noob question about forks (i'm looking to upgrade!)

[chevrolegs]

hey guys, so i bought an old stumpjumper a few years ago.. 1998 model.. and being the noob that i was i bought the wrong size. so then i bought a new frame, supergo, and got all the parts swapped onto it.. everything is cool but the front fork just isn't doing it for me anymore, it's old and its blown, bounces like crazy.. so i'm looking into upgrading to something like a marzocchi fork. question is.. the steerer tube length, from what part to what part do i measure to get the exact measurements for that.. and also, on ebay sometimes they don't state whether or not the forks are disc or v-brake compatible, what do i look at for that?... i want a fork for now that i can swap my v-brakes onto but somewhere along the line i'll be in the market for some discs.

any help would be appreciated, if someone has something for sale, lmk!

picture of my bike

[stinky180]

im also on the quest of upgrading the fork on my 03' giant boulder se. any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[strobelite]

what fork is the one you have now?

on the boulder, get like a dart with rebound adjustment, then put your pennies away for something with full susp.

[Jeryang]

My comment has nothing to do with the fork. I just saw your civic and can't help but be reminded of my black, 2-door honda civic. Mine was a 96 which was the first year of your generation civic. I sold it to get a bigger car for the kiddos. I miss my black beauty.

[jeffj]

Measure from the bottom of your headset on the bottom of the headtube to the top of the headset on the top of the headtube and then add what ever additional length needed for any spacers present (or needed) and whatever needed to accomodate your stem. Better to get one a little too long and you can either use spacers or cut it, but you can't add to a steerer tube.

How much are you looking to spend on a fork?

Buying used forks can be a crapshoot. In addition to steerer tube length issues, anything from scratched stanchions, leaking seals/cartridges, little broken parts (both internally and externally), lost knobs, worn bushings, etc., to just needing to be overhauled as a part of regular maintenance can add up quickly and make a good deal go bad in a hurry. Shop very carefully unless you buy very cheap knowing it needs work (even then, it may not be a great deal).

Things can (and do) happen to new forks too (all brands), but at least you have a warranty to fall back on and give you some peace of mind.

[Rockinthecasbah]

I have bought a couple used forks with no problems, ask questions from the seller, and stick to a higher end model, no reason to not buy a used fork unless its a marz

[strobelite]

i love my marz forks rick, you just got lemons.

[Rockinthecasbah]

Originally Posted by strobelite

i love my marz forks rick, you just got lemons.

multiple lemons that was thr problem I don't like forks being hit or miss, I have ridden 66's that worked fantastic but I have also ridden 4x world cup, all mountains and 55/66's that were junk and I dont think you should have to buy a fork and then take it apart and re-shim it to work properly

[chevrolegs]

thanks for the input guys, as for full suspension.. i think im going to ride hardtail for now. i don't do any real crazy riding.. mainly just for cardio.. only been riding the loop and telegraph.. do you guys think a dart fork would be sufficient? i see a lot of those brand new on amazon and ebay and i guess that would save me the questions of whether or not im buying a bad fork..?

[DISCO]

dart's are very cheap, for the money get a Tora or used reba.

[Rockinthecasbah]

a reba would be an awsome upgrade, the gate control with a hardtail lets you stand and mash, the dart is pretty bulletproof but is heavy, if you just looking for a cheap fork that gets the job done you will be perfectly happy with the dart, if you want to step it up go reba,

[chevrolegs]

hm alright, i'll look into that.. one last question though! so since my bike is mainly XC.. i can ONLY look into forks with max travel of 80mm? no 100's?

[jeff^d]

Taken from http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=111:



If it doesn't state which type of brakes they're compatible with, it's pretty easy to tell with decent pictures. Look for the posts to mount v-brakes on, or the disc mount which is on the bottom of the left leg. Remember that you'll need a compatible hub for disc brakes.

I recommend going with an air fork when you upgrade, it'll be much lighter and more tunable. The Tora or Reba would suit you well and they are priced right.

Update: You can look at 100mm forks, just remember that it'll change the handling. More travel will relax your bike, it'll handle slower but should feel more stable. Shorter travel works the other way around. I wouldn't look at anything more than 100mm though.

[stinky180]

the fork that is currently on my boulder is:
RST Capa TL, 3" travel w/pre-load adjustment

its the original fork from 03' and works fine.

so it isn't really necessary to cut the steer tube when installing a newer fork? do you want any of the steer tube to be seen with the headset and stem installed?

[mfoga]

Originally Posted by stinky180

the fork that is currently on my boulder is:
RST Capa TL, 3" travel w/pre-load adjustment

its the original fork from 03' and works fine.

so it isn't really necessary to cut the steer tube when installing a newer fork? do you want any of the steer tube to be seen with the headset and stem installed?

You dont want any of the steer tube to be seen thats whats the spacers are for.

[stinky180]

thanks a bunch, that pretty much clears most of my questions. time to go shopping.

[strobelite]

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/167...-Fork-2008.htm
a friend of mine has this one, and it rides great.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...n+Fork+07.aspx i had one similar to this, and it worked great. the travel shouldnt be too much, and you can wind it down.

[chevrolegs]

alright well i went to some bike shops to get some suggestions.. one guy told me the dart and the tora are exactly the same except the stanchions(sp?) are bigger.. so i thought, hm maybe i'll just go with the dart since i don't do any crazy riding, so then i asked about disc brakes and it turns out that my wheels don't support discs.. basically, i was quoted about 3-400 to get a new fork, discs, and wheels.. too much! haha i love my bike but it looks like i'm going to sell it and take over my brothers bike that he doesn't ride anymore, 03 rockhopper fsr.. i really wanted to stick to a hardtail too.. oh well

[strobelite]

look at the links above that i posted earlier. i know that at least the marzocchi is v-compatible. 139$

[RS VR6]

The two forks that strobelite linked look to support v brakes. No need to go disc. Both are cheap too.