Shocks worth keeping? (now about Halson Inversions/PDS)

[BarneyRubble]

Cool

 

[Crell]

Nice to see some ventanas here, they're pretty under-represented on the site. What year is that?

 

[justjustin]

Thanks, like my 16th Ventana or so, to date.

1996 Marble Peak FS
Built once but appears to be ridden by a grandma - no suck or
slap, not even cable rub at the head tube. Maybe 10 to 200 easy miles?

Been a fan since my first (just like this) in 1997-ish that was traded
from Sherwood Gibson (Ventana) for Halson forks back in 1995 I believe.
(Got it used too - from Halson's #2 in command, though he seemed to run
it all, Steve Wilson) Sherwood told me once that he designed and built
frames for Ellsworth back in the 90's for a time. I should look for a Ventana thread, huh? Me likum Ventana.

 

[RockiMtn]

Here is my revisit to the MPFS I had with the PDS.
Just hung parts mostly, not really built, yet.

Justin, I think you need a tyre on that back for that rear suspension to work for ya!

 

[justjustin]

lol

yeah, but the brakes actually ARE bolted down so I am fine.



Funny, I actually finished a desert race on a bare front rim.
Finished down pavement with the last 100 meters in a dry
creekbed with lots of small round rock and some larger ones.
That is the loudest freaking bunch of noises I have EVER heard on an MTB.
(about 19.5 pound hard tail from ~1999)
My 25 pound MPFS had a Green PDS on it at that time!!

Phew, back on topic!

 

[justjustin]

Nimbus, I think someone stored some stuff on top of a bike that
had your fork on it. Those are the right colors (roughly) and
the right proportions, just short, and it sounds like they are fairly
stiff. All pointing to compacted poly. Maybe it got super hot
in a car or storage?

We ran them without sag, but I think they had a touch from the factory
sometimes. The best for your fork to perform at ~140-155 pounds is to
have one stick of PDS white mixed in your stack. Wish I had some to
spare...

I am trying to get in contact with the guys still, but been hectic here the
past few days. Maybe next week...

 

[BarneyRubble]

I recently got in touch with a fellow called Jeff menown, who is Product Manager for Giant, but used to work for Halson Designs BITD, he was friendly but couldn't help us in our search. Email below:

Barney,

I understand you were looking to find some old HD parts for your Inversion fork. I would love to be able to help you or suggest someone who could but in all honesty, it has been several years since I’ve had any parts and I really do not have any contact with any of the old crew from there.

Might be time for something new ;-)

Kind Regards,
Jeff Menown

Oh well, it was worth a try!

 

[RockiMtn]

too bad to hear that. guess i'll just wait till the replacement polys come in and run them naked like everyone else without boots. the bike is probably not gonna see much dirt if any so shouldn't be too bad i'm guessing.

 

[simon_adams_uk]

I bought a pair of Halson forks (the completely black version with angular brake arch) in 2007 with completely dead elastomers. After quite a bit of playing around I found that Manitou replacement elastomers/springs can be (just about) fitted instead - I know Vitorzip had some Manitou elastomers a one time - worth asking him perhaps.

With the springs as well as elastomers they feel lovely and smooth - good enough for a couple of races including a 24hr enduro!

HTH,
S

 

[Mark L]

Dad told me to grab some parts from the shed or he'd trash them. Found a set of forks I had forgotten about, along with some other bits and bites.

One is a believe is a RockShox fork, but for all I know it it could be a repaint and decal of something else. I have no experience with them, so I can't assess for myself. Seems to still work as it compresses with pressure. Paint on the lowers are scrapped and peeling in areas. Decal seems to be not one piece but seems to be built with red and black on top of the reflective white square back.

The other is some unknown inverted fork. Seems to be seized though. There are slots for the brake posts to slide upward. Kind of see in one pic but is hard to see being covered by the brake booster.

Should I bother with these? Or should I just toss them?

[edit] Thread topic is now more about Halson Inversions/PDS but if anyone has info about the other set of shocks and their worth, please let me know, thanks!

Woot. I have something to contribute here, finally.

I owned the first pair of shocks, they are still on my old Ironhorse back at my parents place. I loled when I saw rock shock stickers on it. It probably symbolizes the thoughts of each and every person who bought one because they wanted Rock Shox but SR Duotracks are all they could afford.

Those would be the Original SR Duotracks. something like <3 cm of travel, coil sprung, undampnened. They weren't really found on department store bikes, and I would say their build quality is much better than the latter shocks such as the duo track 7005 that were found on just about every department store bike. They are <3 pounds as well if i remember correctly. Hmm. what else, I had to remove one of the springs in one of the fork legs in order for it to be usefull as I used to weigh around 100 pounds when I bought it.

Heres a pic of them with original decals