Right Fork for the Job

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike. It came equipped with Rock Shox
Quadra 5 legs (twin elastomer dampeners and 50mm of travel). Never
really had a problem with them, but then again, never really paid much
attention to them. Well the time has come... I'm getting new legs for
this bad boy and wanted to find the right set of forks for the job.

A Quadra? I remember those. I don't know what part of the country you
are in, but if it was freezing then that 50mm of travel was really 0mm.

Quoted message said:

I'm 6', 220 lbs, and an experienced rider. I don't ride it hard much,
but when I do it's never more than single track cross country with
some occasional excursions off the beaten path just for fun. When I
started looking for new legs I noticed that I could easily drop a cool
grand on some forks, but that's obviously beyond the scope of my
riding. So I set a budget for less than $300.

Get a rigid fork. You were riding a 50mm elastometer and said you had
no issues. If that is the case and at your weight, you'll be fine with
a rigid and save a lot of money too.

Quoted message said:

Additionally, I'm not sure if I need 1", 1 1/8", or 1 1/4" steerer and
if it's threaded or non-threaded. If I take the old forks off, I'm
sure it will be easy to determine if it's threaded or not, but what
dimension am I measuring to determine the size? Besides the diameter,
is the length of the steering tube important to note?

If you need to, then just get a step up headset. No big deal.

Quoted message said:

Do I need to get any additional parts like bearings and such?

Nope.

Quoted message said:

Should I go ahead and get a new headset and stem while I'm at it? And
if I do, does it matter then what my current setup is? As long as I
get the right diameter steerer, I just need to make sure that the new
heatset and the new forks match (threaded or non-threaded), right? If
so, which is better to have, threaded or non-threaded?

Headset depends on the diameter. You might need a new stem if you go
with a wider steerer tube.

Quoted message said:

What features in a fork are "must haves" and which ones are completely
worthless? i.e. What is the benefit of Lockout? Why would ever want to
lock all the travel out of my forks?

See rigid above.

Quoted message said:

And finally, how much travel should I get? I know the importance of
more travel, but if I can get 120mm travel instead of 80mm in a fork
that offers different lengths of travel for no cost difference, would
getting more travel than I need have ANY negative impact?

Again. You were practically riding rigid anyway. You will not need travel.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Ride-A-Lot [email protected] said:

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike. It came equipped with Rock Shox
Quadra 5 legs (twin elastomer dampeners and 50mm of travel). Never
really had a problem with them, but then again, never really paid much
attention to them. Well the time has come... I'm getting new legs for
this bad boy and wanted to find the right set of forks for the job.

A Quadra? I remember those. I don't know what part of the country you
are in, but if it was freezing then that 50mm of travel was really 0mm.

Quoted message said:

I'm 6', 220 lbs, and an experienced rider. I don't ride it hard much,
but when I do it's never more than single track cross country with
some occasional excursions off the beaten path just for fun. When I
started looking for new legs I noticed that I could easily drop a cool
grand on some forks, but that's obviously beyond the scope of my
riding. So I set a budget for less than $300.

Get a rigid fork. You were riding a 50mm elastometer and said you had
no issues. If that is the case and at your weight, you'll be fine with
a rigid and save a lot of money too.

Quoted message said:

Additionally, I'm not sure if I need 1", 1 1/8", or 1 1/4" steerer and
if it's threaded or non-threaded. If I take the old forks off, I'm
sure it will be easy to determine if it's threaded or not, but what
dimension am I measuring to determine the size? Besides the diameter,
is the length of the steering tube important to note?

If you need to, then just get a step up headset. No big deal.

Quoted message said:

Do I need to get any additional parts like bearings and such?

Nope.

Quoted message said:

Should I go ahead and get a new headset and stem while I'm at it? And
if I do, does it matter then what my current setup is? As long as I
get the right diameter steerer, I just need to make sure that the new
heatset and the new forks match (threaded or non-threaded), right? If
so, which is better to have, threaded or non-threaded?

Headset depends on the diameter. You might need a new stem if you go
with a wider steerer tube.

