Cheapo forks (Manitou and Marzocchi)

There are quite a few comments on the '03 Manitou Axel Super here:

http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2003_front_shocks/product_121940.shtml

Nothing there on the particular Marzocchi you mention though.

Doki said:

My fork's looking a bit worse for wear ([censored] RST stuff that Giant stuck
on
the bike). I've found last year's Manitou Axel Super, and a 2004
Marzocchi
EXR Comp (usually an OEM rather than aftermarket fork). They're both
priced
at £90 (yes, I'm a tight [censored], but at least I'm not fitting more
elastomer guff), and both have coil springs and air gubbins, and 80 or
100mm
of travel depending how you set them up.

Which is the better fork of the two (I'm thinking the Manitou)? The RST
that
Giant fitted to my bike has about 50mm of travel or so. Is fitting an
80/100mm travel fork going to [censored] up the way my bike rides?

Paul said:

There are quite a few comments on the '03 Manitou Axel Super here:

http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2003_front_shocks/product_121940.shtml

Nothing there on the particular Marzocchi you mention though.

Mmm. Sounds good. OTOH, all the decent forks cost more than my bike cost me.
Would fitting a good fork to a mediocre bike be A Bad Thing?

A difficult question to answer, which to some extent depends on how
'mediocre' your current bike is. If you think you'd really appreciate the
benefits of a more expensive model, and you're pretty happy with the rest
of your bike, and you don't mind spending the money then you could
consider spending more. On the otherhand, would the money be better spent
replacing / upgrading other componentry on your bike? Also, remember to
take all the marketing hype out there with a pinch of salt - don't get
sucked in to spending your money on a plush lightweight fork if you only
cruise around the local fireroads at weekends.

Doki said:

Paul said:

There are quite a few comments on the '03 Manitou Axel Super here:

http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2003_front_shocks/product_121940.shtml

Nothing there on the particular Marzocchi you mention though.

Mmm. Sounds good. OTOH, all the decent forks cost more than my bike cost
me.
Would fitting a good fork to a mediocre bike be A Bad Thing?

Paul said:

A difficult question to answer, which to some extent depends on how
'mediocre' your current bike is. If you think you'd really
appreciate the benefits of a more expensive model, and you're pretty
happy with the rest of your bike, and you don't mind spending the
money then you could consider spending more. On the otherhand, would
the money be better spent replacing / upgrading other componentry on
your bike? Also, remember to take all the marketing hype out there
with a pinch of salt - don't get sucked in to spending your money on
a plush lightweight fork if you only cruise around the local
fireroads at weekends.

My bike's a Giant Boulder (insert numbers and letters here). Comes with an
RST front fork, Alivio shifters / levers, no name V-brakes, boggo Shimano
front mech and an Alivio rear mech, and a replaceable mech hanger, which you
tend not to get on the really basic bikes. Probably £300 - £400 or so new.
It's now got XT shifters / levers after I smashed the Alivios up and found
some cheap. Aluminium frame by the way.

I'm happy with the components on the bike, TBH I'll look to save weight when
I'm light enough to suggest that the bike's weight might be making any
difference to my riding 😉. I've got some LX V brakes to stick on it
knocking around too. Anyway, what I'm unsure of is if the frame is worth
upgrading. For all I know, Giant might use the same frame on 6 different
bikes and just change the components. OTOH, the frame might a POS. Anyone
got any ideas?

Doki said:

Paul said:

There are quite a few comments on the '03 Manitou Axel Super here:

http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2003_front_shocks/product_121940.shtml

Nothing there on the particular Marzocchi you mention though.

Mmm. Sounds good. OTOH, all the decent forks cost more than my bike
cost me. Would fitting a good fork to a mediocre bike be A Bad Thing?

Yes - a new bike is always cheaper to buy than to upgrade parts one-by-one,
unless it is over a period of several years...

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Quoted message said:

I'm happy with the components on the bike, TBH I'll look to save
weight when I'm light enough to suggest that the bike's weight might
be making any difference to my riding 😉. I've got some LX V brakes
to stick on it knocking around too. Anyway, what I'm unsure of is if
the frame is worth upgrading. For all I know, Giant might use the
same frame on 6 different bikes and just change the components. OTOH,
the frame might a POS. Anyone got any ideas?

The bike to upgrade up is the Iguana. The new bike will be more dialed-in
and will be stiffer than your current frame.

Bottom line is, upgrading is usually a bad idea unless you're short on cash
or other similar circumstances.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

ZeeExSixAre said:

Doki said:

Paul said:

There are quite a few comments on the '03 Manitou Axel Super here:

http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2003_front_shocks/product_121940.shtml

Nothing there on the particular Marzocchi you mention though.

Mmm. Sounds good. OTOH, all the decent forks cost more than my bike
cost me. Would fitting a good fork to a mediocre bike be A Bad Thing?

Yes - a new bike is always cheaper to buy than to upgrade parts
one-by-one, unless it is over a period of several years...

What would you replace it with then? Something cheap and [censored] or something
vaguely solid? I'd prefer something that'll last a while rather than be
ultra flash.

Doki said:

ZeeExSixAre said:

Doki said:

Paul wrote:
> There are quite a few comments on the '03 Manitou Axel Super here:
>
> http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2003_front_shocks/product_121940.shtml
>
> Nothing there on the particular Marzocchi you mention though.

Mmm. Sounds good. OTOH, all the decent forks cost more than my bike
cost me. Would fitting a good fork to a mediocre bike be A Bad
Thing?

Yes - a new bike is always cheaper to buy than to upgrade parts
one-by-one, unless it is over a period of several years...

What would you replace it with then? Something cheap and [censored] or
something vaguely solid? I'd prefer something that'll last a while
rather than be ultra flash.

Replace it with the level of bike that you think you need and consider its
price. I bought an XTC2 last year, have been riding it for a while, and now
I'm going to sell it and buy an STP2 because it's suited for the type of
riding I'll be doing.

Always upgrade - don't downgrade.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

ZeeExSixAre said:

Doki said:

ZeeExSixAre wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yes - a new bike is always cheaper to buy than to upgrade parts
one-by-one, unless it is over a period of several years...

What would you replace it with then? Something cheap and [censored] or
something vaguely solid? I'd prefer something that'll last a while
rather than be ultra flash.

Replace it with the level of bike that you think you need and
consider its price. I bought an XTC2 last year, have been riding it
for a while, and now I'm going to sell it and buy an STP2 because
it's suited for the type of riding I'll be doing.

Always upgrade - don't downgrade.

I meant the fork, not the bike. I'm not going to replace the bike for a good
while yet. I seriously doubt it's holding me back in any way, as I'm not
what you'd called skilled 🙂. The bike isn't getting swapped until I've the
cash for a good one, and I feel like I *need* it.