Front Suspension Advice Needed

check out ...www.universalcycles.com. they have good prices on forks

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Quoted message said:

I need some advice. I am a general cross country rider and used to ride all the time. Now I don't
get to ride very often at all (a couple of days per month). My bike is an 8 year old (or so)
Paramount RS 60 which I love. Currently it has a Specialized Future Shock on it (which was
basically the RockShox Mag 21) but the seals finally blew out. Unfortunatly, rebuild kits for the
shock aren't available.

I am looking to upgrade but I have a limited budget. I would like to spend around $150 and get a
decent shock (at least comparable to what I have now). I see that SuperGo has the 2002 RockShox
Judy SL for $139 and the RockShox 2002 Duke XC for $169. How are these shocks? What else should I
be looking at?

Any advice would be appreciated.

You're probably okay on this issue but it's worth checking just in case. Make sure you have a
steerer tube that measures 1 1/8". It was introduced in '92 I think and started converting many bike
companies in '93 and '94. If your bike was built in '95, you are probably safe. If it is older, you
are getting sketchy fast. 99% of forks marketed today have 1 1/8" steerer tubes (vs. the old 1"
steerers). I think Marzocci has adapter tubes for certain forks but not real sure.

Jumping ahead to your real question. The Duke XC blows the Judy away, no questions. I built up a
Litespeed last September and threw a Duke XC on there and it was 90% of the SID's performance from
my FS bike at a fraction of the cost. I think it only weighs 3.2lbs too but I may be wrong there
(damn memory cells!). The Judy is okay but spring for the Duke, it's far more supple and totally
adjustable. Changing the Judy is a lot like a Manitou fork I once had that had knobs and such but
turning them never seemed to do anything.

Good luck.

Greg

Bill said:

I need some advice. I am a general cross country rider and used to ride all the time. Now I don't
get to ride very often at all (a couple of days per month). My bike is an 8 year old (or so)
Paramount RS 60 which I love. Currently it has a Specialized Future Shock on it (which was
basically the RockShox Mag 21) but the seals finally blew out. Unfortunatly, rebuild kits for the
shock aren't available.

I am looking to upgrade but I have a limited budget. I would like to spend around $150 and get a
decent shock (at least comparable to what I have now). I see that SuperGo has the 2002 RockShox
Judy SL for $139 and the RockShox 2002 Duke XC for $169. How are these shocks? What else should I
be looking at?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Bill,

It's not going to be easy. First figure out if you have a 1" or 1-1/8" steerer tube. If you have
a 1" (which I'd bet Paramount had) you have to buy a Marzocchi or a RockShox Judy TT. In either
case you need the least amount of suspension you can get, as your bike is not designed around a
lot of travel.

Next, look at your components. New forks do not have a cantilever hanger, which your cantilever
brakes will need. That means you need to buy v-brakes. Unfortunately v-brake levers and your
cantilever brake lever pull different amounts ot cable, so you need new levers. If you have
integrated Shimano levers, when you buy new levers you loose your old shifters, which means new
shifters too. You might notice that the prices are adding up quickly.

My real advice? Either (a) buy a new bike, or (b) look on eBay for an old Mag-21 or Judy fork.