Suspension forks - retro vs modern

[Kerplunk]

Are they the ones with the worn stantions? Was watching them and thought they were a good buy! Definitely go with 80mm travel to drop them a little and hide the wear

They're a great retroish choice I think - good action without looking out of place.

If they need anything Tim / justbackdated on here is your man for everything Pace and he's a very friendly and helpful chap to boot

Yeah, thats them. Thought they'd go for more but nothing happened in the last hour. PM already sent to Tim to see if he's got any v-brake mounts.

 

[antogoof]

ive got 2 bikes at the mo a 93 kona fire mountain with rs indys on it and they take some of the sting outa the bumps but thats about it.

a 98 schwinn straight 8 wi 06 fox 40s on, and they work really well but id say the best all rounders i ever had were a 2000 set of z5 bombers.

they were air forks and they worked really well, i think they had 80mm of travel, pump em up now and again and ride on, hardly any flex and you could jump them too, thats what id go for.

 

[antogoof]

sorry buddy i did not realise you bought a set, i had a set of these too but never fitted them!

 

[Kerplunk]

So, been tinkering in the garage and this it what it looks like now. Have set the travel to 80mm (well I think I have...) just need the v-brake mounts now. Riding position feels ok and I bumped down a couple of kerbs to test the forks work.

 

[elPedro666]

Ah the time-honoured kerb test, not improved upon since the eighteenth century...

Looking very stealthy, they suit it well. Front end looks a bit high and long to me but that's just the bars and you did mention your back so...

Ride report after the weekend?

 

[Rampage]

Ref point 2:
I'm not sure modern forks in the right length, say 2" travel, will be all that easy to find :?

Modern 4" travel on that frame will completely wheelbarrow it and be utterly horrible.

Couple of jubilee clips on the stanchions to limit travel.

 

[elPedro666]

^^^
:facepalm:
:cry: :cry: :cry:

 

[Kerplunk]

Front end looks a bit high and long to me but that's just the bars and you did mention your back so...

Yeah it does look high, still got to tinker a bit. Got a slightly shorter stem on now and may take out the spacer that's under the stem but trying not to have to cut the steerer down unless I really have to. Front brake is now on and of course its further away from the lever so I need a new cable. Also got an inline seatpost on its way as I got a bit of knee pain after my last ride. When I compared it against my road bike the seat was quite a bit further back from centre bb and couldn't move it far enough forward with the current post.

 

[elPedro666]

All sounds like exactly the right things to be doing I reckon. Just pop that spacer on top of the stem rather than chopping anything

Will await the ride report...

 

[Kerplunk]

Went for a few laps round the small woods at the top of our street today. Well worn paths with a bit of tree roots thrown in and I'm pretty impressed with how the forks handle. Here's the final look, well for the moment, apologies for the shameful chainguard but its doubling as my pootling with the kids wearing jeans bike.