My TranceX2 came with an F120 QR fork, and a built my Boardman Team with the Tora 305 Coil 85-130 QR from the old hardtail. A friend suggested this was the wrong way around.
The F120 is uber light but a bit too wibbly for the speed of the TranceX so putting it on the Boardman should make that bike a really nippy XC machine. Conversely, the Tora is longer, stiff and chunky so should suit the TranceX. So I swapped them and have been riding both bikes to see if they should stay like this. I'd say it almost works:
The Boardman is much better with the F120. It's better balanced, nippy and you can throw it around easily. I need to trim the steerer, but otherwise it wants to be on that bike.
The TranceX is a mixed result. Weirdly, despite adding a kilo in extra weight on the nose, it seated climbs much better for it. With the F120, it was too nose light and a battle to control. Now I have been able to move the saddle back and create more room too. Downhill is less clear cut. The extra stiffness and slackness is positive. But the damping performance is shown up by the rear suspension. Several times I've nailed into rocks or roots where the fantastic rear suspension is perfectly behaved, to be nearly thrown off by the fork – it's just not active enough to keep up with the bike.
Looks like I'm in the market for a stiff but very active 140mm QR fork weighing about 2kg.
