Just need a few epinions ??

Chris,
100mm fork should be ok, to much bounce and you lose speed and forward momentum on the jump, the suspension just soaks it all up as you hit the transistion of the Jump/kicker. A lot of Scraps (and others) over here come with Marzocchi Dirt Jam Pro 100m.

Rik

Chris,
100mm fork should be ok, to much bounce and you lose speed and forward momentum on the jump, the suspension just soaks it all up as you hit the transistion of the Jump/kicker. A lot of Scraps (and others) over here come with Marzocchi Dirt Jam Pro 100m.

Rik

 

Oh...um...I guess I just assumed longer was better :-s .
THANKS everyone for your help...you're definitely sending us off in the right direction and will let you know what he decides for his new toy.
Yea....NEW BIKE NEW BIKE NEWWWW BIKE !!!\\/

 

Sharky,

Definitely have Brian take a long hard look at the type of riding he is PRIMARILY going to do. A true freeride/trail hardtail will run a different fork than a DJ specific setup. For strictly DJ/Urban I'd look 100 or less, but for all mountain with some DJ, I'd look 100 minimum probably out to 130mm if he still plans on jumping the bike in some actual DJ lines at some point. To give you an idea, I started my build on my Vagrant with a Zoke DJ2. Great fork for urban and DJ, but too heavy overall, and not responsive enough for trails. Now I'm onto a 66RC2X, it definitely isn't what I would consider a DJ orriented fork. When I started my orriginal build on the Planet X New Jack Flash, I was thinking more urban and DJ. Reality of being off the bike for a while, gaining some weight, and not wanting to bust myself up again led me back to riding trails... so, my build changed (Just the fork and frame). All in all, I'd say if Del Cerro is going to be his home turf, I'd probably go more towards AM than a DJ setup. It's been a while since I've been there, but I don't remember seeing any full on DJ lines.

The other thing you have to remember is that by changing the travel or technicaly the axle to crown measurement on a fork, you will change the geometry. A loose rule is that for every inch of axle to crown height or travel you add to a fork, you will slacken the head tube angle by about a degree. So if he likes a certain bike with it's stock fork, then decides to buy it with a different fork setup, the bike might feel different.

Not knowing how much Brian weighs, it's hard to make a recommendation on a fork. Most of the bikes you are looking at have standard quick release dropouts on the fork, which would make swapping to most of the popular jack of all trade type forks even more expensive because they'll be 20mm axle and will require a new front hub or wheel. This is the crux of why buying a factory spec'd bike can suck once you start on upgrades. If they're close enough to what you want overall, they'll always be cheaper than building a custom spec. But if you are going to want to swap major components, all the sudden a build your own scenario might be more cost effective as you can then shop sales, Ebay, classifieds, etc.

I didn't mean to write a book on this, so I apologize for the long post. Basically, remember that changing fork heights can change the geometry, and if you end up having to decide between two factory type forks, opt for the one that is a coil sprung oil dampened version with some kind of useable preload adjustment. That way, at least he can change the initial stiffness of the fork to tailor it more towards just DJ or loosen it up for better response on trails. Even on low end Marzocchi's you can gain "some" adjustability in the dampening by chaging oil weight and volume.

Chris

 

:bang:

 

That'd be a great foundation to start with as well. If it happened to be the right size for her Nephew and they could scratch out a good custom build within the budget considering the cost of the frame, I'd say go for it.

Chris

 

http://socaltrailriders.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1919&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1163000048

holy shite!!! is that a stack of mtb tires by the rock shox box? (top right of pic -not the ones just "laying around"). my wife gives me grief for bike always being in the way. you my friend were the pants in your household (and were not talking lyrca road bikes shorts here\\/ )

 

i spy a junior t and a raw metal bike back there as well wut might that be

 

That was a Super T on my old Big Hit....sold it and got an AS-X w/888 now.

 

sissy chrissy,100mm/120mm forks are plenty for jumping and allmountain riding.ive used a marz. dert jumper 3 on my hardtail for awhile.

 

Thanks Dirtypeedo...
We spent a long day checking out bikes today...I think he'll have a solid decision by Sunday.
Question is... can Incycle get us this bike...that was a killer deal you (& Mark) wrangled for me on my last bike!! MANY thanks on that one fo sho...
THANKS to everyone's input here. It was a huge help.

 

i talked to him today and he seemed pretty stoked i also went bike shopping today and was scoping out a sunday world cup 05 does anyone happen to know any painters if i wanted to get my fork painted?

 

Many thanks for good advice

No time so Bri wanted me to post a thanks for all the help and Rob for a great offer on the Cove. Big thanks to JfromLV for giving him elbow/knee guards knowing they would get plenty of well needed use!! He ended up joining that dark cult known as "singlespeeders" [-( ya happy Jose!! He loves the new Giant STP ...ripped up Del Cerro yesterday getting air on every jump in site. Nice meeting Shagginwagon ...ran into him there.

 

:lol: :beer:

now all is left is u!! U want to be strong and a better rider right? :-k

 

nice im gonna go riding with him on satrday delcerro run w00t

 

sweet! i was gonna tell you about those giant stp's but i guess u guys beat me to it. how much did you end up pickin one up for?

 

Lowest price was at Coates in Pomona at $600. Yeah nice bike and he's already wantin' to start racing. I know he'll be a regular at the Cizzle since it's right up the street from his house.

 

Chris,

Glad to hear he's stoked on it. When you say racing, do you mean like BMX, or DS/4X/DH? If he wants to run on some groomed dirt, his closest BMX track is probably the ABA track at Hollywood sports in the Bellflower/Paramount area. He should be able to hit up a practice night and get by with a "try it once" type fee to the ABA instead of bucking up for an annual membership.

Either way, congratulations on nailing down a good ride for him.

Chris

 

Hey Sharky --- was nice meetin ya . Hope yer niece and nephew had fun --- yer niece looked a bit haired out . Too bad I didn't have time to show you guys around .... maybe next time .

 

brian and i are gonna be goin up saturday mornin hopefully to ride around or we may go to southridge to test the DH track

 

:lol: ...yes it was her first dirt ride and she was hatin' that day big time!! Always fun to torture family like that. She won't be back anytime soon. There's so much ST we've yet to explore so apreciate the directions. ROSS, you guys need to pre-ride the DH course...come out Sat. and I'll borrow my housemate's DH bike for Bri .