New MTB Forks

[colin-java]

Hi,

I'm interested in upgrading my forks, I have basic Suntour forks (29"), SF14-XCT-DS-29-100

I was interested in getting: http://www.merlincycles.com/rockshox-30-gold-tk-forks-29er-65859.html

The price is very good, they are 100mm travel, straight (not tapered), and have lockout, and will be lighter than my current Suntour forks.

With my current forks, if I compress them, and then pull the handlebars up quickly, there is like a bang when the fork extends fully again. I know this is normal, not sure what its called though.
Does anyone know if those rockshox-30-gold-tk forks shown above will have that same problem or not?

If anyone can suggest better forks at a reasonable price (£250 maximum), that aren't tapered, I will consider them.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

If your current fork (singular) makes a banging noise on the rebound then the rebound damper doesn't work or is at its fastest setting. This can happen with any fork and is not normal in that one would never set it at such a level for riding. A few clicks forward on the damper setting will change that.

You are not clear why you would want a new fork and I want to suggest you figure that out first. Reason I say so is because forks are quite complex and even the best fork may not do what you want.

You have to decide whether you require rebound and compression damping or just rebound. Then, do you want slow and high-speed compression damping? If you have lockout, do you want a remote lever or will a knob on the fork do the trick? Do you require an air fork or a coil spring fork? Now that you are investing in a new fork, is it time to go for a through-axle rather than quick release wheel system? Does your riding style and level of competitiveness actually require a suspension fork?

Often, once people have gone through an exercise like this, they realize that the entry-level fork does the job pretty well.

 

[Drago]

I've found the damping control on all Suntour forks to be abyssmal, Radons as well as XCMs and XCRs.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I've found the damping control on all Suntour forks to be abyssmal, Radons as well as XCMs and XCRs.

Abysmal in what way?

 

[Drago]

Unable to handle any real load no matter which way you adjust them.

 

[colin-java]

If your current fork (singular) makes a banging noise on the rebound then the rebound damper doesn't work or is at its fastest setting. This can happen with any fork and is not normal in that one would never set it at such a level for riding. A few clicks forward on the damper setting will change that.

You are not clear why you would want a new fork and I want to suggest you figure that out first. Reason I say so is because forks are quite complex and even the best fork may not do what you want.

You have to decide whether you require rebound and compression damping or just rebound. Then, do you want slow and high-speed compression damping? If you have lockout, do you want a remote lever or will a knob on the fork do the trick? Do you require an air fork or a coil spring fork? Now that you are investing in a new fork, is it time to go for a through-axle rather than quick release wheel system? Does your riding style and level of competitiveness actually require a suspension fork?

Often, once people have gone through an exercise like this, they realize that the entry-level fork does the job pretty well.

Okay, well basically, I would like to reduce the weight a little, and have the option of lockout.
I'm not really sure about all this rebound and compression damping, I would probably figure it out as I went along.

I don't need a vast amount of travel, 100mm is fine as I ride quite a bit on roads as well as woodland/canals.

I probably don't need remote lockout, I don't have much room on handlebars for it anyway.

I was considering quick-release as that is what the current fork is, I'm not knowledgeable about through-axle type.

Thanks.

 

[Crackle]

The TK solo air are OK, I've got them on one bike and would do for the kind of riding you describe and above if you progress further. I've also got x-fusion forks on another bike which are better than the TK solo air and should be a similar price.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Unable to handle any real load no matter which way you adjust them.

Load is a function of spring stiffness or air pressure, depending on the fork. It has nothing to do with adjustment. All forks can carry just about any load thrown at them.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Okay, well basically, I would like to reduce the weight a little, and have the option of lockout.
I'm not really sure about all this rebound and compression damping, I would probably figure it out as I went along.

I don't need a vast amount of travel, 100mm is fine as I ride quite a bit on roads as well as woodland/canals.

I probably don't need remote lockout, I don't have much room on handlebars for it anyway.

I was considering quick-release as that is what the current fork is, I'm not knowledgeable about through-axle type.

Thanks.

If you were my customer I would have told you that you don't need a new fork.
Weight reduction doesn't give you the performance upgrade you think it does.
Roads, woodlands and canals don't require suspension forks at all, just adjust your tyre pressure.
Lockout is for courses where there is a lot of climbing, especially out-of-saddle climbing.

