c-dale upgrade time

[FyrFytrRyn]

so i bought a cannondale jekyll 600 a while back. i really like the bike and almost everything about it. i have only one complaint, the headshok. i know cane creek sells the adapter headset, so thats covered. so what im looking for is a decent fork that wont kill my wallet. from what i understand my bike is more of a xc bike than anything else, which is what i wanted, but i do occasionally get a few feet of air (unintentional) and the 2.50" of travel just isnt cutting it. maybe even a smooth 2.5" would be nice, but since its an air shock its so rough. any lower pressure and i constantly bottom, and i cant put anymore in it, so all suggestions are welcome! also, im currently still running v brakes and would like to keep it that way, but if i have to get a fork thats only disc compatible, is it a bad idea to run disc only front for a while? the rear has a fox float RL i believe, and im down to 208lbs, and im about 6'' tall. heres a shot of the bike for reference. thanks in advance!

[ECOdork]

2.5" = 64 mm?

Not sure what the other specs are but you could probably get away with something 80 - 100mm. You want to make sure that doesn't mess with the geometry too much.

Lots to choose from depending on what you want to spend. Rock Shox has saved face and put out some good--yet affordable--forks recently. Lots of other brands have light 80 mm forks too.

Probably wouldn't be the end of the world to run disc up front and v in back. Though once you taste the stopping power of the disc, you'll give in...

[Skeeter]

Originally Posted by ECOdork

Probably wouldn't be the end of the world to run disc up front and v in back. Though once you taste the stopping power of the disc, you'll give in...

Yeah but discs in the back wont make a big difference. 80%(thanks Gurp) of your stopping power comes from the front disc so not really important to do the back.

[FyrFytrRyn]

yeah, i ride moto-x and street bikes, so i know exactly what the 80% theroy comes from, but im going to eventually go full disc. also, i decided to just get a traditional fork instead of a rebuilt or magura unit in a headshok, from what i have heard, you can trick these headshocks out as much as you can, but they still arent as good as a decent trad. fork (in some respects). so now my question is, whats a decent 4-5" travel fork that has v and disc mounts?, because i wont be able to get brakes ontop of the forks, headset, and stem all at once. ECO, i cannot go above 105-110 MM or its gonna go nuts on my geometry, i guess its about 80mm, not 65.

currently looking @
Marzocchi MX Comp Eta/Tas 100/120 '06
Marzocchi all mountain 3 '05
Manitou Axel Super '06

all other fork suggestions are welcomed, thanks again. also, suggestions on stems.

how good are these? if its good im gonna purchase tonight.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...x+Comp+06.aspx

[CalEpic]

With the assumption that your frame takes a traditional 1 1/8" steerer, I would look for a Fox 80rl oem takeoff. light, pretty good performance and you should be able to find one cheap. V and disc brake compatible.

C

[tkblazer]

i have a marzocchi marathon xc i am going to put up for sale soon that has adjustable travel, but may be too much travel for you. it has disc and v brake mounts

[FyrFytrRyn]

cal epic, it will accept 1 and 1/8 if i buy the cane creek set... where would i find this fox fork? tk, how soon would you be selling it? how much travel is it? i whats the general consensus of this fork?
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...100120+06.aspx

so i currently have this in my shopping cart:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...ducing+Hs.aspx
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...100120+06.aspx
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...y+Stem+Oe.aspx

hows that look?, i mean im not gonna buy it, im just pricin stuff for now.

[tkblazer]

the fork is currently no longer in use since i purchased a new fork for the new frame i'm having built up. i looked it up and the travel is 105-120mm. its originally about a $600 or so fork but i'll probly let it go pretty cheap since its about a year and a half old.

it looks like this

[CalEpic]

Originally Posted by FyrFytrRyn

cal epic, it will accept 1 and 1/8 if i buy the cane creek set... where would i find this fox fork? tk, how soon would you be selling it? how much travel is it? i whats the general consensus of this fork?
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...100120+06.aspx

so i currently have this in my shopping cart:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...ducing+Hs.aspx
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...100120+06.aspx
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...y+Stem+Oe.aspx

hows that look?, i mean im not gonna buy it, im just pricin stuff for now.

