Don’t get the XX World Cup version. The hydraulic lockout restricts the compression damper to either fully open or fully locked out. I think the damper it self is slightly focused on XC racing too. So you won’t get the super smooth damping you get on other Revelation forks

The older RTL Ti, Black Box or the newest RCT3 dampers are the ones to go for.

nice video, the guys have some good skills

I have the same problem as you, where I find Fox forks in their fully open position are too divey. I tried a few RL forks and CTD a never got on with them. But the RLC damper I tried was fine as I could dial in a bit more compression damping.

I currently have RS Revs and really like them. I run them fully open most of the time and do not notice the front end blowing through the travel. Same on a pair of RS SIDs, run them fully open all the time and now wallowing.

I also find the RS Rev chassis is much stiffer than a Fox 32 chassis.

But I’d speak to Loco or Mojo and see what your tuning options are. Could be a simple as changing the oil weight or a little tweek of the shim stack. Compare the options of tuning the fork with buying some new ones and go from there.

another vote for Welgo MG1 can be had for around £30 if you shop about. I’ve very happy with mine.

Or Carbon Cycles or Superstar both are the same design but rebranded get which ever one is cheaper. I think Superstar is normally cheaper but occasionally CC have them on offer.

sorry but the Hope Vision 1 is a joke! might make some sense while touring into the middle of no where so you can use easy to find AA batteries but for everyday use its rubbish.

over priced, low lumens, poor run time and use ancient LED technology.

and how much do those carbon rims cost?

no idea on your shock but usually its threaded on so just twist and unscrew it.

Yep just a clutch mech should be enough to stop the chain coming off. I was surprised how much the chain stopped moving and the lack of chain slap noise.

Shifting is much smoother too, guessing that’s because the chain is more stable so the ramps and pins on the rings can do their stuff better?

Also – does the lack of a mirror allow faster continuous shooting? It seems to, generally, but I’ve not really looked into it.

yep if you look at specs usually the mirror less cameras offer more fps than the DSLR with the similar engine.

I’ve been using Maxxis tyres with Stans rims for years with no issues what so ever. Ignitor with a Crest rim.

TBH your current setup is about as light as you can go while staying strong for a sensible amount of money.

If you want to go lighter take a look at the Stans Arch EX rim. Its lighter than the Flow but also weaker.

Or you need to look at lighter hubs DT swiss 350 or more fancy spokes and or alu nipples.

If the spring weight is correct for you then yes very good deal.

I have a old OEM version of the Rev which has basically the same damping as the current Sektor and thought it was very good.

Only recently upgraded the internals when something broke.

Do you mean the Fox Float Fluid? Then yes should be OK. This is simply a lubrication oil used on the foam rings and seals to reduce friction and keep your fork / shock nice and supple.

If you mean Fox suspension oil then you will have to check with the manual to see what specification oil is required in your shock and compare that with the specification of the Fox suspension oil. The suspension oil is used by the compression and rebound damping circuits so if the oil changes so will the damper performance.

The OEM ones supplied to bike manufactures can be anything according to what they have specified. Could be 120mm spaced down or specially made 110mm forks. Until you open them up you won’t know.

A compact will not be as good as a compact system camera (CSC) but the quality these days is very good especially when comparing with a 9 year old camera.

Many CSC also come with electronic view finders either built in or as an add on option.

As above, do you really want a DSLR? Or a good camera?

If DSLR is what you want then at any given price point pretty much all brands are roughly the same, there is little to choose in terms of performance.

Pop into a camera shop and see which one fits in your hands nicely and which menu and buttons you find the easiest or most intuitive to use and go for that one.

Any idea what this work might cost. I’ve got an old 631 steel frame that would like to modify to allow me to use shorter forks.

Have a chat to Clive Forth. I think he does stuff from FOD.

I had 1 to 2 lesson with him earlier this year and was very happy with it.

don’t need to do anything special. Just treat it the same as any other bike.

but if you really want, then treat it with waxoyl before building the bike up.

Yes the touch up paint is very thin for me too. You want build up the paint using many thin layers rather than one heavy layer.

I can recommend Clive Forth. I had a one on one session with him earlier on in the year.

He not only showed you how to do things but made you also understand the fundamental concepts. So if you didn’t totally nail something on the day you knew what you were trying to achieve and could practice it in your own time as you could analyse yourself and self correct.

On top of that he’s also a nice guy too.

my old phone was a Motorola Defy and I was thinking off doing something similar.

As phone I found it was a bit rubbish. The low end processor couldn’t handle lots of things going on in the background. I had to regularly go into the task manager and close everything or reset the phone to get a stable / consistent use from it otherwise it would just hang while it was thinking lots. Also weirdly found the phone struggled with WiFi turned on. But I guess thats not too much of an issue if you’re going to use it as a GPS computer.

But from a reset with nothing running in the background it was fine. Apps would work fine and response to commands were quick.

Has anyone got some useful links on rooting a phone a removing the bit you don’t want or need? I’m a massive noob when it comes to these things so a beginners guide to teach the basics would be nice.

The Rev is a great fork and you have the top of range damping internals so the forks should be great. I have a 2010 Rev u-turn (with newer internals) and love it.

I once tried a Sektor dual position and found it was a bit too linear and divy for me, I like a bit of ramp up in the mid to end stroke.

No idea if this was due to the sektor not set up correctly for my needs or a feature of the dual position system. Any one else experience this?

But as you’re coming from a coil fork anyway you are probably used to the more linear feel.

robhughes
Where does Dual flow come into this then as there are two rebound circuits where you can afford to have the beginning of the stoke very slow without effecting your main rebound

I use the dual flow the other way round. I prefer to have the beginning of the stroke faster to stop the fork packing down while the factory set end rebound tune stays slow enough not to buck me off the bike when I take a big hit.

