Suspension forks - retro vs modern

[Kerplunk]

Thanks for the replies. Instead of focusing my mind its added more options.... Oh well. Off to the for sale section I go.

 

[Whatleymeister]

I put Rebas on my kili, rides great!

 

[jimo746]

+1 for Fox F80's, light, plush, reliable 80mm of travel

 

[Splatter Paint]

Fox are awesome, I've dropped the travel down to 70mm before, for a retro-tastic 440mm a-c. They do work beautifully but the do look a bit odd sometimes on a retro build.

SP

 

[elPedro666]

Whilst modern forks are very, very competent indeed, I've been amazed just how well 50mm of ancient rubber can cope with a bit of basic root absorption - I paid £15 for a set of Maz Mach 5 and they've really impressed!

 

[dyna-ti]

Talk is cheap
Go to the meets and for the vast majority its Fox forks and big discs all the way

 

[elPedro666]

Talk is cheap
Go to the meets and for the vast majority its Fox forks and big discs all the way

Which meets are these? :? The ones I go to are all rigid steel and ineffectual cantis!


...
Or did the Internet steal the sarcasm from that comment before I caught it...

 

[Kerplunk]

Measured the current rigid forks this morning and they're about 400mm a-c. I think anything modern is just going to look too high.

 

[secret_squirrel]

420 will look fine I think

See the pix in my sig of my Vit T which is a non-susp frame with late model Rc36's and 420 A-C RC31's on it.

 

[elPedro666]

They'll be 395mm I should imagine.

Go with the shortest shockers you can find, knock twenty mil at least off the stem (which is probably a tiller anyway) and bring the saddle slightly forwards to compensate for the relaxed seat angle (might need an inline but I doubt it) and it should handle okay. Depends whether you're happy to lose an inch or more of stretch though.

Trying it with a DynaTech and Amp F3 at the moment, will be a few days before it's rolling though..