Quoted message said:

What features in a fork are "must haves" and which ones are completely
worthless? i.e. What is the benefit of Lockout? Why would ever want to
lock all the travel out of my forks?

See rigid above.

Quoted message said:

And finally, how much travel should I get? I know the importance of
more travel, but if I can get 120mm travel instead of 80mm in a fork
that offers different lengths of travel for no cost difference, would
getting more travel than I need have ANY negative impact?

Again. You were practically riding rigid anyway. You will not need travel.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-owww.schnauzers.ws

Thanks... that was soooo not helpful.

I realize that my old forks are junk, I wasn't really asking what
anyone thought of them. That's why I'm getting rid of them. I know
they are practically like riding rigid and therefore don't need to
replace them with rigid forks. I'm looking to upgrade.

When I said I haven't had any issues with them, I was referring to the
fact that if I was satisfied with their performance I wouldn't be
getting new ones, but they're not defective in any way. I want new
forks because I want something that actually provides cushion and
vibration reduction in the handle bars, while at the same time
providing some better control in more rugged terrain. Getting rigid
forks wouldn't solve any of those issues.

Quoted message said:

Ride-A-Lot [email protected] said:

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike. It came equipped with Rock Shox
Quadra 5 legs (twin elastomer dampeners and 50mm of travel). Never
really had a problem with them, but then again, never really paid
much attention to them. Well the time has come... I'm getting new
legs for this bad boy and wanted to find the right set of forks for
the job.

A Quadra? I remember those. I don't know what part of the country
you
are in, but if it was freezing then that 50mm of travel was really
0mm.

Quoted message said:

I'm 6', 220 lbs, and an experienced rider. I don't ride it hard
much, but when I do it's never more than single track cross country
with some occasional excursions off the beaten path just for fun.
When I started looking for new legs I noticed that I could easily
drop a cool grand on some forks, but that's obviously beyond the
scope of my riding. So I set a budget for less than $300.

Get a rigid fork. You were riding a 50mm elastometer and said you
had
no issues. If that is the case and at your weight, you'll be fine
with
a rigid and save a lot of money too.

Quoted message said:

Additionally, I'm not sure if I need 1", 1 1/8", or 1 1/4" steerer
and if it's threaded or non-threaded. If I take the old forks off,
I'm sure it will be easy to determine if it's threaded or not, but
what dimension am I measuring to determine the size? Besides the
diameter, is the length of the steering tube important to note?

If you need to, then just get a step up headset. No big deal.

Quoted message said:

Do I need to get any additional parts like bearings and such?

Nope.

Quoted message said:

Should I go ahead and get a new headset and stem while I'm at it?
And if I do, does it matter then what my current setup is? As long
as I get the right diameter steerer, I just need to make sure that
the new heatset and the new forks match (threaded or non-threaded),
right? If so, which is better to have, threaded or non-threaded?

Headset depends on the diameter. You might need a new stem if you go
with a wider steerer tube.

Quoted message said:

What features in a fork are "must haves" and which ones are
completely worthless? i.e. What is the benefit of Lockout? Why
would ever want to lock all the travel out of my forks?

See rigid above.

Quoted message said:

And finally, how much travel should I get? I know the importance of
more travel, but if I can get 120mm travel instead of 80mm in a fork
that offers different lengths of travel for no cost difference,
would getting more travel than I need have ANY negative impact?

Again. You were practically riding rigid anyway. You will not need
travel.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-owww.schnauzers.ws

Thanks... that was soooo not helpful.

I realize that my old forks are junk, I wasn't really asking what
anyone thought of them. That's why I'm getting rid of them. I know
they are practically like riding rigid and therefore don't need to
replace them with rigid forks. I'm looking to upgrade.

When I said I haven't had any issues with them, I was referring to the
fact that if I was satisfied with their performance I wouldn't be
getting new ones, but they're not defective in any way. I want new
forks because I want something that actually provides cushion and
vibration reduction in the handle bars, while at the same time
providing some better control in more rugged terrain. Getting rigid
forks wouldn't solve any of those issues.

Sure, go from a (barely functional) 50-mm fork to a 120-mm plush job!

Maroon...

