MTB noob looking for replacement forks

[Resolutionary]

Evening all,

Looking for some advice - self confessed entry level mountain-biker here (but loving the outdoor time)!

I have a Giant hardtail thingy as pictured:



Picked it up during lockdown, serves it's purpose fine, although I've since replaced the freewheel and both tyres / tubes, and added some vertical bar ends for comfort. I mostly do gravel and road cycling, with a bit of trail and very light downhill mixed in.

The other day I took it to an off-road area nearby and landed a small bump at a funny angle, and since then it seems the forks have bent internally, at least to some extent as there is a bit of play and a noticeable 'dip' when braking. Here's a pic of the current setup, to be honest they look pretty cheapo.



I've seen you can replace forks but I'm somewhat overwhelmed by what is on offer.. specs for mine are:

Size: 26"
Steerer diameter: 1.1 / 8
Steerer length: 210mm*

• Not sure if the steerer needs to be tapered or straight, or if I need to stick to the size I have - can I fit a longer steerer, or cut down one I find?

I would like between 100mm - 120mm travel as I'd like to do a bit more downhill / rough stuff in future.

I've seen Rockshox come up a lot. Other than that, I don't know!

I have a budget of say £200 for forks, I know this will limit me in terms of new kit but what about second hand?

Recommendations welcome!

[mikey P 500]

Looking at photo of bike I would guess you have a straight steerer (a taper one is 1 1/4 at bottom and would not fit) and as you have alot of spacers on there at top could get away with a longer steerer and chop down or a shorter one and run less spacers. You should ideally not fit a fork with much more travel than old ones as will change frame angles (handling will be affected) also adds stress to frame (I snapped a giant frame at head tube a few years ago by using a longer than factory fork). Also need to consider it should have standard QR fixing at wheel end to work with current wheels. Basically brand not too important at this level but should aim for air not not steel springs so can adjust to for you weight to get working better.

[P-Jay]

Yeah, I guess they're straight steerer.

Unfortunately your bike is a little behind the times when it comes to current standards, 26" straight steer / QR hasn't been used on new bikes since about 2012, 26" went unofficially end-of-life in 2014.

The German online shops however have got you covered (they're far better than the UK ones for obscure stuff).

These will be night and day better than what you have now, they're under budget and compatible. The drawback is the steel stanchions, they will eventually rust, look st and run badly. You can prolong this by giving them a quick clean after every ride and a spray with GT85. They'll last a couple of years and by then you might want to upgrade your bike anyway.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rockshox-recon...

These are better, lighter, better damper (still old fashioned compared to the current stuff, but still waaaay better than your current ones and noticeably better than the ones above ) They've got Alu stanchions that won't rust with the RS 'Speed Black' coating so they look more current and will be plusher. They're about £50 over budget

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rockshox-reba-...

In either case, familiarise yourself with the post-Brexit import rules, I don't know what they are at the moment, but back in Jan / Feb it was all a bit of a cluster fk and you might have to pay a couple of quid to the courier for fees and stuff, might not be the case now.

Steerer tubes are easy to cut, just watch a YT vid or two first and 'measure twice, cut once!!!' because you can't glue them back on.

Also, unless you're attached to them, ditch the bar ends if you're jumping, you don't want to be pulling one out of your ribs and they're desperately unfashionable amongst the MTB crowd.

[MC Bodge]

As above, Rockshox Reba are simple and very good (especially if tuned well). I found that the old dual air worked better out of the box than the later solo air, but most people will prpobably not be as fussy as I am.

I'd look on Ebay, but you need to make sure that you get the correct steerer type, wheel size and quick release type.

