Thinking about getting a cheap 180mm fork for next years morzine trip.
How does the Domain work out. I've used a 454 Pike and Reba SL, Fox 36 talas in the past, is it a bit more basic than these in use?
the 318 will be as good as your other RS forks, i have the 302 which has the basic damping, its ok, but a 318 would be better.
Mate did exactly what you are considering.
Was great for the trip and he ended up leaving it on his Iron Horse 6.4
It is a bit agricultural, but if you buy it from TF tuned they will pre set it for your weight and style.
As long as your not a knob twiddler you will be fine, still as good as new too a year on.
Got some 318 coils on my hustler, ok so not the 180mm ones but they feel spot on, just makes the rear shock feel crap now, need a coil
Just come back from two weeks in Morzine using a domain 318 and no complaints. Is a fair bit heavier than other forks I've used but works fine, espeically with the right spring for your weight.
Okey, reckon I'll be keeping an eye out for a set second hand then over the winter.
Tbh the weight doesn't really bother me as it will only be on the bike for Morzine / uplifts. I'll swap back to the 36s for anything else.
Sorry, late post to the thread. I put a 180m 318 on my Gemini after my Shermans died. Much better fork and used them through the Peaks and in Verbier this summer. Wouldn't think twice about taking them to the North Shore but no idea how they'd cope with the braking bumps in Les Gets. Although to be fair even my 888s struggeld a bit.
Oerall delighted with them, esp for the price.
And they're white: nice.
318 is just like a big Pike, but coil and beefier so a bit nicer to ride than an air Pike probably.
Lacks the smooth damping of the Fox 36, but still a very good fork for the price it can be had.
Mine was fine riding round Morzine too, coped perfectly well on very rocky trails like the gulley run.
What they said. Really stiff, really plush. Weighs a ton!
Probably lacks the fine damping control of Boxxers but it's cheap and cheerful.
I think it's only heavy compared to an XC fork, it's not bad at all for a big fork - about the same as a Totem I think.
Late Hijack- I will soon have some 180mm 302s for sale with tapered steerer, std & firm springs.
avoid the 302 - it only has a rebound damper
the Domain 318 is the fork to get - has an oversized Motion Control damper (as found in Pike, etc.) and its actually a very capable fork
however, if you get a 302 cheap 2nd hand or it comes on a complete bike, you can drop a MoCo damper in there for about £100 which transforms the fork!
I've owned Totems, Lyrics, Domains 318 and Fox 36s and the Domain gives 4/5th of the performance of the Lyric and Totem at 1/2 the price 😉
they're really good, and not that heavy.
the chrome steel stanchions are very durable.
the 180mm domains feel stiffer than my 160mm lyriks.
They're brilliant budget forks paired to the right bike.
I slapped a pair on a Giant Faith (now for sale in the classifieds hint hint) and it transformed it from a so so ride to something that just gobbled up bumps and drops in its path. They look big, and are a touch weighty but you soon forget that when you realize how good they work when hitting the rough stuff at speed.
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