What fork?

[Silver]

Hello Ladies and Gents.

I have been riding mtbs for a number of years and enjoy mtb marathons, trail centers, fun and fitness riding and occasional commutes.

Having recently seen a good friend build his own bike this has captured my imagination and given me a belief that there is life in the workshop. I fancy an On One carbon 456 frame and will probably build with a mixture of XT and hope products.

My first question is this. My budget for a fork is £400. The bike will take upto 160 mm travel. Any suggestions will be graciously accepted.

Silver..

 

[Cubist]

There are some serious bargains to be had on Chain Reaction at the moment.
140mm Fox floats, (but you'll need a 1.5 head tube:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=49298

Browse their site!

Most of the On One frames are XC geometry, are you sure they'll take a 160mm fork? If you want that sort of travel consider Ragley Blue Pig, Troof and so on.

Edit
Just seen that you have said the carbon frame will take a 160mm.

 

[Silver]

Thanks Cubist.

I am also looking for advice and opinion on makes and models. for example should I look for a model with adjustable travel? The frame will take upto 160mm but is this wise?
What is the ideal set up for my use?

Silver.

 

[Silver]

Chain reaction are now showing a Fox float 32 RL for an amazing price. Does anyone have any experience of this fork?

 

[jethro10]

I got one of these in the summer
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=36039
£400 130mm travel

Manitou Minute MRD Absolute Forks 2009



Absolutley stunned at how good it is, I want to marry it.


Jeff

 

[e-rider]

what travel is the frame 'optimised' for?

Find out, and buy that length.

Going longer or shorter tends to be a bad idea IME

 

[Zoiders]

A lot of people "think" they need a 160mm travel fork - they don't.

You don't as a rule need travel like a jump bike on a XC hardtail, 100-130mm max for most trails in the UK is fine, if you like a pootle on fire roads and not too nasty trails then I would stick with shorter travel.

 

[Silver]

Thanks for your comments. I now have the frame, a thing of beauty. it sports a tapered steerer which limits the choice a little.

I will make the call to on one and find the optimum. Good advice gents, thanks again.

Silver.

 

[Zoiders]

If you have a look an the Goldtec/BETD page they sell drop in reducers that for over size headtubes and some intergrated headsets, lets you run a normal headset and any fork.

Fairly cheap and opens up your choices.

 

[NerdBirdA2A]

True that! Good buy!
Try ebay for some good savings.

NerdBirdA2A

 

[Silver]

Great advice from Zoiders and Nirdbird (thank you for the email).

I am having great fun spending far too much time on the internet looking for bargains. I have found a nice Fox with a tapered steerer at a good price, it has 120mm which is close to the optimum for the frame.

Next thought is should i go double and bash or traditional triple?

 

[Globalti]

Just to throw a small spanner into your works..... do you really need a suspension fork? With a carbon frame you will have a super comfy bike to start with and a rigid carbon fork would be the ultimate compliment for that frame. I have just fitted one of these to my titanium Global MTB and for 95 % of the time it really doesn't bother me - after all, I rode "full rigid" for the first 16 years of my MTBing life. It's only on big hits that the rigidity makes itself felt, bunny hopping a log or a rock or coming off a big kerb. I have got Ergon hand grips, which help enormously with comfort as well.

Here's the fork: http://info.carboncy...t=2&c=43&p=197

Here's the bike with the fork fitted:

 

[NerdBirdA2A]

Silver,
Have you had a look on www.rutlandcycling.com? I dont use that site to buy things but it helps to put prices into perspective. A friend of mine recently bought his son a bike from there and he absolutley adores it!
Hope this helps
NerdBirdA2A

 

[Silver]

Nerdbird.
I have had a good look at Rutland and they do have a good selection. I will have to look for greater discount if the bike is to stay on budget. The January sales are approaching............
Silver

 

[Cubist]

Hello Ladies and Gents.

I have been riding mtbs for a number of years and enjoy mtb marathons, trail centers, fun and fitness riding and occasional commutes.

Having recently seen a good friend build his own bike this has captured my imagination and given me a belief that there is life in the workshop. I fancy an On One carbon 456 frame and will probably build with a mixture of XT and hope products.

My first question is this. My budget for a fork is £400. The bike will take upto 160 mm travel. Any suggestions will be graciously accepted.

Silver..

Are you who I think you are? The riddling detective in me wants to ask whether you live in a paddock where the wood is long, and whether your username describes your barnett (note the deliberate misspelling of barnett for reasons you will understand if you are who I think you are.)