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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spinout
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Post by spinout »

MartinF wrote: 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)?
The 'U-Turn' models (i.e. like mine) have on the fly adjustable travel 115 - 85mm, you just wind down a big knob on top of the leg. They also have floodgate (=blow off) and adjustable on the fly compression and lockout (i.e. pretty much everything you get on the TALAS). The next model up from mine let's you adjust some of this from a handlebar mounted widget.

The Vanilla R is rebound adjustable only (in Fox parlance R = Rebound, L=Lockout, C= Compression).

Check out the discussions on www.singletrackworld.co.uk. Go to the forum and type in Reba and TALAS for various discussions.

NB SRAM bought RockShox last year and, supposedly, have breathed new life into the products.

Cheers,
Carl
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Post by Al Donald »

Martin,
the Vanilla RLC with lockout will be more expensive, maybe over £400.
The lockout does just that - locked (at full travel) - although you can adjust the blow-off threshold to save damaging the fork if you then get a big hit. The Vanilla is not externally travel adjustable, so you're stuck with the full travel.
If you want travel adjust then you're back to the Marzocchi or the RS Reba like Carl's. The Reba sounds like a good option as it's air sprung which is easier to set up the sag for your weight (can also do this on the 'zocchi), but with the Vanilla you'd have to play about with different springs.
Compression adjust alters the speed at which the fork compresses.
Rebound is obviously the rebound speed adjustment.
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Post by Al Donald »

Just to clarify (confuse?):
The Marzocchi system ETA (extension travel adjust) as I undersatnd it allows the fork to compress to a reduced travel depending on how much force is applied and then stays there, but allowing a further reduced amount of movement. It's a very good system and allows easier climbing.

The sag is the amount the fork compresses when you sit on the bike. I would aim for about 20% of the total travel as a starting point and then see how much of the full travel you use during riding and adjust again. On a coil fork this can be adjusted using the spring preload adjuster, but if the range is not enough then that's when you have to change the spring. On a air fork (or coil/air) you adjust the air pressure.
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dro
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THE ANSWER

Post by dro »

Eureka

Rigid forks

simple and elegant solution

FOR

CHEAP
RUGGED
MIN. MAINTANACE
LOTS OF MATCHO STREET CRED !!!

AGAINST

slightly uncomfortable

(even more) FOR

So slightly uncomfortable that excuse to stay at home,watch television or go and socialise while drinking large quantities of {warm, insipid ,real ale}/{light ,refreshing,cool, lager}
delete as appropriate {***} with the money saved



Huw
What do you mean not ENOUGH wind ?
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Huw, you may well be right :wink: .

I think I'm just becoming "consciously incompetent", which is a step up from being "unconsciously incompetent" wrt MTB stuff.

IOW, I'm now getting to know what I don't know :-0. Except that fresh, malty, hoppy, largely-CO2-free, neck oil - in most of it's incarnations - is infinitely more pleasurable than pale, weak, frozen tasteless, insipid liquid that needs to be blasted out of its lifeless, sterile, container with vast amounts of CO2.
It's an ill wind that never blows at all.
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Post by Graham_U »

I thought Windsurfing was expensive, but you folks are starting make cycling expensive too. I thought I was extravagant when I bought my road-bike, but your talking about spending the majority of that on a set of folks!! :shock:

This MTBing also sounds way too much like hard work as well. I don't mind the cycling up hills, but its all this cleaning and maintenance that seems OTT.
Graham
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MartinF
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Forks and all

Post by MartinF »

Ok - trip to US delayed due to exceptional seasonal busy-ness - 13 cricket scoreboards to install up & down the country before the season starts!).

Soo....

Carl: How are the Reba's? They're currently my no 1 choice for forks.

I also discovered today that my headset is pretty shot - even after taking it apart, cleaning & re-greasing, it still feels like the ballbearings are cube-shaped (which they probably are :cry:).

So it looks like I'll be adding a new headset at the same time as the forks. Does anyone have a headset ball race bashing-out tool I could borrow?

