New fork on my Hardrock...??

[cannedheat]

Quite fancy one of these http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/info_625.ht... on my '07 Hardrock disc. The price is good, the spec looks good but before I pull the trigger, will the damn thing fit?!



The shock on there at the moment is a RST T7 thing in 100mm travel. The Reba is 100mm travel too so I presume it's just a straight swap?

Cheers,
Rich.

[pdV6]

Should be a straight swap (other than cutting down the steerer to length).
You'll need to carefully extract the crown race from the old fork and get a new star nut for the Reba (if not supplied).

Don't know what brake mounts your RST fork has, but if they're post-mount, you'll need an adapter as the Reba is IS-mount.

[gbbird]

pdV6 said:

Should be a straight swap (other than cutting down the steerer to length).
You'll need to carefully extract the crown race from the old fork and get a new star nut for the Reba (if not supplied).

Don't know what brake mounts your RST fork has, but if they're post-mount, you'll need an adapter as the Reba is IS-mount.

Yeh they will fit, as per the advice given above

[cannedheat]

Cool, thanks. Will get that ordered then!

[R1 GTR]

pdV6 said:

Should be a straight swap (other than cutting down the steerer to length).
You'll need to carefully extract the crown race from the old fork and get a new star nut for the Reba (if not supplied).

Don't know what brake mounts your RST fork has, but if they're post-mount, you'll need an adapter as the Reba is IS-mount.

So what are these post and IS mounts?

[snotrag]

The two most common standards for fitting disc brakes to a fork.

I.S. mounts have the holes aligned with the axis of the hub/axle.

Pot mounts have the holes at perpendicular to the line of the hub/axle.

As if by magic....



You need to make sure your forks match your brakes.

Your current forks will almost certainly be I.S. mount im betting.

If they dont match, you can...

Change the caliper, (most common with hope brakes) or Add in a bracket/carrier to match. This usually involves bumping up to an 7 or 8" disc size aswell.

[R1 GTR]

Ok i get it now and you're right the RSTs are IS mounts as i've got them on my '07 Hardrock too

Edited by R1 GTR on Tuesday 11th September 20:34

[cannedheat]

R1 GTR said:

Ok i get it now and you're right the RSTs are IS mounts as i've got them on my '07 Hardrock too

Edited by R1 GTR on Tuesday 11th September 20:34

Ahh that's good, I didn't actually bother to check

Merlin have a great deal on that shock at the moment. £219 down from £320ish but then they're also doing an extra 10% off this week so got mine for £199 Also ended up ordering some new tyres - some Panaracer Razors...very nearly got a Fizik saddle too. Gah it's too easy to spend money online!!!!

[pdV6]

cannedheat said:

Merlin have a great deal on that shock at the moment. £219 down from £320ish but then they're also doing an extra 10% off this week so got mine for £199

£199 is a good price but most places on-line will have them in the low-ish £200s rather than over £300 as the SL model is OE fitment only and not usually available in shops. The Reba Race is about the nearest in spec to the SL that you can get retail, the only difference being an external (rather than internal on the SL) floodgate adjuster.

[_daveR]

Id say they would be a VERY good upgrade. RST's are not renowned for being anything but pretty poor Im afraid.

As mentioned above you will need to take off the crown race from the steerer tube of the RST's and put it onto the Rebas. This is very easy to do with a screwdriver and hammer (just drift it off basically!)

What headset do you have on the bike? It may be worth getting a better/newer one fitted while you are upgrading. My reason for suggesting this is if you go to you Local bike shop to buy the headset, most will price match Chainreaction/Merlin/Wiggle etc and then fit it for free. Give them your forks at the same time and you get it all done for 'free'.

[pdV6]

_daveR said:

Id say they would be a VERY good upgrade.

I went for a set of Rebas 10 months ago & they've been ridden through mud, snow, dust & rain without even a basic service and they're still getting better every ride.

[snotrag]

_daveR said:

My reason for suggesting this is if you go to you Local bike shop to buy the headset, most will price match Chainreaction/Merlin/Wiggle etc and then fit it for free. Give them your forks at the same time and you get it all done for 'free'.

