Building up a new bike for certain reasons.

And I dont know what fork to go for.

I’m probably going to get a specialized HT stumpjumper alloy frame.

I’m pretty light (about 55kg).

I really want a remote switch on the handlebar to lock out the fork.

Most of my riding is trail/xc kinda stuff, going to the alps this year. Do a fair amount of drops and rocky stuff, so I was thinking around 100-140mm of travel. (I’ve seen some forks with allow you to change the amount of travel between 100-140 – liked the sound of that)

I want a pretty light fork, and good quality, something that will last.

MOST IMPORTANT : I do not want to have to have my fork serviced every 30 minutes of riding or something stupid. Every 6-12 months is reasonable.

I was thinking about either rockshox or fox (talas?), but probably only because theyre the only 2 brands I know that make forks.

Before, I had a Rockshox recon fork, and I dont think I ever bottomed it out, but it wasnt the best, and it didnt have many adjustments. It was 08, so coil.

Coil or air? Air is lighter? Any other differences?

My budget is probably £600ish

Any help will be appreciated!

Cheers.

while its technically true, it annoys me that people use alloy when they mean aluminium.

Alloy (basically) means mixture and is not short for aluminium.

Indeed, steel is also an alloy 😉

very much so. its one of my pet hates like people asking you to put your pin number in. I know there are worse things in the world.

as for the OP i own a 2004 specialised and it works, I’ve never ridden and rock shox or fox forks so i’m of no help at all

merlin are doing 09 reba sl with bar mount pushloc for £250. Great reliable fork. Lowest price i have seen for ages.

Or get one off classifieds for a bit less.

I’ve had four ‘motion control 32mm family’ rs forks (reba, pike x2, recon) and they have all been ace.

Check that the frame you’re buying is capable to taking a fork with 140mm travel. Wouldn’t want you to invalidate the warranty on your replacement..!

OK.. Also, what is the difference between 20mm thru axles and QR?

I would go for the 09 Reba myself…

difference between Maxle Lite and QR is one is a little heavier but meant to be a lot stiffer…. that being the Maxle Lite version!

The difference is marketing, unless your really riding hard then, apparently it’s stiffness. Either will be fine by the sound of your description. They don’t have recon and tora 20mm so that may meen QR

If £600 is for your whole bike then the recon seems like a good bet although even that may push your budget if you buy them new.

Have a look over on Merlin cycles, for £650 you’ll get a malt 2 with Tora forks. They also have some good deals on frames, forks and wheels.

I rate their bikes, wheels as I’ve been using them for a while and my first bike was a Merlin build.

£600 is budget for forks, not whole bike.

“probably going to get a specialized HT stumpjumper alloy frame”
“thinking around 100-140mm of travel. (I’ve seen some forks with allow you to change the amount of travel between 100-140 – liked the sound of that”
SJer hardtail is designed around a (low height) 90mm fork. Sounds like a silly plan for plenty of reasons. I’d try to decide if you want the SJer HT or a 100-140mm fork

” do not want to have to have my fork serviced every 30 minutes of riding or something stupid. Every 6-12 months is reasonable”
” fox (talas?”
The 2 are worlds away from one another

“It was 08, so coil”
They’ve made air ones for ages

Help, I know nothing.

Well the recon forks I had were coil, but looking at the lists they seem to do air only recons now.

Ok then, might start looking into a different frame. Any suggestions?

IMO, if you’re doing technical riding, a larger axle (15 or 20mm) makes a big difference to the fork.

Ok, I’m guessing I have to get a hub that will fit the larger axle, do hope proII come in 20mm?

And whats the orange p7 like?

or maybe cove stiffee?

You can convert Hope ProIIs as far as I know.

Hope Pro !!s can be eitrher qr od 20 mm with a very simple conversiuon kit.

I would go for 20 mm all the time

Pro: – stronger and more rigid. No chance of the QR/ disc / unscrew thing happening.

Anti – takes 30 seconds longer with a bolt up to remove the front wheel. Mazxle takes the same time
Maybe a few grammes heavier

So is the 20mm axle like a normal skewer but thicker, and without the qr fastening? Instead just bolts? So do you need a spanner to get the wheels off?

Real man – 20 mm ales come in different flavours. There are the bolt up types like My marzocchi – 2 pinch bolts to loosen and one allen bolt to undo then the axle slides out – takes 30 seconds. There are a few variants on this. Its like a motorcycle axle

Then there is the maxle type – flip a qr lever use the lever to unscrew the axle – no tools required takes 10 seconds

I prefer bolt up for absolute strength but I would accept that in reality the maxle is strong enough for all eventualities

So do you need a spanner to get the wheels off?

No. Have a look at some photos online, and you’ll see that, as well as the axle being larger (therefore stiffer), the fork does not have quick release dropouts. But, the Maxle releases useing its own mechanism.

