29er suspension Forks

[The Penguin]

Hi all,

Currently have a rigid Cannondal SL hardtail. Looking to add a suspension fork but can't find any with a tapered steerer and 9mm qr dropouts, am I missing something?

Quite fancy a Rockshox Reba as cannondale themselves use this on the top model. Any other recommendations?

[neenaw]

As far as bang for buck goes, you won't get much better than Reba's.
You can usually find tapered steerer and 9mm QR forks on Merlin, On-One or one of the German sites.

If you can't get a tapered steerer fork then you can get a Hope crown race adaptor which fits to an 1" 1/8 fork steerer and let's you run a 1.5" bearing to suit a tapered steerer tube.

[duff]

I couldn't find Reba's for a good price when I was looking, these seem good value:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291185853761

[The Penguin]

Are Fox 32's any good?

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/Fox-32-FLOAT-100...

[gazza285]

Planet X have this one.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RockShox-Reba-RLT-29er-1...

[Bobley]

Either these Rockshox from Bike Discount

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rock-shox-reba-...

Or (cheeky plug coming) buy my barely used Black 2014 Fox 32 CTD 110mm for £180 and buy a new Hope wheel from Merlin £130?

I've got Reba on my lads bike, SID on my old 26er and now Pikes on my 29er (hence the spare Fox).

I'd say they're much of a muchness. I bought the Pikes in August for my Specialized Camber (which I bought in late May) to try and upgrade it but the difference in my cackhanded opinion is very marginal.

[BadgerBenji]

If you have the rigidity of a tapered steerer, I would personally go with a 15mm axle especially on a 29er, just to keep it tracking straight, and not gain a twangy indirect feel to the steering.

[gazza285]

BadgerBenji said:

If you have the rigidity of a tapered steerer, I would personally go with a 15mm axle especially on a 29er, just to keep it tracking straight, and not gain a twangy indirect feel to the steering.

Meh.

How much more rigid is a tapered steerer over a straight steerer? How would you quantify the rigidity difference?

How much more rigid is a 15mm axle over a 9mm axle? How is this quantified?

How much more twangy and indirect is one fork to another?

OP, ask yourself, how much riding do you do that needs a sprung fork? I am faster and in more control with my rigid than I am with a suspension fork over most terrain, rigid 29ers are the future...

Lose the gears as well...

[Bobley]

The extra rigidity becomes obvious when you hold the front wheel and waggle the handlebars. My old 26er Sids with 9qr are really floppy. My Pike 29s are much stiffer so the bike holds its line better over the rough stuff. Many reviews highlight this problem on 29ers.

[BadgerBenji]

gazza285 said:

Lose the gears as well...

Finally some sense from amongst the physics homework

P.S. good luck in the 3 peaks.

[The Penguin]

BadgerBenji said:

Finally some sense from amongst the physics homework

P.S. good luck in the 3 peaks.

Gears have already gone still would like a suspension fork.