Forks for hardtail...

Hi All,

I'm going to be getting a new hardtail soon after I get back from the
Southern Hemisphere, and I'm starting to spec it up. I'm looking for
some pretty solid forks because, as evidenced by past posts about
trashed wheels, I'm a clumsy clydesdale. My first instinct is to stick
with Marzocchi and this has made me look at the Z1 FR, Dirt Jumpers
and even the Shiver SC.

Can anyone comment on these forks or make any other suggestions?
Obviously, it's nigh on impossible to test ride forks on the frame I
want to get (no shop I know is going to be good enough to trim a
steerer tube for a test ride) and the hardtails available for test
don't seem to have the forks that I'm after.

Lastly (or seperately), can anyone comment on long travel ( 100mm)
forks on hardtails? There are a couple of hardtail frames out there
that I've looked at that are specifically set up for long travel
forks. Also, I read Pete Fagerlin's comments on the Maverick fork, and
it sounds excellent - I'm not sure that all that travel wouldn't be
too much for a cross-country hardtail, though.

Cheers - Adam...

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 10:46:02 -0800, Adam wrote:

I'm going to be getting a new hardtail

What frame you getting?

--
Matt

Fear of a flat planet

"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

I'm going to be getting a new hardtail soon after I get back from the
Southern Hemisphere, and I'm starting to spec it up. I'm looking for
some pretty solid forks because, as evidenced by past posts about
trashed wheels, I'm a clumsy clydesdale. My first instinct is to stick
with Marzocchi and this has made me look at the Z1 FR, Dirt Jumpers
and even the Shiver SC.

Can anyone comment on these forks or make any other suggestions?
Obviously, it's nigh on impossible to test ride forks on the frame I
want to get (no shop I know is going to be good enough to trim a
steerer tube for a test ride) and the hardtails available for test
don't seem to have the forks that I'm after.

Lastly (or seperately), can anyone comment on long travel ( 100mm)
forks on hardtails? There are a couple of hardtail frames out there
that I've looked at that are specifically set up for long travel
forks. Also, I read Pete Fagerlin's comments on the Maverick fork, and
it sounds excellent - I'm not sure that all that travel wouldn't be
too much for a cross-country hardtail, though.

Cheers - Adam...

Doing hard time:

http://www.nsmb.com/trail_tales/hard_time_12_02.php

In article ,
(Adam) wrote:

Hi All,

I'm going to be getting a new hardtail soon after I get back from the
Southern Hemisphere, and I'm starting to spec it up. I'm looking for
some pretty solid forks because, as evidenced by past posts about
trashed wheels, I'm a clumsy clydesdale. My first instinct is to stick
with Marzocchi and this has made me look at the Z1 FR, Dirt Jumpers
and even the Shiver SC.

Can anyone comment on these forks or make any other suggestions?
Obviously, it's nigh on impossible to test ride forks on the frame I
want to get (no shop I know is going to be good enough to trim a
steerer tube for a test ride) and the hardtails available for test
don't seem to have the forks that I'm after.

Lastly (or seperately), can anyone comment on long travel ( 100mm)
forks on hardtails? There are a couple of hardtail frames out there
that I've looked at that are specifically set up for long travel
forks. Also, I read Pete Fagerlin's comments on the Maverick fork, and
it sounds excellent - I'm not sure that all that travel wouldn't be
too much for a cross-country hardtail, though.

I think the basic problem, even more than geometry issues (which seems
to be what you're talking about with your "specifically set up..."), is
that if you put a 6" travel fork on an XC hartdail, you will be in a
situation where the fork will make the bike heavy and pogo on the
frame's natural terrain of ascents and fast singletrack/fire road
terrain, and if you exploit the fork travel by attempting big drops,
you're likely to break the XC frame.

There are also intermediate hardtails out there, such as the Norco
Charger: relatively tough frame with an EXR Pro Marzocchi. That's a 5"
travel fork, and the idea is that the bike is designed for more than
just XC courses, but big hits are probably a bad idea.

I ride this kind of stuff all the time: I climb my hardtail up to the
top of my favourite mountain, put on my leg and arm armor, and descend
on a trail mostly populated by freeriding dudes on big-hit bikes. But
since I'm using a steel XC hardtail with a '97 vintage Z.2, I dodge the
really big drops and take the easier lines through the stunts and
obstacles (I also haven't tried the long, narrow skinny with the high
price for failure yet).

Horses for courses, burly bikes for Clydesdales, and light stuff for
wimpy roadies like me,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

"Ryan Cousineau" wrote in message
...
I think the basic problem, even more than geometry issues (which seems
to be what you're talking about with your "specifically set up..."), is
that if you put a 6" travel fork on an XC hartdail, you will be in a
situation where the fork will make the bike heavy

Expand your horizons...there are 6" forks that weigh 3.5 pounds.

It sounds like the OP is a prime candiadate for something like a Cove
Stiffee FR and a 5-6" fork.

Matthew Paterson wrote in message .uk...
On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 10:46:02 -0800, Adam wrote:

I'm going to be getting a new hardtail

What frame you getting?

My prime candidate is the On-one Inbred, but the geometry is set up
for a 100mm (max) fork and it seems to be hard to find a fork that
will cope with my weight that is less that around 125mm. Also thinking
of looking at the Dialled Bikes offerings - these are hardtails set up
for longer travel (up to 150mm) forks.

