, I'm thinking I want a hardcore HT (how predictable...) that I can run with the forks at ~100mm for twisty flatter smoother singletrack and dirtjumping and then crank them out to ~160mm for piling down rocky steep things in slack-angled fashion - so basically ride them short when I'm at home in the South East and extend them for trips to The North and Wales. I ride all the interesting stuff with the saddle down so the changes in seat tube angle aren't of great significance.
Who makes adjustable travel forks? So far I've spotted Fox doing 100-130-160mm ones and Rockshox doing 120-150mm. How does the spring/damping performance change when you adjust the length? I like the idea of keeping the bike quick and slightly nervy when riding less epic stuff because it should keep things interesting (plus I like the way my XC bike feels so responsive in my local woods) and I'll really appreciate the steamroller abilities of the increased trail when visiting bigger scarier places. Or is this a stupid idea?
Very good idea indeed.
I do this with a 100-120-140 fox talas on my inbred and a 90-110-130 talas an a trek ex9.
Fox vanilla are more plush than the talas but you lose the travel adjust.
If you read the magazines they will say that Talas forks don't provide the small bump absorbtion that straight Floats provide. I have '08 Talas on my Orange and they may perhaps be slightly less 'smooth' than the non-talas '09 Fos 32 Float RLC's on my EX9 but there is very little in it and the faciility to drop the front height is a real advantage in my opinion.I can't say i have ever noticed any change in the damping when the Talas' are on reduced stroke- I'd go for it
I have to admit I'm a bit scared of Fox forks due to the servicing schedules and my laziness - I haven't done anything to my Rockshox forks in 18 months bar clean and lube the stanchions! But I do hear very good things about their performance and the tyre clearance looks excellent (which is my main bugbear with my Rebas, there's almost nowt once you put proper size tyres in...)
I have had the Talas forks on the orange for three years, I have had the seals and oil changed twice in that period(the second time last week)and I only did that as a precaution- I did not keep to the 15hr seal clean/re-oil schedule, nor the 50hr oil change and bushings inspection and they have been faultless.( yes I know that technically that invalidated the warranty but that has long since expired)
TALAS stands for travel adjust linear air spring, ie, the spring rate stays the same in all travel settings, so you can run them in the shorter setting all the time if you want, not a lockdown like dt Swiss,
Now that's what I like to hear. From an economic standpoint would be make sense to go for an older secondhand pair and overhaul them or are used forks a risky proposition?
Provided the stantions (sp?) are in good nick they don't seem to wear much inside. I've had a set since 2003 which (touch wood) are in fine working order and I just change the oil and seals each spring
Buying used is allways risky but if your careful you could save a wedge, also keep an eye on mojos clearance section, I got some 09 15mm bolt through 32 talas off them ex display with an uncut steerer for less than half price and they come with a warranty as well, I also got some new 36 talas rc2's from a shop on eBay for £550 so do a search on there as well
I would not be comfortable buying second hand forks unless I could actually inspect them personally- I do know of people who have had to have new stantions, bushings and seals replaced on their forks, which would usually push them close to the price of dicounted new ones. It depends also on whether you want 9mm QR, 15mmQR etc. Others I know have bought second hand forks with no problems
Hmmm, a 32 TALAS 110-150 on a 16" Carbon 456 is a very appealing proposition.
32's aren't as stiff as 36's I've got both, both good though so it depends how you ride really
I'm now leaning towards a Cotic Soul so on the hunt for 100-140 fork recommendations!
I like the price of the Rockshox Sektor coil u-turns but am confused as to whether I can get 100-140 in a bolt-thru? Other than weight, what's the downside of coil springing? I see the Magura Thor is 100-140, how does that rate? Do any of the newer Marzocchis adjust in travel?
And most importantly, on a orange Soul will black or white forks be faster?
The TALAS adjuster is way better than Rockshox u-turn (unless it's changed?). Fox is literally one click to change the travel by one "measure", Rockshox is a winder that can be a pain. I suppose the advantage of the Rockshox method is that you can fine tune the travel a bit.
I'm not planning to change it mid-ride, just from location to location - I get the impression the Soul will climb ok at 140 it just won't be so quick and whippy in the tight bits - so the hassle of winding the u-turn doesn't bother me. But the price difference of the Sektor vs all the rest I've seen equates to a set of wheels!
I'm reading some good reviews on the 2010/2011 Magura Thor. Anyone using this? One concern is that when it's adjusted down to 100mm some people are saying it doesn't stay there. I'd don't just want the short fork length option for climbing, I'd like it on pump/jump stuff too, so it needs to stay where it's put!