Sorted Front bounce

[Matttymm]

A little bit of research ;

What year you go for will make a big difference. The best performing fork will be Rock Shox SID but you’ll pay for the privilege.

Up to 1997 forks were elastomers. 1998 was oil and dampeners and Air forks really taking shape shortly after.

If you’re OK with something as late as 2002 then the Marzocchi Marathon seems like a decent bet without the budget of the Rock Shox

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/14503223...jsclaxbt7a&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[oldave]

Thanks for the guide. They're for a '99 Lava Dome and I have no need for originality.
Put the Wanted in <1997 because of rim brakes.
I don't want elastomers.

 

[ishaw]

Decent forks with v mounts are getting harder to come by, at least in decent condition.

Only had a few sets of marz forks, as said, very solid and relatively bomb proof. Parts are easier to come by than say early 28mm rock shox.

Now, I have had the same conundrum, decent v mount forks, but some that are still easy enough to get parts for.

As a result I've become fairly familiar with more modern rockshox and fox.

I've bought, serviced or built from new old stock parts a good few forks to get me what I've wanted, namely plush, modern ish forks that I can service myself (or if you aren't into that, can still be serviced by professionals).

Forks are moving on and up, more travel, ratter stanchions, boost spacing etc, but if I were looking for an air fork now, I'd keep my eyes out for:

Rockshox recon.
32mm stanchions so not too old and parts like wiper seals etc easy to come by. Can be had with v mounts. The sl version is the better one, I'm not actually sure how it differs from a Reba. The gold stanchions are better as alloy not steel, so no rust issues and lighter.

Rockshox Reba.
As above, but lower end versions are going to be better than the recons, or at least a match to the sl version.

Rockshox sid
Hsrder to come by than the above with v mounts, but they are out there. Not a huge difference performance wise really, but lighter, but more expensive.

Fox.
Float for air, vanilla for coil. 32mm stanchions and in my opinion at least, older ones are more durable than the newer ones. I was lucky to buy a newer set with the grip damper and transplanted a new set of legs with v mounts to get arguably the best modern v mount fork I could (aside from sid world cups anyway). I'd steer clear of talas versions as not serviceable at home and many places don't do them either.

Other to consider are pace, look great and pace and fork English still service them. Rc39s were the last with v mounts.

Probably goes without saying but condition and service history is key, as is any info on use. Better to know how good it is than taking a risk on the unknown as servicing forks costs as much, possibly more than a used but good fork.

 

[oldave]

@ishaw, that is comprehensive and very helpful - thank you.
I have never serviced forks and no longer have even basic facilities (nor the inclination) to learn!
Use would be only tarmac and bridleways - in the past I would have scoffed at any need for suspension but age and the state of roads now says otherwise!
Perhaps time to buy a complete, almost-new, 2nd hand bike - plenty for sale! I suppose hydraulic discs would also be less effort for my hands and fingers.
I must think harder!

 

[Matttymm]

One final thought - although ishaw nailed it for you Dave;

If you really don’t care about age; then the best fork you can get for Rim Brakes is the Rock Shox Solo Air:

New and modern it will out perform any of the retro forks.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rockshox-S...ocphy=1006502&hvtargid=pla-319592230022&psc=1

 

[oldave]

@Matttymm . Thank you! I assume this is the same one at a ton? At max 9st will i get any movement out of them do you think?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm?itemId=334750854168&varId=543906267132&du=1

 

[Matttymm]

When I went around the buoy on this a few years ago; I found the listings a bit confusing as there is a coil variant and an air variant.

The key I found was finding the ones with the air port on the bottom of the leg. I ran them on my Marin Indian Fire Trail and they were very responsive. There is a load adjuster and lockout from memory. You will feel the difference.

These are the cheapest I can find the air variant ; you might want to shop around. I imported mine as they were cheaper in Europe.

https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/product...MIpbDv-J-p_wIVhsbtCh2W3AjaEAQYEiABEgL2rvD_BwE

 

[oldave]

More thanks. Obviously further research required to distinguish between the two!

 

[Matttymm]

Here’s an air on eBay. Used but in top condition

Might be worth a cheeky offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35471888...jsclaxbt7a&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Matttymm]

Here’s where I got mine Dave. Saved a fair bit even with shipping

https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/s...er-tk-solo-air-fork-26-1-1-8-100mm-bl-564941/