Suspension forks, weights, prices...

[Manc33]

After trying to rejuvenate my old cheap full suspension fork and a load of orange liquid coming out of them, its time to start looking at a new set.

I cannot stand how heavy this cheap fork is - its 2,500g!

I was looking at some cheap (£50) Suntour forks and those are also 2,500g.

At £400 there's a Suntour fork thats 1600g... which is not what I would pay for a fork!

So where's the "bang for buck" point?

Is there a £200 fork that weighs under 1700g? What about under £100?

I am sure somewhere there's a go between, something like a 1,800g fork thats say £120. Factor in that I would only ever be buying a used one and I suppose you can shave weight off that way. I don't even know of any other decent makes apart from Suntour (and the exotic ones like Marzocchi).

[Brucey]

....Is there a £200 fork that weighs under 1700g?....

no, not in the normal run of things.

The other thing you need to think of is what use you intend to put it to. Lightweight forks are often only suitable for modest XC use, but a lot of people expect to be able to do stoppies, front hops, drop-offs etc these days, so a lot of cheap forks are built rather heavy at present. You might find an older set of forks that look nice and light but if you fit a big disc brake to it (for example) you will likely just break it.

If all you want to do is ride on the road, with rim brakes, 26" wheels, weight bothers you, and you've got no enthusiasm for spending money, something like a used set of Rockshox Indy forks may do the job. Most of the used forks (of any kind) you will find will be knackered, and not all Indy models are any good anyway, but if you find the right set they can be as little as 3.25 lbs. But then again if you are riding on the road you probably don't need suspension anyway; a rigid fork might be a better choice.

When selecting a fork you need to worry about obvious stuff (steerer size/length, wheel size, brake mounting etc) but you also need to worry about crown height, factoring in what sag you will run with the fork.

There are (literally) hundreds of different forks out there that might suit you, but at your budget, new forks are out of the equation. Also, I'll say it again; most used ones will be knackered ; spare parts cannot be had for very many forks anyway, and even where they are available, it isn't really economic to repair forks in most instances.

This problem is so acute that, if you have a typical MTB with a couple of year's use on it (say) then once you factor in a fork that is knackered, and a worn transmission, it is often cheaper to go out and buy a new bike.

cheers

[karlt]

There's this http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockshox-30- ... 80704.html on offer at the moment.

[Jezrant]

You can find very good used examples for well under £200 of relatively light (a tad under 2kg) but strong suspension forks like a Rockshox on various other forums. Some people are never happy with what they have and upgrade perfectly good forks for something fancier. For the same reason, you can also find good used MTBs with decent forks for not a lot money too!

[borisface]

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mani ... prod117113

Manitou make greatly underrated forks.

[Manc33]

Cheers guys, its always a big risk spending that sort of money on any used item. Yes all I want this fork for is road riding, I just hate potholes that much, I want comfort!

After having a look I think its going to be between these two, both RockShox:

RockShox Reba RL Dual Air (current RRP about £200, weight 1,555g)
(available used for £100-£180) I saw a white one for about £120, black one for £140.

Rockshox SID RCT 3 Dual Air (current RRP over £400, weight 1,487g)
(a used one is on sale for £180)

A few people have said the older "dual air" were better than the "solo" ones that are from 2012 onwards.

So maybe the lower price isn't the only reason to get a used one. This is one thing I hate about bike parts, if we are in 2016 forget them having a fork from 2012... or probably even 2013 or 2014. Same with how you can't get XTR 8-speed or 9-speed parts new anymore, why doesn't Shimano simply keep on manufacturing them?! Yes all the newer stuff "takes over" but damn, some people DO want a 8-speed or 9-speed drivetrain and all thats out is a load of cheap stuff like Alivio. Even that is going to be phased out where you can't get 8-speed of it anymore.

I would say the second fork above is overkill, its like 50g lighter and twice the price (RRP) but would probably be a better fork, but once upon a time the first fork, when it was new, probably cost that anyway. Second hand prices... well a £600 fork can be on sale for £200 used and a £300 fork can be on sale for £250 used so its all up the wall like it is with bike frames. I have seen frames from £7,500 bikes go for £500! Just because it was a 2002 model or had more scuffs than anyone would like. Pah! I don't care about that. What am I, a show off or a cyclist?

Thats my ultimate plan - a 2.5KG suspension frame (urgh it will probably need to be carbon at that weight but there are Specialized metal frames at 2.5KG) and a fork around £150 that is 1.5KG.

Currently my frame and fork weigh 6,500g together, with a new setup it can be reduced to 4,000g. Thats 5.5lb.

-5.5lb for a £650 outlay... hmmmmmm.

The thing is once that is done I am never going to get a frame much under 2.5KG and I am never going to get a fork much under 1500g so I won't be daydreaming about owning such a bike, I will know by that point I am just about riding on the lightest stuff I can without it getting expensive. I sure don't consider £500 on a used carbon frame expensive if that bike used to be £7,500 for the complete bike, it would be insane even riding around on a bike like that!

Even that granniegear bloke does good prices on frames and most of his prices on other items are just eye-watering. I never realized the used prices were actually this low.

[Lance Dopestrong]

Find one that springs and damps well for a chap of your weight, and then worry about how much it weighs.

