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[Closed] Help, newbie lost in the minefield of fork choice
I am new to mountain biking and recently bought a specialised hard rock disc pro to get me started and commute to work. I am really getting bitten by the bug and upgraditis has already started. I think the plan (for now) is to keep my current bike and upgrade the forks from the standard sun tours which seem very 'budget'. i have been looking around at what is on offer and various prices but I really don't understand the various options (air / coil etc). Can anyone give me a newbies idiots guide to fork selection.
Use of bike is commuting in the week and then trail riding (cannock chase) on the weekend and also like to get into some more downhill in the future.
Long term plans are to keep this bike (with just minor mods) and also get a second better quality bike for the 'heavier duty' stuff
Cheers
Mark
Make sure you get a fork with the right amount of travel for your bike.
Air is lighter and easily adjustable, coil is heavier but plusher and less adjustable.
Different axles are available but you're going to want to stick to a standard qr for the time being.
It's hard to know how far to go up the price ladder isn't it!
If you intend to buy a complete new bike for dedicated MTB use at a later date, then it might be better not to overspend on this fork upgrade. Or you could get a fancy fork and move that to a new bike frame, putting a light, rigid fork on the Hardrock making it a dedicated commuter.
I think Rockshox have the best range/quality of low to mid priced suspension forks. Assuming your bike is 9mm axle with QR, there a lot of bargains about because bike producers and riders are moving to 15/20mm axles with bolt thru. Have a look online at Wiggle, CRC, Merlin and many others. Look for one with motion control damping if you afford it. Carefully match the permitted travel of your frame too.
Happy shopping!
As per akira & B-L
Though you may get away with +10 or 20mm in travel without upsetting the bike handling to much.
Additionally:
U-Turn/Tala's or whatever "Travel adjust" term - as it suggests you can change the travel as your out riding, without the need to strip the forks. I like it and use it on my bikes, but other find it a faff or just forget to use the option, so it could be a additional cost for something you'll never need.
You'll find that if a fork has a "travel adjust" brother or sister, they usually also have their travel adjusted by use of internal spacers too.
Push-loc/pop-loc/TST/lock-out - you need to look at the manufacturer specifc info, but most of there are a way of stiffening your fork travel, so that on road sections you aren't loosing power whilst 'bobbing' up and down. A great feature if you mean to use the bike for commuting.
You'll get a lot more fork for your money if you buy second hand, though then you run the risk of buying a worn out fork which could cost as much as a new fork to repair (when including the purchase price)... Might not be you best option if this is your first dabble into replacing part on your mtb.
Again as per B-L, my personal choice would be some Rockshox forks, but other are available.
I'd suggest depending on your budget - Tora's if your skint (heavy but effective), Recon's (again still heavy but more adjustment) if you have a bit more or Reba's if you can afford it. Any of these would be a fairly decent fork and around the travel you want for the rockhopper (100-130mm) and are very user servicable
Excellent chaps, thats going to help me narrow down the choices. I have been looking on chain recation and I was blow away by all the variations in size, travel, adjustment etc so I didn't know where to start.
Still going to use the hard rock for trails as well as commuting so I plan on going for a mid range fork and then maybe a full on bike in a year or two's time.
this is supposed to be m cheaper hobby while the kit car is tucked up in the garage, LOL yeah right. Back to sneaking parcels into the garage before the Mrs sees them. 😉
BAck to sneaking parcels into the garage before the Mrs sees them
Welcome to the club fent - enjoy!
my mate has that bike, just started last year and he's put a set of Reba SL 100mm travel. really suits the bike, have a look on Merlin cycles pretty cheap on there too but you need a QR not a through axle