You don't figure out the two damping functions as you go along. As it is, you have not figured out that the rebound damping setting can cure the rebound speed. Compression damping is so subtle that unless you are an experienced marathon/cross country rider, it will make no difference to you.

Put your money in your pension fund, go for a ride and drink a beer afterwards.

 

[Drago]

Load is a function of spring stiffness or air pressure, depending on the fork. It has nothing to do with adjustment. All forks can carry just about any load thrown at them.

I beg to differ. The phenomenon to which you are referring is preload. When you weigh 113kg like I do you soon discover what forks and shocks have decent compression DAMPING, and what ones simply blast through the final stages of travel overwhelmed by the demand put upon them, with little or no DAMPING effect.

On decent forks adjustment to ramp up the damping can overcome it and manage the loads imposed (though I still had my Rock Shox custom valved).

 

[MikeW-71]

I changed some Suntour forks for XC32 solo air, and the performance difference is remarkable. The Rockshox work properly... all the time, where the Suntours... don't. The rebound damping adjust actually does something meaningful, where the Suntours have none.

So much nicer to ride. They are a bit lighter too, which I will take anyway, but even if they were the same weight, they'd be well worth the money IMO.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I beg to differ. The phenomenon to which you are referring is preload. When you weigh 113kg like I do you soon discover what forks and shocks have decent compression DAMPING, and what ones simply blast through the final stages of travel overwhelmed by the demand put upon them, with little or no DAMPING effect.

On decent forks adjustment to ramp up the damping can overcome it and manage the loads imposed (though I still had my Rock Shox custom valved).

Nope. Damping determines how fast the fork travels. The end point is determined by the load and spring rate (stiffness). If you load 100kg on a given fork it will settle at say, 30mm from full compression. If you increase the compression damping on that same fork, it will still settle on 30mm, albeit get there a bit slower. The reverse is true for rebound damping.

The heavier you are, the stronger the spring (higher spring rate) you require. The damping effect is completely separate and like I said, only determines the speed of the compression/rebound stroke.

The final stages of travel you refer to can be controlled by specialized compression damping systems that regulate the speed differently for different parts of the stroke. Also, final stages of travel are completely different for air or coil forks. With an air fork the spring stiffness (spring rate) increases with compression and on a coil fork, it is completely linear.

 

[mrbikerboy73]

Hi,

I'm interested in upgrading my forks, I have basic Suntour forks (29"), SF14-XCT-DS-29-100

I was interested in getting: http://www.merlincycles.com/rockshox-30-gold-tk-forks-29er-65859.html

The price is very good, they are 100mm travel, straight (not tapered), and have lockout, and will be lighter than my current Suntour forks.

With my current forks, if I compress them, and then pull the handlebars up quickly, there is like a bang when the fork extends fully again. I know this is normal, not sure what its called though.
Does anyone know if those rockshox-30-gold-tk forks shown above will have that same problem or not?

If anyone can suggest better forks at a reasonable price (£250 maximum), that aren't tapered, I will consider them.

Thanks for any advice.

The bang your forks are making is called "top out" and it is an unwanted downside to many cheap or entry level forks. Often adjusting the preload on such units makes little or no difference.
The Rockshox will be a superior fork in every way and almost certainly won't top out if set up properly.

 

[colin-java]

Thanks

The bang your forks are making is called "top out" and it is an unwanted downside to many cheap or entry level forks. Often adjusting the preload on such units makes little or no difference.
The Rockshox will be a superior fork in every way and almost certainly won't top out if set up properly.

Thanks for replies, some varied advice there...

I will have to think about it, would be nice to try them really so I can see the difference, but thats not really possible.
The top out thing is not really an issue, its just something I noticed when I got bike and I was playing about with it.
But would be nice to take some weight off, its 15kg currently (cannondale trail 6), and would be nice to have the option to lockout as well.
Will cost £188, which is a good price for those forks, they are £230 in other shops.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

The bang your forks are making is called "top out" and it is an unwanted downside to many cheap or entry level forks. Often adjusting the preload on such units makes little or no difference.
The Rockshox will be a superior fork in every way and almost certainly won't top out if set up properly.

Adjusting the preload in an attempt will never, not often, make a difference to top-out.
Preload has nothing to do with top-out.