Fork Questions v Bike handleing

[BAD_S197]

My BMC frame has two settings for the rear shock area, 130mm and 150mm. I'm going to adjust it to 150mm and as in my other post, am considering a fork that does 150mm approximately.

In looking at posts someone said that a shock with a larger travel would throw off the ride and geometry.

I'm assumeing that 150mm was intended for the front of my bike since the rear is setup for 150mm travel.

Would either of these be ok for my bike? Is the travel in the front going to throw off rideability due to any angle increases?

I was comparing;

Marz 55ETA (160mm)
Marz 66 RC3 (180mm)
Rock Shox Domain - 302 Coil U-Turn 07 (100mm-160mm)



thanks
jake

[chongoblanco]

which bmc do you have? year and model

[BAD_S197]

07 BMC Superstroke 01

[chongoblanco]

Originally Posted by BAD_S197

07 BMC Superstroke 01

ooops duh???

for sure stick with a fork that is in the 150mm range like a talas which the 07 trailfox is spec'd with, a 66 would be over kill and would throw the geometry off. I wouldn't go more than 160mm on it.

http://www.bmc-racing.com/en/corpora...ll-suspension/
check there website?

sorry not familiar with all their models off the top of my head.

[jeffj]

Jake,

You might look into a fork like

http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/de...DOggetto=28061

or

http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/de...DOggetto=28062

http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/de...DOggetto=28055

These are adjustable from 130mm to 150mm travel. You could do it on the trail, but it's not exactly an on the fly type of feature. Still, you could have a fork that matches either travel adjustment that you also have on your frame if that's what you want to have.

There are still some new examples of these on e-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-Marzocchi-A...QQcmdZViewItem

It says130mm - 160mm on the title, but it is a 130mm to 150mm fork (it's what I have been running on my Reign for the past 1.5+ years):

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-Marzocchi-A...QQcmdZViewItem

Keep in mind that Marzocchi has a relatively long axle-to-crown measurement compared to some other brands and truly, rather than matching the travel in millimeters, you should be looking to match an ideal axle to crown measurement.

I know the a/c on my 2006 Marz All Mountain 1 is 538mm at 150mm travel and 518mm at 130mm travel.

The Manitou Minute 1:00 I originally had on it was 505mm at 130mm of travel (13mm shorter than the Marz at the same travel)

I don't know what the Fox 36 TALAS RC2 (100-130-160) measures a/c (I looked for the info, but couldn't find it), but I wouldn't be surprised if it was very close to the Marz 150mm forks.

Just some things for you to mull over....

[DBD]

Go with a 150 or 160 fork and be sure to use springs for your weight so can set it up properly. Same with the rear shock. If you are runing and air fork and shock then the adjustment is easy.

If you get the 160 you can run it a bit softer so you have a little more negative travel plus it will smooth out the ride more but make climbing a small bit more difficult but not much.
You CAN go with a 180 but you will need to run it very soft so it sits properly otherwise the handling characteristics will be A LOT different. It would be like riding that chopper the JSims posted in another thread

The difference it will make in geometry between the 150 and 160 will not be that big and if the 160 sits lower in its travel it will be about the same as the 150 when riding, I always prefer a bit more travel to help soak up the hits.

Any reason you do not list FOX? A FOX 36 Float (or VAN if you want a coil fork) RC2 or R would be a nice upgrade.

[mfoga]

Looking at an article it looks like the bike was speced with a Lyrik or Marz All Mountain 3 fork. I would say anything between 140-160 would be good.

That opens up some options.

Marzocchi 07 All Mountain forks or 08 55 series forks
Fox 32 and 36 series forks
Rock Shock Lyrik Pike

I would say no to the Domain since its going to be half a pound to two and half pounds heavier then any of those I mentioned above.

I have been looking for something like your looking for and have come down to basicly two forks the fox 36 Talas and the Rock Shox Lyrik 2-step.

[ericfoltz]

Originally Posted by chongoblanco

ooops duh???

for sure stick with a fork that is in the 150mm range like a talas which the 07 trailfox is spec'd with,
sorry not familiar with all their models off the top of my head.

Trailfox's are spec'd with either a 130mm Talas or Revelation. I run mine with a 140mm Pike. It slackens the headangle slightly but doesn't affect the pedaling efficiency. A 150mm would be overkill for a 5" bike.

For the Superstroke, look at the current specs for the Supertrail. You'd be good with anything in the 140-160mm range. The additional travel will just change the headangle slightly.

The Pike is a great fork.

[BAD_S197]

Taking all that into consideration...

I think I'll go take a look at the All Mountain SL1 ATA at wheel world. It's much cheaper than the ones I was looking at and you guys, expecially Jeff, knows what he's talking about.

I hate being off work, gives me time to spend money.

[mfoga]

What fork do you have in there right now?

[DISCO]

RS domain is a good choice and very easy to service, don't know about the Marz but the 55 would be my choice for this kind of riding after the Domain.

What is the difference in price?

and if the Marz has a quick way to drop the front for climbing (faster than cranking U-turn) you will be much happier. The bigger fork will only make it feel more choppered and harder to climb.

[dstepper]

I have yet to have a full suspension bike that I have not overforked....that is what travel adjustments are for. I hate going OTB on steep downs and want that front tire as far out there as the frame will support. I learned to get my weight forward on the climbs, to me well worth the safer handling on the downs.

Dean

[Patrick]

I used to run this fork before sucked into 29erville. This is a kick ass fork for twice this price.

http://wheelworld.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=4930

[BAD_S197]

I picked up the SL at wheelworld today but might take it back tomorrow, depends on what I narrow down. Someone said it's air only which doesn't bother me but then again I know almost nothing about forks.

[BAD_S197]

Originally Posted by mfoga

What fork do you have in there right now?

Marz Drop Off 1

[mfoga]

The fork you got is basically last years version of the 55 ATA. Air forks are typically lighter then coil forks.

One thing I am not sure if you considered is that if you don't have 20mm thru axles already you will need to change your front hub unless its convertible from QR to 20mm.

[BAD_S197]

Originally Posted by mfoga

The fork you got is basically last years version of the 55 ATA. Air forks are typically lighter then coil forks.

One thing I am not sure if you considered is that if you don't have 20mm thru axles already you will need to change your front hub unless its convertible from QR to 20mm.

The drop off 1 is a 20mm through axle and thats why I considered this fork when I went there to look at them. This way I wouldn't have to switch my front rim.

Is the SL1 a bad fork?

[mfoga]

Originally Posted by BAD_S197

The drop off 1 is a 20mm through axle and thats why I considered this fork when I went there to look at them. This way I wouldn't have to switch my front rim.

Is the SL1 a bad fork?

It seems like people that got a good one love it, but the problem is as many people have said Marzocchi forks are hit and miss in the QC dept. Past that its 160mm and just a tad over 5 lbs. I think it weighs less then what you have now.