If you want stuff like this doing - you have to be nice to the bike shop guys. They are much, much, much more likely to fit stuff gratis if you bought it from them...

Theres nothing worse than when some kid comes in and says

" I bought these on the internet because they were £5 cheaper than you but now I dont know what to do with them, can you fit them for me for free and spend half an hour showing me how to get XYZ to work "


However, if your reasonably, and you bring cake/biscuits (yes, people do this, yes, it really does work) you will find them much more helpful.

(Ex bike-shop employee1)

[cannedheat]

snotrag said:

_daveR said:

My reason for suggesting this is if you go to you Local bike shop to buy the headset, most will price match Chainreaction/Merlin/Wiggle etc and then fit it for free. Give them your forks at the same time and you get it all done for 'free'.

If you want stuff like this doing - you have to be nice to the bike shop guys. They are much, much, much more likely to fit stuff gratis if you bought it from them...

Theres nothing worse than when some kid comes in and says

" I bought these on the internet because they were £5 cheaper than you but now I dont know what to do with them, can you fit them for me for free and spend half an hour showing me how to get XYZ to work "


However, if your reasonably, and you bring cake/biscuits (yes, people do this, yes, it really does work) you will find them much more helpful.

(Ex bike-shop employee1)

I've just been down to my LBS (not where I bought the bike) to ask about fitting and the guy was basically an unhelpfull arse. He did tell me I'd need a new headset though so might look into that (currently has the original cane creek one)

I think I'll end up taking it to the Specialized dealer 25miles away where I bought the bike as they've been good to me so far. They fitted a Thomson stem I bought from the USA and serviced my bike all for free last time so more repeat business heading their way...

Any suggestions on a headset then? I would go for a Chris King one from aspirevelotech but im not sure I can wait for it to be delivered from the states...

[snotrag]

Most headsets by WTB, FSA or Canecreek will do you right for a chunk less money than a King.

Look for something £30-50 quid with sealed cartridge bearings and you can't really go wrong as long as its fitted properly.

[_daveR]

The guys/girls I ride with all run Canecreek headsets with no problems what so ever. Kings are nice but theres no need for £100 worth of headset IMO.

Where are you based? I might be able to suggest a more helpful LBS. I use Mountain Trax in Wokingham and Chris there is a top bloke. Very helpful and happy to fit my own parts, but then Ive spent a fair bit of money with him over the years.

Edited by _daveR on Thursday 13th September 08:43

[gbbird]

I can second (or is that third) a Cane Creek headset. Quite easy to fit by yourself too, if you make sure when you take the thing out of the box you do not drop the parts all over the floor like i did.

[_daveR]

A good little trick with headsets when they are out of the frame is to stick a cable tie through them as soon as you can and zip it up so that the parts are then kept in the right order.

Getting a seal/race the wrong way round can kill it rather quickly.

[gbbird]

_daveR said:

A good little trick with headsets when they are out of the frame is to stick a cable tie through them as soon as you can and zip it up so that the parts are then kept in the right order.

Getting a seal/race the wrong way round can kill it rather quickly.

Cheers - that's what i shoudl have done.

In response to an earlier post, i can't understand why the LBS said that you would need a new headset for your new forks. That shouldn't be the case. Unless they were merely suggesting upgrading

[pdV6]

gbbird said:

In response to an earlier post, i can't understand why the LBS said that you would need a new headset for your new forks. That shouldn't be the case. Unless they were merely suggesting upgrading

Or pointing out that the existing one was worn...

[cannedheat]

pdV6 said:

gbbird said:

In response to an earlier post, i can't understand why the LBS said that you would need a new headset for your new forks. That shouldn't be the case. Unless they were merely suggesting upgrading

Or pointing out that the existing one was worn...

Shouldn't be worn out, the bike is only 11 months old. Dunno why he told me I'd need a new headset, certainly no mention of upgrading. He's not filled me with confidence any of the other times I've been in there which is a shame, I rather take it to him than the Specialized dealer 25miles away...