I’m looking for a 2nd hand Coil Vanilla. ALL of the cheaper ones are QR, naturally, as everyone (like me!) wants bolt through.

My last 3 forks (Fox 36, Pike, Thor) have been 20mm axles.

Am I going to regret going ‘backwards’ to a QR, or am I fretting about nothing? (Bike is a mid-weight trail-y type build PA if it matters).

Not a fair comparison but I tried a Reba QR last year when I built a SS and after two rides put a Pike on it. I have Pikes and 36’s.

I think you’d regret it. They are noticeably more twangy than 20mm axle fork.

My last 3 forks (Fox 36, Pike, Thor) have been 20mm axles.

You’ll regret it massively.

Cobblers. Do it up tight enough and you wont notice for everyday riding, ie not DH.

I moved from qr vanilla’s to a bolt through this year and barely notice the difference between that and a tight qr.

You can easily convert a Float to a Van (add spring, change top cap) if that increases your options.

Ran that setup on my trail PA, found it fine, think I might notice it now having ridden with thru axle forks for some time but it wasn’t bad by any stretch just the thru axle ones track better through rougher stuff.

if your hubs can be modified to take a 9mm thru axle

one of these
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=286

improved the stiffness on my 130 mm 32 floats, though i still notice ‘fore & aft twang’ compared to my bigger 20mm forks (when riding very rough stuff)

I have 130 Vanilla Rs on my PA from a previous mount and wish it had bolt throughs off one of my other bikes for that little bit extra on descents.

Having said that they work reasonably well but blat through the mid travel all too easilly. The main reason they are still on there after a good years use is they are easy to drop a wheel out of for bunging in the car with minimal faff after a night ride, they are very reliable and plush. Oh and suitable replacements are just daft money nowadays.

140mm Pikes would be my first choice.

Further to what Kimbers says, On-One do the 456 hub that converts between 9mm and 20mm and I have one to convert my front wheel when I get opportunity. Not as good as a Pike or similar if you are buying a new fork anyway but a good compromise.

Nice link kimbers.
I just put some 140mm 32s on my mmmbop – QR with a 1.5 steerer. Tilting the bike over l & r can get the discs to rub quite easily, a slightly odd feeling vs how stiff it is up high.

Hmm, thanks guys, confirms what I was worried about at least.

You can easily convert a Float to a Van (add spring, change top cap) if that increases your options.

That is useful, I thought it was a little more complex than that.

I’m particularly after a coil sprung fork again. Perhaps a coil Pike is likely to be more do-able on a low budget than a Vanilla with a big axle.

I’ll see…

I thought it was a little more complex than that

The other way around is; massively.