Bit confused about a new bikes suspension forks!!!

[assadahmed]

Having difficultly in sourcing a basic new mountain bike for my son, I managed to purchase one from Costco. Its a Romet R6.0 Junior as per the link below.

I was assuming that as the bike has suspension forks and that the description mentions the bike having a 100mm travel suspension fork, there would be some way to lockout or adjust the forks settings or even see some noticeable movement of the forks when I put some weight on the bike. I'm not really getting any of this.

Am I missing something here, or are the forks not going to move?


https://www.costco.co.uk/Sports-Spas-Leisure/Bikes...

[Justin S]

Sadly they may well sell you a bike with 100mm of travel but you would be very lucky to get much. They are coil sprung forks and , although you 'may' have a preload adjustment on the top of the crown, from experience of friends with similar value bikes it wont make that much difference . Try winding the preload to minus , as far as it will go ( if it is there) and see if it does make a difference. If not , then I suspect unless you weigh 10 times your sons weight it might not happen .

[lufbramatt]

Looking at the photos it doesn't even look like there is 100mm of stanchion showing between the fork lowers and the crown, 50-60mm at best (if you compare it to the size of the tyre), so I don't see how those forks can have 100mm of travel. TBH it sounds pretty typical of forks at that level.

[assadahmed]

Yes once I actually unboxed the bike i realised the forks would not have any movement.

My son is only 10 though and its his first bike really so it will be OK to get him into riding. If he develops his riding can always get a better bike.

Thanks for the replies.

[SouthHamsGaz]

Is there a top cap on the forks you can remove easily? If so take it off and see what is inside. If it is a spring then it is far too heavy. If elastomers then they may free up with use.
Also the seals will be probably complete turd and creating a ton of friction, so spray some lube on the stantions and that may make them work better.

[assadahmed]

Good thing about Costco is that they have a 90 days return policy so I'm not too disappointed. Will give it back after a few months and get something better.

[nosuchuser]

Hopefully not being a bike snob but that costco bike is horrible. A kid needs a properly sized, lightweight bike otherwise they're not going to enjoy it imo.

Have a look at Islabikes. They are great little machines and if your boy doesn't enjoy it, easily sell-able on ebay as they hold their value really well. Maybe try and buy a used Beinn 24 - I've just sold a 6 year old one for ~300...

Front shocks at this price range/age are normally a heavy coil that your son might not be heavy enough for it to move. An air fork would be better, something like this would make a good buy:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-nucleus-...