Some suggestions please...

The place for discussions on what piece might fit where, where to buy it from, how to fit it, etc.

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MartinF
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Some suggestions please...

Post by MartinF »

...for:

Decent, allround XC forks. Up to £300.

Good tyres for XC/mud/general use.

Rear disc (6 bolt) hubs

Chainrings

All thoughts/opinions welcomed.
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gerrys
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Post by gerrys »

Martin

You could always try these people...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com

Otherwise it sounds like you could do with a new bike -

Gerry :oops:
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Thanks Gerry - Chain Reaction are the people I normally buy from, but there are many other Internet bike shops. I've also found Chain Reaction to be very helpful on the phone, too.

I'm more interested right now in people's opinions of stuff that might have worked/not worked for them.
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spinout
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Post by spinout »

Martin,

Marzocchi MX Comps + ETA seem to be v popular and durable ( I have a set of plain MX Comp Airs sitting in the shed). I'm currently using Marzocchi Z1 Drop Offs which are longer travel and a bit more burly and V heavy. Current instantiation of these is the All Mountain 2 which I think Ian is getting.

However, you need to be careful you don't jack the front of the bike up to much if the frame isn't designed for long travel.

I've also heard good things about this years Rock Shox Reba and various Magura forks (particularly the Ronin and Phaon). THe RS are adjustable 85/100/115mm travel so give a range of options.


Cheack out www.merlincycles.co.uk who are doing a some good deals at the moment.

Manitou Blacks could also be a good choice but Manitou tend to have a different disk brake fitting than other forks.

Fox forks are V nice - However, they are pretty expensive and I have heard that they require more maintenance than say the 'zocchis.
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Post by Ian Long »

As Carl says, I have been recommended to fit a pair of Marzocchi Mountain 2s to my bike. They are similiar to the MX Comp ETAs that we have fitted to Neroli's and are very pleased with. The technology inside them is pretty much the same, the only difference is that they are slightly more robust with 32mm stantions and have a bit more travel (130mm).

The RRP for them is £399, with a bit of hunting around you will find them for £349, however the best I have found is with Noah's Ark at £315 - only a little bit over budget. With a bit of luck I will have them for next weekend if you wish to "try before you buy"
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Post by Al Donald »

Would agree with the comments above. I suspect your bike's geometry is designed to take a 100mm max fork, so Marzocchi is the one to go for (like Neroli's). I went with the Fox Talas fork mainly to match the rear shock, but I do hope Carl is wrong about them needing more maintenance! They have labyrinth seals which are designed to let out a tiny amount of oil on each stroke. This ensures optimum performance right from the off and continuing between services - i.e. until the oil runs out! I understand this is after about 18 months, so time will tell. (The forks on my old bike took ages to bed in, then got progressively worse and are now pretty much solid! Will probably bin them and put the old rigid fork back on and use the bike on road only).
Tyres: Panaracer have been very well reviewed. The Trailraker for muddy/winter conditions or the Trailblaster (like mine) for all-round use.
Hubs: Hope ones are very good, with cartridge bearings.
Chainrings: RaceFace are said to last longer than Shimano, but cost more. If you're not replacing the whole chainset you may have to stick with the type you've got anyway.
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

spinout wrote: However, you need to be careful you don't jack the front of the bike up to much if the frame isn't designed for long travel.

Manitou Blacks could also be a good choice but Manitou tend to have a different disk brake fitting than other forks.
My current forks are Manitou Magnums with (I think) 80mm travel, so I probably don't want to go for forks with much above 100mm travel. No probs with the disc mounts for me with Manitou post mounts either, as my brakes fit straight onto these: Much better than messing about with IS mounts. Something like the Manitou 2005 Skareb Super @ £349.99 would seem to fit the bill. Trouble is, I've heard that Manitou aren't brilliant for the money. Mine are certainly very flimsy & have a tendency to bend and wobble. Definitely v low end of the market stuff. OTOH, I've probably been pushing them beyond their ideal limits.
spinout wrote:Fox forks are V nice - However, they are pretty expensive and I have heard that they require more maintenance than say the 'zocchis.
Dunno about the maint, but they do seem popular. Trouble with the Fox Vanillas that were recommended to me (which I've seen for £319) is that they only come in 130mm travel.

Thanks for the thoughts.
Last edited by MartinF on Sun Mar 13, 2005 22:58, edited 1 time in total.
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MartinF
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Re: Some suggestions please...

Post by MartinF »

MartinF wrote:...for:

Decent, allround XC forks. Up to £300.