Cheers - Adam...

Ryan Cousineau wrote in message ...
In article ,
-8- snip original -8-

I think the basic problem, even more than geometry issues (which seems
to be what you're talking about with your "specifically set up..."), is
that if you put a 6" travel fork on an XC hartdail, you will be in a
situation where the fork will make the bike heavy and pogo on the
frame's natural terrain of ascents and fast singletrack/fire road
terrain, and if you exploit the fork travel by attempting big drops,
you're likely to break the XC frame.

I was thinking of the Dialled Bikes offerings, "and specifically set
up" referred both to the geometry (corrected for up to 150mm) and the
fact that the headtube area has been strengthened to cope with the
leverage offered by putting a long-travel fork on. I'm not too
bothered about the weight of a long-travel setup, but I am worried
about changes in steering geometry and, toa certain extent, pogoing -
although, I guess those are considerations that are independant of
whether or not the frame is hardtail.

There are also intermediate hardtails out there, such as the Norco
Charger: relatively tough frame with an EXR Pro Marzocchi. That's a 5"
travel fork, and the idea is that the bike is designed for more than
just XC courses, but big hits are probably a bad idea.

I ride this kind of stuff all the time: I climb my hardtail up to the
top of my favourite mountain, put on my leg and arm armor, and descend
on a trail mostly populated by freeriding dudes on big-hit bikes. But
since I'm using a steel XC hardtail with a '97 vintage Z.2, I dodge the
really big drops and take the easier lines through the stunts and
obstacles (I also haven't tried the long, narrow skinny with the high
price for failure yet).

Horses for courses, burly bikes for Clydesdales, and light stuff for
wimpy roadies like me,

Exactly, and that's why I'm looking at forks like the Z1. I'm
definitely a pie-eater, me.

"p e t e f a g e r l i n" wrote in message om...
"Ryan Cousineau" wrote in message
...
I think the basic problem, even more than geometry issues (which seems
to be what you're talking about with your "specifically set up..."), is
that if you put a 6" travel fork on an XC hartdail, you will be in a
situation where the fork will make the bike heavy

Expand your horizons...there are 6" forks that weigh 3.5 pounds.

It sounds like the OP is a prime candiadate for something like a Cove
Stiffee FR and a 5-6" fork.

Hi Pete,

It was your post about the Maverick that made me think along the lines
of getting a long-travel fork and a suitable frame, rather than trying
to find a shorter travel fork to suit me and the frame I was thinking
of. In particular, my latest fork is a Marzocchi MX Pro Coil -
stunningly smooth and capable bump-eating, but very flexy - and I was
hoping to find something much stiffer.

Will the Maverick stand up to a Clydesdale? I mostly ride
cross-country (I don't 'huck', I don't think - I'm still not entirely
sure what 'hucking' is), but I am heavy and occasionally inelegant to
the point of clumsy. Rock gardens, steep chutes and switch-back laden
singletrack (plus the occasional berm) is more my thing than dropping
off garages.

Cheers - Adam...

On 8 Mar 2004 01:04:04 -0800, (Adam)
blathered:

Ryan Cousineau wrote in message ...
In article ,
-8- snip original -8-

I think the basic problem, even more than geometry issues (which seems
to be what you're talking about with your "specifically set up..."), is
that if you put a 6" travel fork on an XC hartdail, you will be in a
situation where the fork will make the bike heavy and pogo on the
frame's natural terrain of ascents and fast singletrack/fire road
terrain, and if you exploit the fork travel by attempting big drops,
you're likely to break the XC frame.

I was thinking of the Dialled Bikes offerings, "and specifically set
up" referred both to the geometry (corrected for up to 150mm) and the
fact that the headtube area has been strengthened to cope with the
leverage offered by putting a long-travel fork on. I'm not too
bothered about the weight of a long-travel setup, but I am worried
about changes in steering geometry and, toa certain extent, pogoing

Personally i prefer the look of the Cotic Soul -

http://www.cotic.co.uk/
http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=814
http://www.bikemagic.com/review/revi...36660364775254

....and whatever 5" frame you fancy (I like the Maguras I've been
riding since April last year). You can't really consider forks of that
length independant of whatever frame you intend putting them on. I
personally think 6" is too much for a hardtail - but then, a few years
ago, people thought 3" was pushing it, so it's your call.

Pete

"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Matthew Paterson wrote in message
.uk...
On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 10:46:02 -0800, Adam wrote:

I'm going to be getting a new hardtail

What frame you getting?

My prime candidate is the On-one Inbred, but the geometry is set up
for a 100mm (max) fork

I have a similar bike to the inbred,
http://steve-t.fotopic.net/p3186525.html

it was set up originally with rigid forks but I'm now running a Shiver SC
(100mm version) which is superb. Its a little on the heavy side but worth it
for the bomb-proofness and security of the 20mm axle. As a nod to weight
saving I swopped the re-inforced steel steerer for a reinforced aluminium
one, which brought the weight down by 200g to just over 5lbs.

and it seems to be hard to find a fork that
will cope with my weight that is less that around 125mm. Also thinking
of looking at the Dialled Bikes offerings - these are hardtails set up
for longer travel (up to 150mm) forks.

Dialled bikes 'morning glory' is very nice indeed, if I needed another
bike...

Steve.