Here's one on e-bay although I think you could do better by looking around. Try the classifieds on mtbr.com too
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fox-Racing-Shox-...QQcmdZViewItem

C

[Collette]

Originally Posted by FyrFytrRyn

yeah, i ride moto-x and street bikes, so i know exactly what the 80% theroy comes from, but im going to eventually go full disc. also, i decided to just get a traditional fork instead of a rebuilt or magura unit in a headshok, from what i have heard, you can trick these headshocks out as much as you can, but they still arent as good as a decent trad. fork (in some respects). so now my question is, whats a decent 4-5" travel fork that has v and disc mounts?, because i wont be able to get brakes ontop of the forks, headset, and stem all at once. ECO, i cannot go above 105-110 MM or its gonna go nuts on my geometry, i guess its about 80mm, not 65.

currently looking @
Marzocchi MX Comp Eta/Tas 100/120 '06
Marzocchi all mountain 3 '05
Manitou Axel Super '06

all other fork suggestions are welcomed, thanks again. also, suggestions on stems.

how good are these? if its good im gonna purchase tonight.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...x+Comp+06.aspx

Stay AWAY from that Axel Super. After a year, it turns into a bottom-crazy pogo stick.

[ECOdork]

Hmmm, if you are currently running an 80 mm fork (~3.25") and you want to retain the XC feel, I think you're right in that your geometry would go crazy with anything bigger than ~100 mm (~4"). Then again, I guess that is why they make forks with adjustable travel, eh?

Last time I was shopping for forks I realized I could get just about anything I wanted...but of course I could only afford a select FEW!

On my old ride, I went from 80 RS Jett to 100 MZ EXR Pro and it was good. Heavy, but good. If you want plush and light, I'm with CalEpic. But if you wanted bigger, those Marzocchi's will do you right...they just might be heavier.

However much travel you decide on I'm sure you'll be happy with a plush new quality fork!

[dirttorpeedo]

ive got a c-dale raven that had the same fork,lite and stiff but sucked on travel.i got a deal on a rockshox fork 100mm. dont go more than 100mm or it willmess up the ride.try not to use the headset adapters/reducers,go with the cane creek headset.now that ive gotten a longer travel fork on the crow,i'm able to ride down more tecky stuff.good luck dood.

[FyrFytrRyn]

thanks for the replies guys... so ill look for a 100mm fork then, post up good 100MM forks if you can, im not exactly sure that im looking for... thanks again!

dirttorpeedo, what stem did you run after the change?

okay so how good are these? i really want to get a new fork soon and get as much riding in before school starts... to i will combine this fork with a cane creek HS, and a 125-135mm stem..

forks:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...100120+06.aspx

[ECOdork]

If that sucka has the ETA so you can climb at 100 and chopper it out to 120 on the dH, I think it'd be the best of both worlds and would compensate for a little extra weight.

I often think my Rocky Moutain ETSX-50 would benefit greatly from something with a range of 90 - 120 mm up front.

Originally Posted by FyrFytrRyn

thanks for the replies guys... so ill look for a 100mm fork then, post up good 100MM forks if you can, im not exactly sure that im looking for... thanks again!

dirttorpeedo, what stem did you run after the change?

okay so how good are these? i really want to get a new fork soon and get as much riding in before school starts... to i will combine this fork with a cane creek HS, and a 125-135mm stem..

forks:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...100120+06.aspx

[FyrFytrRyn]

it says it does have this ETA, so i ordered that and the stem and the headset.

[ECOdork]

Nice!

Let us know how it works out!

Originally Posted by FyrFytrRyn

it says it does have this ETA, so i ordered that and the stem and the headset.

[FyrFytrRyn]

will do, should arrive today some time, ill have it together tonight some time..

[FyrFytrRyn]

heres how it looks after i put the forks on.. feels pretty good so far, cant wait to ride it tonight after it cools off a bit. thanks for all of the replies, you all have been alot of help. thanks again.

[ECOdork]

Nice work!

Just eyeballin' the config based on the level and it looks like when fully down it is lower than previously and when fully extended it's about the same. With the enhanced plushness, I'll bet it'll feel like great both climbing and descending!

[LBmtb]

Good work on the install, looks good! On a side note . . . he ordered that thing two days ago and it's now installed. Talk about speedy!