Numpty suspension fork question

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Hi,

some of you might remember that I asked questions before about finding an 80mm fork with lockout to stick on my trek 4300 that's not ridiculously expensive for a £300 bike (current forks are RST Gila ones). With christmas round the corner, I think I might just be able to squeeze one in on the wishlist, so the question has popped up again, although the choices have been narrowed down...

None of the rockshox darts, etc that would be the obvious choice are available seperately with the 80mm and lockout, only on new bikes. So, from my previous posts, the general consensus was to go for a tora such as this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?modelID=13113 and just to leave the adjustable travel at 85mm which is the closest I can get to the 80 I want.

However, browsing around I also found this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?modelID=21988 which to me looks like the same fork without the adjustable travel and £20 cheaper, so in theory ideal. Am I missing any major difference apart from the travel adjustment between the two? Would both be suitable for my bike? And would both work with v-brakes?

Sorry if this is a really stupid question...just don't want to buy a fork that then won't work and really havn't got a clue about forks and the differences between them...

Also, if I did order it online, any idea how much it would cost to get it fitted by the lbs?
 

bonj2

Guest
the cheaper ones are the 2007 model, looks like they've just added adjustable travel for 2008, but you might want that so consider getting the more expensive ones. You can just turn it to low travel when going on roads/up hills and increase travel when more bumpy. I'd personally spend the extra £20 but it's up to you.
And yes both will work with v-brakes, those little posts you can see just above the rockshox logo are the v-brake bosses,that's what you attach the brakes to.
As to how much it would cost to get it fitted, don't know - probably varies. try ringing round a few, or better still, take your old forks off, then take both into the lbs and ask them to just swap the crown race and star fangled nut over to your new forks. THat's the hardest bit, but they'll probably do it while you wait and might not even charge if you use your womanly charm. Then it's very easy to just put your new forks on your bike yourself. Just remember the order in which the bits of the headset go and put them back on in the same order, grease the bearings but not the steerer tube itself, and tighten the stem top cap quite tight but not too too tight before tightening the stem bolts, and you can't go wrong.
 
OP
OP
punkypossum

punkypossum

Donut Devil
bonj said:
the cheaper ones are the 2007 model, looks like they've just added adjustable travel for 2008, but you might want that so consider getting the more expensive ones. You can just turn it to low travel when going on roads/up hills and increase travel when more bumpy. I'd personally spend the extra £20 but it's up to you.
And yes both will work with v-brakes, those little posts you can see just above the rockshox logo are the v-brake bosses,that's what you attach the brakes to.
As to how much it would cost to get it fitted, don't know - probably varies. try ringing round a few, or better still, take your old forks off, then take both into the lbs and ask them to just swap the crown race and star fangled nut over to your new forks. THat's the hardest bit, but they'll probably do it while you wait and might not even charge if you use your womanly charm. Then it's very easy to just put your new forks on your bike yourself. Just remember the order in which the bits of the headset go and put them back on in the same order, grease the bearings but not the steerer tube itself, and tighten the stem top cap quite tight but not too too tight before tightening the stem bolts, and you can't go wrong.


Thanks bonj! I think I'll stick to the lbs option anyway, don't feel like experimenting with a brand new pair of forks somehow...

As for the travel, the frame only takes up to 100mm anyway and I don't want to go higher than 80 as the front end of the bike is already quite high. Also, trek have told me it would invalidate the frame warranty if I stuck on a fork with potentially higher travel as I wouldn't be able to prove I didn't run it at 135mm...

So the cheaper one should be fine then????
 
OP
OP
punkypossum

punkypossum

Donut Devil
Hooray, it's arrived! Looks beautiful, just need to get it fitted now! :evil:
 
Top Bottom