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike.

If it's a 1997 it will be 1 1/8" and threadless. Buy the current or
recent cheapest fork you can with similar travel and you'll still be way
ahead of the Quadra.

Quoted message said:

Should I go ahead and get a new headset and stem while I'm at it? And
if I do, does it matter then what my current setup is? As long as I
get the right diameter steerer, I just need to make sure that the new
heatset and the new forks match (threaded or non-threaded), right? If
so, which is better to have, threaded or non-threaded?

You don't need a new stem unless you want to change your riding
position, and you probably don't need a headset if it still turns
smoothly. Grease the headset when you replace the fork.

Quoted message said:

What features in a fork are "must haves" and which ones are completely
worthless? i.e. What is the benefit of Lockout? Why would ever want to
lock all the travel out of my forks?

I've never bothered with the lockout on any of the forks I've had it as
a feature. Some people like lockout for climbing or road riding but

Quoted message said:

And finally, how much travel should I get? I know the importance of
more travel, but if I can get 120mm travel instead of 80mm in a fork
that offers different lengths of travel for no cost difference, would
getting more travel than I need have ANY negative impact?

The more the travel is beyond 50mm the more your geometry is going to
turn into a chopper. Don't get a 120mm, don't get a 100mm, I wouldn't
go over 80mm unless your planning on running A LOT of sag.

Greg

--
The ticketbastard Tax Tracker:
http://www.ticketmastersucks.org/tracker.html

Dethink to survive - Mclusky

G.T. said:

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike.

If it's a 1997 it will be 1 1/8" and threadless. Buy the current or
recent cheapest fork you can with similar travel and you'll still be way
ahead of the Quadra.

Quoted message said:

Should I go ahead and get a new headset and stem while I'm at it? And
if I do, does it matter then what my current setup is? As long as I
get the right diameter steerer, I just need to make sure that the new
heatset and the new forks match (threaded or non-threaded), right? If
so, which is better to have, threaded or non-threaded?

You don't need a new stem unless you want to change your riding
position, and you probably don't need a headset if it still turns
smoothly. Grease the headset when you replace the fork.

Quoted message said:

What features in a fork are "must haves" and which ones are completely
worthless? i.e. What is the benefit of Lockout? Why would ever want to
lock all the travel out of my forks?

I've never bothered with the lockout on any of the forks I've had it as
a feature. Some people like lockout for climbing or road riding but

Quoted message said:

And finally, how much travel should I get? I know the importance of
more travel, but if I can get 120mm travel instead of 80mm in a fork
that offers different lengths of travel for no cost difference, would
getting more travel than I need have ANY negative impact?

The more the travel is beyond 50mm the more your geometry is going to
turn into a chopper. Don't get a 120mm, don't get a 100mm, I wouldn't
go over 80mm unless your planning on running A LOT of sag.

Greg

I agree with Greg. You may not be able to find a fork with less than
80mm, but there should be few to choose from in that range.
Putting a big fork on a frame not designed for it will not upgrade your
bike, it will make it handle very poorly.
If you really want a 120mm fork you'll need a new bike for it.

Good luck!

Matt

Get yourself a manitou minute 100mm and set it up with 1 inch of
negative travel that will give you a smoothed out ride with just about
the same ride height as you had before and also rebuild or replace your
head set.

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike. It came equipped with Rock Shox
Quadra 5 legs (twin elastomer dampeners and 50mm of travel). Never
really had a problem with them, but then again, never really paid much
attention to them. Well the time has come... I'm getting new legs for
this bad boy and wanted to find the right set of forks for the job.

I'm 6', 220 lbs, and an experienced rider. I don't ride it hard much,
but when I do it's never more than single track cross country with
some occasional excursions off the beaten path just for fun. When I
started looking for new legs I noticed that I could easily drop a cool
grand on some forks, but that's obviously beyond the scope of my
riding. So I set a budget for less than $300.

Additionally, I'm not sure if I need 1", 1 1/8", or 1 1/4" steerer and
if it's threaded or non-threaded. If I take the old forks off, I'm
sure it will be easy to determine if it's threaded or not, but what
dimension am I measuring to determine the size? Besides the diameter,
is the length of the steering tube important to note?