I think you’re approaching this with a good level of enthusiasm, but are being a little scattergun in your approach. Work out what sort of riding you want to do – XC racing, downhill, general trail riding, a bit of all of them. Then do your research into the most suitable kit for your budget.

I guess I want a do it all kind of bike. Something that is light enough for xc, but still with the right geometry and travel for racing down the alps and such, as well as doing a few jumps here and there.

I’ve been looking into a lot of hard tail frames, and most of them seem to be steel. Would I be right to assume steel frames are heavier then aluminium ones?

Real man – no – not necessarily. You can get heavy alu bikes and light steel ones. Frame is only something like 20% of the weight of the bike anyway

Ok.. So what are the disadvantages and advantages for steel and aluminium frames?

And 20%? I thought it would be more then that.. I guess wheels and forks must be about 60% of it though?

RealMan – Member

Ok.. So what are the disadvantages and advantages for steel and aluminium frames?

Yes, I thought so.

However, still need some advice..

If you want to take it to the Alps and you do a lot of “drops and rocky stuff”, you should maybe look at a full-sus rather than a hardtail. If you’ve got a £600 fork budget, guessing the extra cost isn’t too big a deal!

Specialized Pitch or Enduro would probably be right up your alley. Also Santa Cruz Heckler, Commencal Meta 5.5 or 6, etc, etc…

So what are the disadvantages and advantages for steel and aluminium frames?

Noooooo. Don’t ask that, or we’ll be here for weeks..!

I reckon you want something like an On-one 456 or a Cotic Soul or a Maxlight Pha5e or a Santa Cruz Chameleon. Worry less about the frame material until you’re about 45 years old and having a midlife crisis….

Combined with a decent fork with (1) a bolt through axle and (2) adjustable travel, you should be fine.

Wheels can either be in the form of two sets – light for racing, burly for tough stuff, or just get an “all mountain” set in between.

Groupset sounds like SLX territory. Finishing kit needs to be functional, but not super light.

Have fun doing the research, speccing, saving and building..!

😀

No, I have thought about full sus, but just dont want to. Here comes another can of worms, but I think hardtails are just the only proper mountain bikes (although if I had the money, I’d probably get both).

If you want a full list of the kit I’m thinking about..

???? = havnt decided

hardtail frame – subzero, stiffee, chameleon????
fork – fox talas (still not sure on forks, air or spring?)????
wheels – mavic xc717 or xm819, dt swiss comp spokes, hope proII hubs, 20mm thru axle thing
handlebars – carbon????
seatpost – carbon????
saddle – sdg bel air, charge spoon????
cassette – xt
chainrings – middleburn
cranks and bb – hollowtech II octalink xt things
chain – connex 908
headset – chris king
stem – thomson
pedals – xt spds
derailleurs – xt
brakes – avid elixir cr (not 100%, but they look better then the juicy 7’s)
conti mountain kings ust 2.4????

Dont think I’ve forgotten anything.

The hope pro II are easy to change from QR to 20mm and back again.
With 20mm the forks are a lot stiffer. What about Magura Thors 140mm.
I’ve got Wotons and Menjas, the service cost for the Wotans was 80 pounds
inc P&P, and the Menjas are 3 years old, working fine with no servive

What about 15mm thru axles? And how are they different to 20mm?

Also, do you use the same size thru axles on rear and front? Or do you have a smaller one on the rear?

15 mm axles – a way of locking you into certain companies products. Pure marketing. NO advance over 20mm

Normally just a sandal qr at the rear

Given the lcak of knowledge shown is this a troll or would you be better with an “off the peg” bike?

RealMan – Member
What about 15mm thru axles? And how are they different to 20mm?

By about 5mm, I’d say…

😉

15mm are exactly the same as 20mm, just 5mm smaller 😉 (and lighter apparently) hardtails will have quick release on the back, so no need to worry about rear thru axles.

Well what advantage do you get from a 15 or 20mm thru axle on the front, that you wouldnt get from one on the rear? Is it something to do with steering?

And it would be easier for me to just a complete bike, but none of the builds I’ve seen really appeal to me. And I dont want to get a bike knowing I’m only going to end up wanting to upgrade it. However, I know very little about forks and such.

TandemJeremy – Member

Hope Pro !!s can be eitrher qr od 20 mm with a very simple conversiuon kit.

I would go for 20 mm all the time

Pro: – stronger and more rigid. No chance of the QR/ disc / unscrew thing happening.

Anti – takes 30 seconds longer with a bolt up to remove the front wheel. Mazxle takes the same time
Maybe a few grammes heavier

Yes I understand that, but why doesnt the same reasoning go for the rear axle as well? Why not use 20mm on both front and rear?