I know its very old school and not really relevant nowadays but i love my Soul and can’t really justify/afford a change to full sus but my forks need a service and at the same time I’m wondering if perhaps i should try upgrading from my Recon gold RL.
I mainly cruise round the hertfordshie himalayas with an occasional blast round West Yorkshire.If anyone can be arsed could they give me their thoughts and recommendations/advice.
Thanks!

If it’s one of the old 1 1/8 straight steerer models, I went for a Reba when I decided to upgrade the bike as I couldn’t bear to replace it

Depending on which Soul you have, you might find it hard to upgrade overmuch. If it’s an earlier, straight steerer version, there’s not much out there that’s higher end.

Otherwise, I guess the obvious question is whether you feel the fork is restricting your riding when it is working properly. If not then servicing it and just riding makes sense to me. The usual thing with middle-ground RS forks is that the rebound circuit’s quite basic and they end up packing down on repeated high speed hits. If that’s an issue, something with a better rebound damper might make sense. Or you could look into upgrading the damper on the fork you have by sticking a better RS damper into it.

All that depends a bit on which fork it it, but swapping Motion Control rebound dampers into RS forks was quite popular a few years back and makes a discernible difference.

If you have a tapered headtube then you have a much wider choice of options mind. You can probably save a chunk of weight too, but again, it depends on whether you think it’ll make a difference.

Don’t know if that’s much help, but them’s my thoughts anyway. Oh, and don’t be down on your Soul, they’re still ace frames. The missus is still riding hers with a Reba up front and loves it.

Your Soul is as good a bike now as it’s always been. Upgrade away if you love it – why not :o)

(I have a couple of BFe!)

If you need a straight steerer check out Classifieds. There’s a pair of lovely looking NOS Marzzochi forks for sale at the moment.

This is all brilliant thanks……how on earth can I tell if it’s tapered although I’m sure it is?
Rebas do seem a good choice,I’ll never get rid of it it still gives me a twinge when I look at it and ride it….it’s beautiful.
I don’t know the first thing about them as you can probably gather but could you explain about the RS damper please ?

If the headtube is wider at the bottom than at the top, it’s tapered.
Otherwise it’s a straight steerer.

Aidy thats not necessarily true. If it’s a 44mm headtube then it can be straight zs or tapered ec bottom cup.

I have alway found this the easiest to understand.

https://www.hopetech.com/_repository/1/documents/HOPEHEADSETS2011Web.pdf

If it’s tapered and 27.5” wheel then I’d look for a Rockshox Pike or something like that to get a decent upgrade over what you have. The charger damper is a big step up over turnkey or Moco damping. I picked up a 2017 one a year or 2 ago for £270 ish secondhand and just changed the airshaft for the latest version (2019 debonair) and to increase the travel to 140mm.

It’s a 26” https://share.icloud.com/photos/0mvEZDgi_PTua1Wv7Qj34agpw#Home

I’m so sorry
a) I don’t know how to post a photo….if you click the link I think it works
b) I know it’s effing simple but my brain just doesn’t work normally…..can you tell me from the photo please?

Apologies

@timoth27 – whilst you’re right about the industry in general, in the specific case of the Soul, the tapered steering compatible frames are tapered head tubes too, so easy to distinguish.

@indiajazz – That is an older 1 1/8″ straight steerer Soul you have there. That’s awesome you’re still riding and loving it. As mentioned above, 1 1/8″ forks are very thin on the ground these days, but I would suggest trying to find something with 120mm travel, and if you don’t have a thru axle fork right now, and assuming your wheel is convertable to a different axle size, a thru axle fork will nicely improve the steering.

Feel free to drop us an email to ask specific questions. We’re still open.

Cheers,

Cy @ Cotic

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06aav-GmOotyJSJX3Y6E7I4iQ#Home

Cy,that’s brilliant thanks….one thing I did glean was that 120mm is good for the Soul.
I’m not sure whether the wheel can be convert to thru axle but if you don’t mind the ball ache I’ll put up a pic?

I still ride (sometimes) my Mk1 Soul. My old fork died and all I could find was a 26″ Pike with adjustable travel. As much as I promised myself to keep it at 110mm to avoid the frame folding in half on big hits, I ended up running it at 140 and it’s rather splendid. I think the frisson of naughtiness helps.
It goes uphill OK too.

My old mk1 soul is still in use as well – added a brand x dropper recently and a macride child seat and it’s my most used bike right now 😅
26 straight steerer forks are thin on the ground – I’ve got some old dual position Pikes on, also set at 140mm… 😀👍

Oddly enough, I put a dropper post on and didn’t really use it much – often forgetting to drop the saddle down steep descents. Back in October I bought a Giant Trance and there must be something about the geometry because I find myself using the dropper instinctively dozens of times a ride.

Quite a few people have good quality old standard kit hidden in their garage. When I built up my daughter’s bike some wonderful people on here offered up so many 26″ wheels and straight steerer forks that I ended up doing her brothers up as well.

That was a couple of years ago, but might still be stuff out there

@indiajazz Those Mavic wheels should be able to convert to a thru axle. Google the exact wheel model name and “15mm thru axle” and you should find something. Either that or call the Mavic importer.

If its any help, I used to run a 130mm Pace RC41 XCAM on my mk2 Soul and it was one of the best, most plush forks I’ve ever used. They still service them etc I think and you can pick them up for buttons so factor in a service and you’ve got a top notch fork which in my experience was a perfect compliment to the Soul. Alternatively plenty of options on eBay etc of DT Swiss versions (they bought Pace’s fork business).

thanks so much….i rang the shop where i got the wheels from and gave them the serial number but no info came up,he reckoned it could be a goer but its whether the parts are around or not and its a case of speaking to Mavic who are closed until further notice.
I appreciate your help and in the meantime have a look for those Pace cos they look and sound ace….!

There was a chinese site mentioned on here about 6 months ago selling straight steered qr 120mm forks from rs and manitou. Sun tour also sell forks for 26inch straight steered

I’d go used if you want 26″ forks. Some absolute bargains to be had… I’m going to be on the looking for some DT Swiss or Pace short travel jobbies when this lockdown is lifted for my new frame.

Another vote for looking for Pace or DT Swiss. I had a pair of both, XCAM40 and XMM140 from memory and both were ace. I’d happily but DT again if they weren’t bonkers money new in this country.

Otherwise if looking new, as said, Suntour sell what you want and some of their forks are decent enough. My mate got some 1 1/8th for his Inbred and likes them.