This goes on top of the chain, chainrings, cassette, rear wheel rim, spokes & hub & tyres that are already on my list.
It's an ill wind that never blows at all.
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spinout
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Post by spinout »

Martin, still a little early to tell as I'm not sure they are are worn in yet.

Also I still have a lot to learn about fettling them. Basically there is an air spring at the top and another (-ve) at the bottom. They do come with a pump tho!

On top of that they have a lockout feature and 'floodgate'. Bascially you you can lock the forks out so they don't move much but then if you hit a big enough bump they blow through the lockout (floodgate) - this is also a setting.

Opinion so far is that they are pretty good. Maybe not quite as good over the real rough stuff downhill as the Marzochhis I had before (but those weighed >7lbs had 130mm travel) but much better for climbing

The other feature I really like is the U-Turn travel adjustment. Although my bike is desgined for long travel forks it doesn't climb well with them so locking down to >100mm helps.

Only other comment is that there's not much to choose between the team, race and sl models. I've got the Team with all the toys except pop-loc (the handlebar adjuster widget) but I suspect the Race or even the SL is better value. Main differences are a little wight and the SL floodgate is adjusted with a hex key rather than a nice gold knob.[/i]
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MartinF
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New Forks & headset & other bits.

Post by MartinF »

Bike dropped off today for a new pair of Rock Shox Reba Race Air U-Turn forks (I'm sure they could have added a few more items to the name :wink: ) and new headset.

New rear wheel (Mavic XC717 rim, DT Swiss double butted spokes, Deore hub), Panaracer Fire Mud Pro tyres, SRAM chain & cassette, Middleburn chainrings on order.

When I get my bike back - hopefully Friday - I'll whip the BB out, measure it up & get a replacement.

Hopefully, all will be done before the Dolgellau trip. :lol: 8)
It's an ill wind that never blows at all.
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Post by Al Donald »

Wow! with that lot on, it'll feel like a new bike! No more excuses for languishing at the back now! :wink:
Let me know how you get on with those tyres. The ones I have (Trailblasters) seem a bit slippery on mud, and if I can blame the tyre for my prang the other week I'll feel a lot better about it!
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Post by MartinF »

Al Donald wrote:Wow! with that lot on, it'll feel like a new bike!
I certainly hope so!
Al Donald wrote:No more excuses for languishing at the back now! :wink:
Hmmm. That remains to be seen. I suspect strength & fitness (or lack of) may play a bigger role.

My (Thornbury) dealer has found he can't get hold of the Reba's for 4 weeks or so, so I've had to order them elsewhere. May mean I've no bike this weekend :-0
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Well, it's been a difficult and expensive couple of weeks.

I received my new forks - RockShox Reba Race Air U-Turn's - which I had to drop off at the dealer's to fit as I was going to be away all week & need the bike for the following weekend.

The following week... The BB I ordered was the wrong size and the chainrings didn't look the part. So I switched to a complete Shimano LX crankset & Octalink BB which I then had to take to the the dealer to fit as I was going to be away all week & needed the bike for the Dartmoor trip (more under Trips forum).

During the Dartmoor trip, the new forks died (lost all travel) and, because I was away all this last week (sound familiar??) and needed the bike for the Wales trip, had to get Joy to drop the bike round the dealer to sort out once again. Managed to get home from Bradford today just before the shop closed & collected bike with newly repaired forks (new seals & new air cylinder).

Andy at Chain Life in Thornbury has made a lot of money out of my bike recently, fitting & repairing bits he didn't sell me in the 1st place. To be fair, he's done a really good job for me each time & has always managed to get the job done in time.
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spinout
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Post by spinout »

Wow, have you broken a mirror or somethingjavascript:emoticon(':wink:')?

No probs with my Rebas so far (touches woodjavascript:emoticon('%25-(')). Where did you get yours from?

Got mine at John's bikes in Bath (where I get a bit of discount) so I could beat them up if something went wrong.
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