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26" Fork options?

3K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  XCScott 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I'm hoping I could get some opinions on the best "budget fork" for a 250ish rider. I have done a search and came up with some info, but not Clyde specific info. I am just getting back into trail riding after about a 10+ year hiatus (sad I know.) Career, marriage, kids, other interests have kind of gotten in the way. Anyway my wife and son have really gotten into it, so I got my 6yo son a specialized hotrock 24 which he loves, and I resurected mine and the wifes bike from our college days when we used to ride a lot.Mine is a schwinn Moab 1 which has been extensively upgraded over the years (I wrenched in college for about 5 yrs.) Anyway I have completely over hauled the whole bike, and attempted a rebuild on the fork a Manitou FS Bulge Ti, and the rebound dampening is shot. So i've been researching forks and have found the RS XC32tk, and the Recon SIlver TK coil or air that are in my budget, but just looking for opinions or other suggestions in that price range <$200 preferably 150ish. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 29er in the next year or two so I don't want to dump a bunch of money on the fork, but want something decent to ride in the mean time. It needs to have a 1 1/8th steerer, and must be V-brake compatible. I mainly ride flat flowy stuff with short technical climbs and a few short but steep drops. I'm not jumping or bashing stuff really anymore. If my tires are more than a foot or two off the ground I'm gonna be slowing it down or changing in to my Brown pants ;) Sorry for the novel but wanted to give some good background info. Thanks for any and all advice!!
 
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#3 ·
Thanks for the info BW will check that fork out. From some of the research I've done the consensus seems to be that air sprung may be the way to go for us big boys? I know when I upgraded to the bulge years ago, I upgraded to the stiffest springs available. A lot has changed technology wise in those years. When I got out of the sport the first evo SID in the baby blue had just come out, and the only bikes with disc brakes were Pro DH setups! I have a lot of catching up to do, so thanks for the info. :thumb up:
 
#5 ·
Air spring is a must or you will be rebuilding the shock to upgrade the coil spring to the firmest one available and then you will have spent enough for a air shock.

Recon Silver Soloair. Lowest priced air shock... easy to rebuild.

RockShox Recon Silver TK S-Air 100 Fork 2012 at Price Point
 
#6 ·
Air spring is a must or you will be rebuilding the shock to upgrade the coil spring to the firmest one available and then you will have spent enough for a air shock.

Recon Silver Soloair. Lowest priced air shock... easy to rebuild.

RockShox Recon Silver TK S-Air 100 Fork 2012 at Price Point
Replacing the coil spring takes just a few minutes and simply involves removing the top cap on the left leg...DOES NOT require rebuilding the shock, totally bogus information.

The Solo Air works quite well but the damper on the Recon Silver is total crap, it costs about $90 (for the Argyle MC compression damper) to get a damper that is remotely close to the Manitou's and replacing it does require a fork rebuild.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I whiffed on a recon silver solo air on eBay last night. Checked out the Manitou minute expert also, any body have experience or an opinion about this fork? Thinking it may be worth a few extra $ now as opposed to regret later. Hoping I can find something that was a take-off. Sure miss my employee discount from back in the day.
 
#9 ·
OK so the minute is not air sprung? I was under the impression that it was a combo of air/coil. I'm pretty handy with a wrench, I did wrench my way thru college so I will be doing any work/upgrades myself. Still one of the most fun jobs I ever had. The v-brake bosses are my enemy right now, I've found a bunch of forks (ebay, takeoffs, closeouts etc.) but 99% of them are disc only. Wish I could swing a new ride, then I could go rigid with slicks on the moab and use it as a training/fitness bike for around town. I really appreciate you guys input on this, it sounds like the recon solo air may be my best option, and I'll just have to deal with the damper issue. It's got to be better than the pogo stick I'm riding right now, that's for sure!
 
#11 ·
I'm 6' 1" 250 and put a 2010 recon silver TK solo air 100 on a 26" leader hardtail. It works very well. You can run the air pressure very high up to a 300 lb rider weight I think. It's plenty plush and very responsive. I haven't successfully used the lockout. I switched it over 1 time and it didn't seem to work but I really haven't tried to read up on it and use it. Maybe when I start using the bike as a urban/road/hybrid I'll check out the lockout again.
 
#12 ·
Great info in that thread Knight! I am trying to work one out on ebay right now, if i can do it i'll switch out the springs. I havent found the springs online anywhere though?! If that falls thru i may still go with the RS. One thing i like about them is the availability of parts Judy's from the late 90's you can still get all sorts of parts for. Meanwhile my Fs bulge...not so much :-(
 
#13 ·
I still run a Judy race from 99 on my secondary bike.... I was going to replace it with a Recon Silver, but my wife insisted I replace the bike instead. Never argue with your wife. :D
 
#14 ·
I have had the 2011 Manitou Minute Expert since about July. I weigh 180 and I've been very happy with it. I have only set the air, played with the rebound, and used the lockout. I would imagine you being 70 lbs heavier than me would probably want to get a stiffer spring, as suggested, or else you wouldn't have the happy results I've had.
 
#15 ·
don't mean to steer this in another discussion...

I've got a slightly different dilemma. Can't decide between a tapered Fox 34 w/ 15mm axle and 150mm travel or straight Fox 36 w/ 20mm axle and 150mm travel.

I'm about 6'2" and 265 and a decent rider. I'm not looking to do any crazy drops or anything, just the occasional all day epic. Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks!
 
#16 · (Edited)
Well I'm still looking. What about an 08ish Reba race dual air? Looking at a used one could probably get in the $150 range. I've also seen a lot of older SIDs on ebay go for around a hunge. Or would I just be better off getting the recon silver air new and starting from scratch. I don't want to buy somebody else's problems. Any advice on these forks is greatly appreciated! Thanks for everybody's comments and advice on this so far.

Edit: forgot I have Also seen a few manitou black forks any experience with these?
 
#17 ·
A Reba would be fine. Order a rebuild kit for it, rebuild the fork when you get it and you should be good to go. Stay away from SIDs. They are Rockshox's light weight XC forks... lightweight and Clydesdale don't mix.
 
#18 ·
Well I finally ordered a fork. I went with the minute expert, just seemed like a lot more fork for the money. Got it right at 250 same price as the recon air with free shipping from pricepoint. I will check it out and see how it works before I change out the springs, but I expect I will end up needing to do that. I tried hard to pick up something on the cheap on eBay, and just about had an 09 reba race for $150 but got outbid with 10 secs left!!! So I am way past over dealing with that crap. Last ride I went on, my current fork was making some strange creaks and pops on one of the more advanced trails I rode so it's got to go. Thanks for everyone's help, I'll keep you posted how it works out.
 
#19 ·
Got the fork installed and took it for a test ride this past weekend. A big thank you to you guys for all the great suggestions. I have the sag set up as best as I can in stock form for my weight. I'm at about 30% sag, and with the preload turned almost all the way up I only used 70mm of travel total on my test ride. I purposely hit some large roots hard, and did some minor jumps, and all I can say is what a difference. I am going to run it as is for a while and see what happens before changing out the springs. Thanks again here's a few pics!

Before and after
 

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