On my single flow rebound forks I prefer to set the fork up slower. As I’d rather the fork packed down than bucking me off.

rob jackson – The idea is to have it not too slow so you forks pack down on repeated bumps and not to fast so your forks don’t spring back and buck you off the bike.

But the boundary for too slow or too fast will be personal to you. use the guides by people above as a rough area and experiment from that. Don’t be afraid to adjust too far and go back. You don’t always know where the line is until you have crossed it.

Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get worse and if needed put a frame protection patch or some heli tape.

FWIW – I love Maxxis Ignitors my favourite tyre by far. Seem to have as much grip as the High Roller but better rolling and more predicable when they will let go.

I hope Spec use a different carcass for the Butcher than they do for the Captain S-works. My Captains S-work 2-bliss versions had fragile sidewalls.

For the type of riding you describe sounds like the Pivot would be better.

The El Guapo is nice but really wants to be ridden hard on steep gnarly terrain. The Pivot is more of an all rounder and you don’t need to have big balls to get the most out of it.

The Alu version of the Mach 5.7 frame is also reasonably light and much cheaper than the carbon. I think with the XTR bits and similar high end finishing kit you’ll still come within your weight budget.

Yep I would change it. Normally manufacturers recommend changing every 3-5 years as they degrade when exposed to UV.

I also change mine if I’ve had a few falls on it. Even if you can’t see a dent, it may be compromised and may not work correctly when you need it too.

The rebound circuit on the Reba is more refined than his current setup and also has the Motion Control damper for compression too.

Some of the older Recons can weight 2kg+ so possible weight savings of 400-600g by going to the Reba and new ones can be found for around the £250.

I was also having a look on CRC and they have some great offers on Manitou forks my friend has a set and really likes them. They felt quite nice on the short demo I had. Worth a look to see if there is anything that meets the OP’s requirements.

Those On One deals look good not too bad also have a look at Merlin cycles they always have deals on RS forks.

The move to Rebas should be a very good one. The forks will be lighter and have much better damping and be better controlled.

For the type of riding the Reba is likely to see (XC and Trail) I don’t think a 15mm axle is worth paying more for. It has a very little stiffness increase over standard QR. A tapered steerer has a much better advantage IMO but not sure if your frame is compatible and you’d need a new headset. Unless you are very heavy or ride aggressively, stick with QR would be my suggestion.

Both bike have rubbish looking forks. Coil with what looks like no damping what so ever.

Chances are the coil will be too stiff on the Rockrider for her and the lack of damping will turn the front end into a po-go stick. At least the Spec has women specific version of the fork so might be better suited to her weight but still has no damping.

I’m with Stilltortoise on this, it’ll be better with a rigid fork.

What have you got at the moment?

We can’t recommend anything that might be better without knowing what the current benchmark is.

Are you new to mountain biking?

I ask because Swinley is very very smooth.

If you are new, then stick with you’ll soon harden up and learn better technique.

Also are you using padded lycra shorts? and maybe a different saddle?

Are you sure its the rotors they are talking about?

On the previous versions of Shimano brakes (M775 type ones) it wasn’t the brake rotor but the brake system that was recommended for resin or organic pads only.

This was to reduce heat build up in the mineral oil which doesn’t cope as well as DOT fluid.

If you don’t live somewhere which epic mountains then you are unlikely to build up enough heat to boil the fluid so maybe able to get away with running sintered if you really want to.

There are so many variables on a bike frame and its a constant balancing act. Change one thing on the bike and it will have an effect else where on the bike. hard to tell how it will feel just by looking at a few numbers.

I go on what the bike is designed for and forget the numbers. I’ve ridden short travel bikes that descended better than a long travel bike and I’ve ridden slack head angled bikes that go up hill better than a steep head angled bike.

You can’t test them all but you can do some research and narrow the choices down to a short list and try some of them out. If you try a handful of bikes and find one that really hits the spot, just go for it.

There maybe a bike out there somewhere that might be a bit better but if you’re having fun on your current bike who cares? You’re not going to demo the other bike (otherwise you already would have) so you’re not going to know its better. As far as you’re concerned your bike is the best for your needs.

The middle is not the optimum or the perfect compromise. Especially as the amount of rebound damping needed changes with your weight, air pressure and riding style.

+ 1

Generally, faster is better within a limit

See I prefer the opposite. I’d much rather my forks packed down rather than pop up too fast. Makes for a more stable ride.

Which backs up the suggestion that more experimentation is needed to see what works for you.

ermm … surely you can wind it fully one way then the other and just count it?

But from memory I think there is about ~20 clicks of adjustment from one side to the other.

I recently changed my front to a X-King 2.2 racesport. I’ve been riding it quite hard and I’ve been impressed with it. Rolls fast but with good grip and even copes well on loose stuff even though it has shallow knobs.

It was a slight faff to get the bead to seat with Shimano UST rims. I had to put a tube in to get one to seat but after that they went up in seconds. The sidewalls were a bit porous. But a bit of extra sealant and pumped up the tyre pressures after the first ride and they seem fine now.

The side wall feels a lot tougher than the old Specialised Captains I was running before and are about on par with most normal tyres I’ve used in the past.

Do you ride in a area with particularly sharp rocks or do you often get side wall cuts? If not I think you’ll be fine otherwise maybe its best to go for the Protection or UST versions.

+1 to Bail’s comemnt, buy one of those pre-set torque keys and learn what 5Nm (or what ever your rating is) feels like.

I too was way under the limit when I used a normal Allen key realised I could do it up much tighter.

Do you have a wave spring washer? I goes on the non drive side between the crank and the bearing cup.

I have a similar crankset but in MTB version. Didn’t come with the wave washer so I had a couple mm gap no matter how tight I did the cranks.