How should I go about pimping out my hardtail?

[Bryguy17]

So, I have my old specialized hardrock comp that is currently my beater bike. It cost a grand total of $300 last year, and has gotten plenty of good use. Now, though, I'm thinking that I would like to start pimping it out a little and make it a bit more capable on the trails. Sure, I can ride it down essentially everything I've come across, but It's slow going and I get majorly beat up. V-brakes give me bad arm pump, and lack the modulation I would like. The fork is really flexy, really heavy, and has horrible suspension performance (straight coil springs with preload. no dampening on either rebound of compression).

Basically, I've decided to turn my somewhat XC crappy bike into an AM monster. I'm not completely sure how I want to go about it though. I'm thinking that I want to start with the fork and brakes. I'm quite sure that I want to stick with a 20mm TA fork for all my future bikes if possible (or 15mm TA where necessary, but I'm not going to be buying an '09 fork for this thing).

I'm very tempted to put a Fox 36 TALAS up front, so that I have a super plush front end that I can also drop down to the original XC geometry of the bike. I'm quite sure that the frame would handle the extra slackness, since the frame itself is very beefy/stiff/overbuilt. My only worry with that is raising my BB height too high going with a 160mm fork as opposed to the 110mm that's on there now. I did have a 140mm on there a few weeks ago, and it felt amazing, even with what was still about a 71* head angle. this leads me to believe that a bit slacker may be a cool option.

Perhaps I could go with a pre-2007 talas so that theres more fiddle room with the travel adjust, but I really like the lever action on my 32 talas. fast, simple, easily done while riding.

My other option that I'm thinking of would be to go with something along the lines of a Pike. depending on the spec, I would be able to drop it via U-turn if needed, or just stick with climbing a bit extended. It would give me a nice fork, but I really like the plushness/adjustability of Fox forks as opposed to the pikes I've seen/ridden on.

So does anyone have any ideas as to what I should do? I've got a lovely stimulus check that needs spending somewhere, so I wanna figure out what to do. Also, slightly related to this, would anyone happen to have a 36 talas (doesn't matter the year or spec) that I may be able to borrow for a weekend? I really want to see how the bike handles with the longer fork. The 140 felt really good, but it still was a steepish geometry for what I'd like to do with the bike.

Wheels are worked out already, and I'll figure out brakes when I get a fork. Whew, that was a lot of typing

Thanks in advance for any insight/help/funny anecdotes you might be able to provide

-Bryan

[mfoga]

Not sure but everyones thought on this. Nice inexpensive option 120mm-160mm and 20mm axle.
http://wheelworld.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=4930

[zbrown1800]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there some worry from putting that much travel on the front of an XC frame? I think the slack head angle and the longer axle to crown distance from a 160mm fork puts more stress in the welds at the head tube.

I have a 04 Rockhopper and recall reading something about a 110mm limit for the front fork for this reason.

[DeeZee]

[quote=mechmann;298058]my suggestion...

keep that bike as your backup.

buy a pimped out full suspension.

Turn it into a SS and buy a FS bike

[Bryguy17]

Originally Posted by zbrown1800

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there some worry from putting that much travel on the front of an XC frame? I think the slack head angle and the longer axle to crown distance from a 160mm fork puts more stress in the welds at the head tube.

I have a 04 Rockhopper and recall reading something about a 110mm limit for the front fork for this reason.

This is definitely true. I'm confident that the frame will hold up to what I'd be doing to it anyway though. Even though its labeled as an XC frame, it is by no means one. There is a LOT of weld on the headtube of the frame, and the headtube itself is rather beefy. Also, I'm pretty good about checking my bikes over for broken things, so should things go bad, I'll likely see it before it becomes problematic.

Most likely, if I got a 160mm fork for it, I would end up running it at a lower travel setting most of the time. For example, if I had a pre-2007 36 talas, I would dial it down to 150 or less for most riding to help be nice to the frame.

I'm really just trying to decide how I would like to go about making the bike more fun going down. I know the bike works well with a 130-140mm fork, but I'm wondering whether it will be any good with more of a 150ish. I really like Fox forks, and would love to have another one, but I'm not completely sure it would be the one for the job.

Mechmann, I already have a pimped out full suspension (08 trek fuel EX9). I just want something a bit different and a bit more lively. I always have a blast riding hardtails when I go back to them, and I would like to make my current one into something more brrappable for that extra fun factor. I'll probably also end up replacing the frame with something else a bit nicer, such as a knolly free radical

[Rockinthecasbah]

Id go with a pike and wouldnt run anything over 130mm

[art23rockpile]

Originally Posted by mechmann

my suggestion...

keep that bike as your backup.

buy a pimped out full suspension.

This is sound advice!
Maybe strip it down to a lightweight SS.

Build a blinged-out FS 'all-mountain' bike from the frame up. That way you can make it EXACTLY how you'd like it, and you wont have the issues of radically changing the bike's geometry by adding a 160mm travel fork to a frame designed for something else.

[Bryguy17]

Part of this is that I would like a nicer hardtail to be in my stable. I already have a 5" FS that's good for most of my riding, but its very refreshing to ride without the suspension sometimes.

Hmm. I think I may just go with the pike. perhaps go with the fox and just leave it at 130mm, since That would allow me to trade up the frame for something that will handle the full 160mm

I dont really care for weight on this bike. a 36 talas will be an improvement over the current fork. I would like a SS, but theres not much point with this one, since everything I'd be able to use is heavy. Hell, its already a 6 lb hardtail frame.

I do agree that I shouldn't be running the full 160mm on that frame as well. could screw a good many things up geometry-wise.