Do I need to get any additional parts like bearings and such?

Should I go ahead and get a new headset and stem while I'm at it? And
if I do, does it matter then what my current setup is? As long as I
get the right diameter steerer, I just need to make sure that the new
heatset and the new forks match (threaded or non-threaded), right? If
so, which is better to have, threaded or non-threaded?

What features in a fork are "must haves" and which ones are completely
worthless? i.e. What is the benefit of Lockout? Why would ever want to
lock all the travel out of my forks?

And finally, how much travel should I get? I know the importance of
more travel, but if I can get 120mm travel instead of 80mm in a fork
that offers different lengths of travel for no cost difference, would
getting more travel than I need have ANY negative impact?

Anyway, thanks for your input. It's much appreciated. I just wanted to
know what people thought about this upgrade who know a lot more about
front suspension than I do.

Thanks,
Tim

I'm around your size and weight. I picked up a Marzocchi MX Comp with
coil springs and 80mm travel a couple years ago for well under $300. I
think the steerer is aluminum, but so far so good. It's not light and
it's not interesting technologically, but a simple, unfussy fork and
works fine and will feel 1000 times better than that noodly Quadra
(which was likely the worst widely produced suspension fork ever). I'm
pretty sure that Marz doesn't change anything except the decals on
that model from year to year, so if you can find an unusued fork with
2005 stickers cheaper than one with 2006 or 2007, I wouldn't hesitate.

As for fork installation, remove the top cap, the stem bolts, the
brake calipers and the tire. If necessary, tap the fork out from the
top with a rubber mallet. Have someone cut the new steerer tube to the
same length as the Quadra's and install a star nut, and reverse the
process. Don't go to town on the top cap. All you need is enough
pressure to hold the fork in place.

/s

In the previous article said:

Quoted message said:

I have a 1997 Trek mountain bike. It came equipped with Rock Shox
Quadra 5 legs (twin elastomer dampeners and 50mm of travel). Never
really had a problem with them, but then again, never really paid
much attention to them. Well the time has come... I'm getting new
legs for this bad boy and wanted to find the right set of forks for
the job.

I'm around your size and weight. I picked up a Marzocchi MX Comp with
coil springs and 80mm travel a couple years ago for well under $300. I
think the steerer is aluminum, but so far so good. It's not light and
it's not interesting technologically, but a simple, unfussy fork and
works fine and will feel 1000 times better than that noodly Quadra
(which was likely the worst widely produced suspension fork ever).

Until it was stolen last summer, I had a 1997 Trek carbon-fiber
Y-frame and I also am 6'1 and about 220#. From the description, I
think I may ride a little more aggressively than the OP, but I'm
hardly a candidate for the X Games.

The fall before the bike was stolen, I replaced the original fork with
a Marzocchi Bomber with compressed air on one side and a spring on the
other. It was like having a whole new bike. The only thing I didn't
like about it was that the head of the bike was over an inch higher
with the new fork, but I got used to that quickly enough. When the
bike got ripped off, I missed the new fork more than the bike. (I
bought a new carbon fiber Fuel EX with the insurance settlement and am
extremely happy with it.)
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___🙂=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / [email hidden]|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Scott Gordo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Jun 5, 12:45 pm, [email hidden] wrote:

I'm around your size and weight. I picked up a Marzocchi MX Comp with
coil springs and 80mm travel a couple years ago for well under $300. I

I'll second the vote for the 'Zoc MX Comp with 80 mm travel. Replaced an
older Manitou SX-R with one two years ago. Simple, effective, and
inexpensive. I think I paid $249. I'd be sure about the diameter and type
of steerer before you go shopping. You could visit your LBS and they could
likely tell you within a minute or two. Promise them the install job in
return. Leave the steerer a little long in case you change frames in the
future and want to re-use the fork.

I like it enough that I'm considering dumping the older Judy on my wife's
bike and getting her a Marzocchi as well.

Quoted message said:

I'm 6', 220 lbs, and an experienced rider. I don't ride it hard much

That's pretty contradictory. Experienced compared to whom?