[Resolutionary]

mikey P 500 said:

Looking at photo of bike I would guess you have a straight steerer (a taper one is 1 1/4 at bottom and would not fit) and as you have alot of spacers on there at top could get away with a longer steerer and chop down or a shorter one and run less spacers. You should ideally not fit a fork with much more travel than old ones as will change frame angles (handling will be affected) also adds stress to frame (I snapped a giant frame at head tube a few years ago by using a longer than factory fork). Also need to consider it should have standard QR fixing at wheel end to work with current wheels. Basically brand not too important at this level but should aim for air not not steel springs so can adjust to for you weight to get working better.

Thanks, the point about geometry changes makes total sense - hadn't thought of that.

P-Jay said:

Yeah, I guess they're straight steerer.

Unfortunately your bike is a little behind the times when it comes to current standards, 26" straight steer / QR hasn't been used on new bikes since about 2012, 26" went unofficially end-of-life in 2014.

The German online shops however have got you covered (they're far better than the UK ones for obscure stuff).

These will be night and day better than what you have now, they're under budget and compatible. The drawback is the steel stanchions, they will eventually rust, look st and run badly. You can prolong this by giving them a quick clean after every ride and a spray with GT85. They'll last a couple of years and by then you might want to upgrade your bike anyway.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rockshox-recon...

These are better, lighter, better damper (still old fashioned compared to the current stuff, but still waaaay better than your current ones and noticeably better than the ones above ) They've got Alu stanchions that won't rust with the RS 'Speed Black' coating so they look more current and will be plusher. They're about £50 over budget

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rockshox-reba-...

In either case, familiarise yourself with the post-Brexit import rules, I don't know what they are at the moment, but back in Jan / Feb it was all a bit of a cluster fk and you might have to pay a couple of quid to the courier for fees and stuff, might not be the case now.

Steerer tubes are easy to cut, just watch a YT vid or two first and 'measure twice, cut once!!!' because you can't glue them back on.

Also, unless you're attached to them, ditch the bar ends if you're jumping, you don't want to be pulling one out of your ribs and they're desperately unfashionable amongst the MTB crowd.

Appreciate the reply! I knew my bike / style was old but I didn't realise the game moved on so fast, if you know what I mean. Thanks also for the links, great to get an idea of what will fit, and what is considered a good purchase.

For the price, and the longevity, I am going to strongly consider the Reba forks you suggested. They certainly look the part! Good to know I can cut down the steerer tube as I quite like the current height on mine.

I know the bar ends are a bit marmite but honestly they give me added comfort, I'll regularly see 30+ miles (mixed road and gravel) and when really slogging it they provide a different way to lay my body. I certainly don't intend to do any crazy stuff, but the ability to descend with adequate forks will be very useful for my riding style!

MC Bodge said:

As above, Rockshox Reba are simple and very good (especially if tuned well). I found that the old dual air worked better out of the box than the later solo air, but most people will prpobably not be as fussy as I am.

I'd look on Ebay, but you need to make sure that you get the correct steerer type, wheel size and quick release type.

Thanks, yes the Reba's look like the winner here! I think my exciting Friday night is sorted

Cheers folks!

[PomBstard]

Manitou do a good range of new forks for 26” wheels and 1 1/8” straight steerer. I put a set on my daughter’s c.2005 vintage Giant hardtail last year and am impressed at their capability for the money. Worth a look.

Also worth looking out for the old Marzocchi Flylight forks - they’re shorter travel - usually 80-100mm - but light, built to last and feel better than their travel suggests.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Have a look on pinkbike buy and sell page. Plenty of older forks in the size you need.

There used to a chap Plymouth way used to sell refurbed forks.

[DailyHack]

Yeah, I found the standards had changed alot when I started riding full time again, my dusty 2005 Specialized Epic was very old hat, still very capable, I decided to just buy a very good used 650b Hardtail for £300, seemed much better than trying to upgrade an old bike really.

Keep this and turn it on to single speed bike, just what I have done with my 26" Epic, one way to get fit FAST!