[hercule]

You could always buy a Moulton... Expensive but you can rebuild the suspension and get all the parts from the factory!

[colin54]

There's this http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockshox-30- ... 80704.html on offer at the moment.

I love the fact Decathlon put the price of the fork per kilo of it's weight ( £88.92/kg ),like it was a block of cheese, but thinking about it that's kind of what you're

asking isn't it ? Price / weight ratio, never seen that before, maybe it's an EU thing.

[Jezrant]

hahaha, missed that business about weight/price on the Decathlon site. Like you say, must be some weird EU regulation.

[Jezrant]

all I want this fork for is road riding, I just hate potholes that much, I want comfort!

Have you considered simply using fatter tyres at lower pressure with a raked steel fork? It will soak up the bumps, be lighter than a suspension fork, handle better and cost less. A MTB suspension fork for road riding is slightly over-kill.

[Manc33]

all I want this fork for is road riding, I just hate potholes that much, I want comfort!

Have you considered simply using fatter tyres at lower pressure with a raked steel fork? It will soak up the bumps, be lighter than a suspension fork, handle better and cost less. A MTB suspension fork for road riding is slightly over-kill.

I was wondering if there's carbon MTB forks but if they were beefy they'd be stiff I guess.

I am toying with a hardtail again lol, carbon frames do seem to soak up bumps, but I don't like how thin the road frame was I had, I hated how flexy it was, are carbon MTB hardtails stiffer while still soaking up bumps?

A hardtail with a suspension fork might be a better bet, a lot cheaper and there's no swingarm/shock to fail. The bike would be a lot nippier, it makes me wonder why there is rear suspension, its pretty rubbish on my cheap MTB and I think "that poor swingarm" if I hit a bad bump.

One thing I hate is how unbalanced my bike feels, but I think it needs 10cm wider handlebars or something.

If the bike leans even slightly the handlebar turns, thats not because of handlebar width... if a bike was a 1500g frame (hardtail carbon) and 1500g fork, it sounds like a decent blend.

[karlt]

hahaha, missed that business about weight/price on the Decathlon site. Like you say, must be some weird EU regulation.

No. Just idiotic website programming. I've seen it on power tools as well. I'd be willing to put a ton on it being that rather than an EU regulation. There are far fewer such regulations than people think - certainly more myths than realities - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35962999 is a case in point.

Manc, reading your deliberations, what you need is a road bike and learning how to avoid the potholes and ride over rough surfaces. It's a bit of an art, but it's not that difficult - the place for full or front suspension MTBs is off road, really - on road they're a bit like driving a Landrover up the M1 - yeah, it'll go, but you're having to waste a lot of energy moving a heavy vehicle with chunky tyres on a surface that doesn't need it. The purpose of front suspension is not so much comfort, but to keep the rubber on the ground as you go over bumps.

[Manc33]

Manc, reading your deliberations, what you need is a road bike

No because I came from a road bike onto the current setup, I'd be going backwards.

I was on a road bike for 2 years "tolerating" bumps everywhere I went, got sick of it in the end.

...and learning how to avoid the potholes and ride over rough surfaces.

You can't avoid it if it means riding into traffic though. This is what kills the enjoyment of it. I don't want to ride a bike and have a pothole dodging competition, I just want to ride a bike.

It's a bit of an art, but it's not that difficult - the place for full or front suspension MTBs is off road, really - on road they're a bit like driving a Landrover up the M1 - yeah, it'll go, but you're having to waste a lot of energy moving a heavy vehicle with chunky tyres on a surface that doesn't need it.

No I don't have "chunky tyres" on it, they are 700x25c with MTB disc hubs. The rims are about 25 years old.

The purpose of front suspension is not so much comfort, but to keep the rubber on the ground as you go over bumps.

No, it was endlessly vibrating hands and forearms on fixed forks on trails that were the reason front suspension came about.

I remember rides on my first MTB (fixed fork and I think aluminium, at that) and that was definitely a problem. Its OK after 2 hours of it, but after that you start wanting to stop to take a break from your hands vibrating, in fact you have to.

Keeping the front wheel on the rocks more might now be a reason 25 years on, but it never was the initial reason and isn't the main reason for having front suspension.

Surely keeping the rear wheel on the ground (like with suspension) is more important? Thats the wheel you're driving. The front wheel doesn't need to be always on the surface really because it isn't a driven wheel.

I have seen holes in the road that looks like a brick was removed from the road, I mean come on a SQUARE hole in the tarmac, imagine riding over that on a 700x23 wheel with 20 or 24 spokes at the back.

If I get a carbon hardtail (1300g) with a light suspension fork (1500g) this won't go much over the weight of the original 23lb road bike I was on anyway, maybe 1.5lb more, thats not bad! It will be on the exact same wheels.

I want full suspension (its just as important at the back for me as the front) and that will take it another 3lb or about 1500g heavier again. If I did that it would then be about 27.5lb as a "bare bike" without water bottles and battery packs. Thats using a high end FS frame though, its hard finding them much under 2.5KG with a shock. The prices of those things is a shock I know that. I have seen £500 frames being sold with £350 shocks on (used).

The bike I am on now is 38lb with water bottle and battery packs, now that is absurd.