Good tyres for XC/mud/general use.

Rear disc (6 bolt) hubs

Chainrings

All thoughts/opinions welcomed.
Also need to add...

9 spd cassette

Chain

Disc rim & spokes

For the rim & spokes, I'll probably go for Mavic 717 & DT Swiss respectively - to match my front wheel.
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Ian Long wrote:As Carl says, I have been recommended to fit a pair of Marzocchi Mountain 2s to my bike. They are similiar to the MX Comp ETAs that we have fitted to Neroli's and are very pleased with. The technology inside them is pretty much the same, the only difference is that they are slightly more robust with 32mm stantions and have a bit more travel (130mm).
I get the feeling I'd be jacking the front end up too much if I shove 130mm travel forks in place of my 80's.

Any idea what that would do to the steering (ignoring the front end being that much higher when climbing - though I suppose that's what lockout's for).
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Al, be interested to hear how you you get on with the Fox's
Al Donald wrote:Tyres: Panaracer have been very well reviewed. The Trailraker for muddy/winter conditions or the Trailblaster (like mine) for all-round use.
I'll look into those. I've been recommended Continental Vertical Pros for good mud handling.
Al Donald wrote:Hubs: Hope ones are very good, with cartridge bearings.
...but very expensive!! They do seem to get good write-ups.
Al Donald wrote:Chainrings: RaceFace are said to last longer than Shimano, but cost more. If you're not replacing the whole chainset you may have to stick with the type you've got anyway.
As you'll have seen, the whole chainset's up for grabs, especially after mangling my large chainring today.

All in all, perhaps I should just save up & buy/build a new bike rather than trying to keep this one going?
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spinout
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Post by spinout »

MartinF wrote:
Dunno about the maint, but they do seem popular. Trouble with the Fox Vanillas that were recommended to me (which I've seen for £319) is that they only come in 130mm travel.
Martin, Fox Vanillas are internally adjustable for either 100 or 130mm (or 80, 100, 125 I think) if last years. i.e. you can do it in your shed but it does mean taking them apart.

I think it's likely that I'll be selling my 'zocchi Z1 drop offs as I wieghed them last night at a smidge under 7lbs. V tempted to get vanillas or maybe some Talas (if I can get them cheap enough).

Cheers,
Carl
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Post by Al Donald »

The Fox Vanilla is adjustable internally down to 100mm I believe. V good fork, but I would suggest that the Marzocchi would be better simply to get the ETA to be able to lower the front for climbing. You'll get the front wheel lifting and wandering otherwise.
Hubs: Shimano Deore are also very good, with double seals, and much cheaper.
A new bike with all the bits on? - now that is expensive!
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Post by spinout »

OK Martin,

Spent some time today researching this subject. Was offered some Fox TALAS RLCs for £450 but I've been hearing some very good things about Rock Shox Rebas. So... to cut a long story short I bought some Reba Team U-Turns this afternoon. 85 - 115mm travel and 3.6 Lbs (i.e. almost half the weight of my Zochis and less than the Fox). This range starts at £220 and goes up to around 350ish. Mine are not quite top of the range (don't have handlebar adjuster).

I'll let you know how I get on.
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Al Donald wrote:The Fox Vanilla is adjustable internally down to 100mm I believe. V good fork, but I would suggest that the Marzocchi would be better simply to get the ETA to be able to lower the front for climbing. You'll get the front wheel lifting and wandering otherwise.
Thanks Al.

Are you saying the Vanilla's DON'T have a lockout? According to the Fox specs, the Vanilla's have adjustable...
  • External rebound
  • Lockout
  • Low speed compression
  • Blow-off threshold
  • Spring pre-load
All of which sounds very nice, but I'm not sure what any of it means :oops: . I'd assumed that lockout was what enabled you to shorten the forks for uphill stuff?

Does anyone know of any online glossary of bikey technical blurb? Also a dictionary to translate between different flavours of manufacturer-speak?
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Post by MartinF »

spinout wrote: Spent some time today researching this subject. Was offered some Fox TALAS RLCs for £450 but I've been hearing some very good things about Rock Shox Rebas. So... to cut a long story short I bought some Reba Team U-Turns this afternoon. 85 - 115mm travel and 3.6 Lbs (i.e. almost half the weight of my Zochis and less than the Fox). This range starts at £220 and goes up to around 350ish. Mine are not quite top of the range (don't have handlebar adjuster).
Yes - they do look good VFM. Too much bloody choice!

Which length did you go for - or have I misunderstood & you set the length you require on each occasion (presumably not)?
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