As far as Mitch's suggestion about a rigid fork goes, he's spot on for
a)that frame b)your size and c)your "experience" level. Any el cheapo
80m fork out there is going to be a wet noodle on the front of your
bike and therefore worthless. If you truly are "experienced", a rigid
fork is a no brainer because it will last and always take the bike
where you point it.

JD

Per Mamba:

Quoted message said:

I'll second the vote for the 'Zoc MX Comp with 80 mm travel.

I'll third it - although mine are 120mm.

I'm about 215#, 6'5".

I don't ride very hard at all, but I broke my Ellsworth frame at
the shock weld.

Also managed to break my Seven Duo frame 3 times: once at the
rear dropout, and twice by shearing shock bolts.

No problems at all with the 'zocchi. Got two of 'em: one on my
FS and one on my hardtail.
--
PeteCresswell

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Per Mamba:
I'm about 215#, 6'5".
I don't ride very hard at all, but I broke my Ellsworth frame at
the shock weld.
Also managed to break my Seven Duo frame 3 times: once at the
rear dropout, and twice by shearing shock bolts.

Yeah, sounds like you ride real gentle, Pete ;-)

Per Mamba:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Per Mamba:
I'm about 215#, 6'5".
I don't ride very hard at all, but I broke my Ellsworth frame at
the shock weld.
Also managed to break my Seven Duo frame 3 times: once at the
rear dropout, and twice by shearing shock bolts.

Yeah, sounds like you ride real gentle, Pete ;-)

Actually, I really do.

I'm basically an old geezer riding for exercise. My "style" is
somewhere between really bad and pathetic and not winding up in
an ER somewhere is at the top of my priority list.

With the SevenCycles I suspect the frame bolts are a design
issue. I keep trying to develop a tail whip and when that's done
going down hill, I suspect a shearing force is placed on the
Maverick link bolts - which are really, *really* cheesy to begin
with.

Probably doesn't do the rear drops any good either.

I've also broken a couple of cranks - from trying to learn to
bunny hop would be my guess.

The Ellsworth was just a bad weld. Looked like somebody puked
molten metal on it - just a bunch of lumps, particles, bubbles,
and voids instead of that nice solid scalloped look that a decent
weld has.

Overall, I think 215# is cruel and unusual treatment for most
bikes most of the time.
--
PeteCresswell

Mamba said:

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Per Mamba:
I'm about 215#, 6'5".
I don't ride very hard at all, but I broke my Ellsworth frame at
the shock weld.
Also managed to break my Seven Duo frame 3 times: once at the
rear dropout, and twice by shearing shock bolts.

Yeah, sounds like you ride real gentle, Pete ;-)

Might want to consider limiting that info when calling Customer
Service....

/s

In message <[email hidden]>,
"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Overall, I think 215# is cruel and unusual treatment for most
bikes most of the time.

I bought my 1st bike last sep. I was 245 lbs then. I replaced it in jan
because it was a "bit tired". My Dawg Primo has coped admirably since
then but then I am down to 230 now thanks to mtb'ing.
--
Devs
"Punchdown Pete the old Kroner"

Per Scott Gordo:

Quoted message said:

Might want to consider limiting that info when calling Customer
Service....

Actually I put it to them straight-up... presenting it about
three different ways in hopes of getting through. Even tried to
talk them into gusseting the dropout weld when they fixed it.

But I think it all went in one ear and out the other. Maybe if
somebody can talk to the Main Man they might get through... but I
suspect the rest of them are just doing their jobs.
--
PeteCresswell

(PeteCresswell) said:

Per Scott Gordo:

Quoted message said:

Might want to consider limiting that info when calling Customer
Service....

Actually I put it to them straight-up... presenting it about
three different ways in hopes of getting through. Even tried to
talk them into gusseting the dropout weld when they fixed it.

But I think it all went in one ear and out the other. Maybe if
somebody can talk to the Main Man they might get through... but I
suspect the rest of them are just doing their jobs.
--
PeteCresswell

Signs of a crappy company. Kinda like Smellsworthless.

JD