Also a good excuse, if you need an excuse, to get a new bike

[P-Jay]

Resolutionary said:

Appreciate the reply! I knew my bike / style was old but I didn't realise the game moved on so fast, if you know what I mean. Thanks also for the links, great to get an idea of what will fit, and what is considered a good purchase.

For the price, and the longevity, I am going to strongly consider the Reba forks you suggested. They certainly look the part! Good to know I can cut down the steerer tube as I quite like the current height on mine.

I know the bar ends are a bit marmite but honestly they give me added comfort, I'll regularly see 30+ miles (mixed road and gravel) and when really slogging it they provide a different way to lay my body. I certainly don't intend to do any crazy stuff, but the ability to descend with adequate forks will be very useful for my riding style!

Yep, 'Standards' have been a big issue in MTB.

The problem is that MTB struggled with it's identity for years, we rode bikes that's design evolved from road bikes and beech cruisers, following disciplines / niches from Skiing and style nicked from Motocross, from the early 80s until about 2012-ish not much changed, frames went from Steel, to Alu to Carbon. Every few years they'd add another 10mm of travel, then a few years later an extra gear, but for the most part everything was cross compatible.

Everyone hates it when their pride and joy suddenly becomes obsolete because of the latest "bloody standards", but once a designer decided to remove the bottle neck of the 26" wheel, the genie was out of the bottle, from 2013ish-to-2018ish the rate of change was staggering.

Things really aren't helped by the Bike Cos. they're terrible at explaining why they need to change things, most of the time it just seems like change for change sake and to make you want to replace your "old" stuff, but there's usually a good reason for it.

The worst case of this I think was Rockshox releasing "Metric Shocks" in 2016.

What they should have said was "we're going to introduce a new range of shocks that aren't constrained by existing accepted sizes, this will allow us to use more air and oil volumes for increased performance. We'll continue to make and sell shocks in the old standards for as long as there is demand, these won't be compatible with existing frames, but we've shared our plans with lots of bike co's who are going to start making compatible frames from next year".

"What they actually said was "We're going to sell shocks in Metric Sizes, this will be great because it'll make it easier to make shocks and frames, as of TODAY we'll only be making new Metric Shock sizes, and guess what we've already signed an agreement with lots of the most well know bike manufacturers who'll only be making frame that accept these shocks".

They decided to make this announcement on the 31st of March, on Pinkbike. The problem was by the time most of the people who visit Pinkbike read it, it was the day after, the 1st of April. Pinkbike has a long history of running prank articles on April Fools Day, also most people didn't know their shocks were Imperial, as the most standard shock size at the time was 200mm x 57mm. So assumed it was a joke.

Once it was clear is wasn't a joke, riders were mad because Rockshox have been in a fight with Fox for years in the suspension market, so it seemed that from that moment on, you would end up either with a Rockshox compatible frame, or a Fox compatible frame.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/suspension-manufactu...

In reality, the new shocks were great, Fox were selling shocks in the new sizes almost immediately and you can still get shocks for "old sizes" now.

[Resolutionary]

I'd never heard of Pinkbike, find myself on there a lot now!

Thank you all so much for your replies, loads of useful and interesting information. I have managed to find a solution that works for my budget and skill level - purchased a cheapo set of Rock Shox 30 TK Silver forks (£120 new!) and had a mate fit them along with some other tweaks, all sorted now.

Honestly I think I'd underplayed in my mind the benefit of some better shocks, and a good tune up. Certainly, they're by no means 'decent' in the grand scheme, but since fitting yesterday I've noticed a marked difference in my enjoyment levels.

Said mate took me to Swinley today to do some trails. Obligatory photo of the steed now:



Couldn't be happier with the setup. Simple, budget / beginner friendly, and makes me want to get out there. No doubt as I grow into this hobby I'll look to improve the gear, but for now I'm smitten!

[joshleb]

Keep enjoying the ride!

I've had some great buys over the years from pinkbike, bought my first upgraded frame from there back in 2010, and still have it in the shed somewhere.