|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Joey
a Cross Country Rider
from United Kingdom
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Forgotten | | Strengths: | Ten years use and still rockin'. Solid as a rock. Easy to maintain. Tough. the only forks ever to give a ride as precise as solid forks. | | Weaknesses: | Spares availability, none neaded so far except elastomers, but these days I've got a home shop :) | | Similar Products Used: | I've tried almost all the forks going - my brothers both raced Downhill on huge things for years. Before they got into heacvy bikes they had cross country machines with various sets of forks. They were always jealous of the inversions precision ride, but complained of lack of travel. | | Bike Setup: | Ancient DBR set up as light as I can afford. Weighs less than my first 'racer' even with the halsons on. | | Bottom Line: | I've had the Inversions for over ten years. For the last six my new daughter has limited my activity :(
They transformed my riding. They have been up and down mountains all over England, Scotland and Wales. They went up and down Snowdon and Cader Idris. I solo'ed the PORC track in Kent once. They had a 12' ramp straight down and up a 4' jump ramp into space at the start of one of the runs. I am not abig air junkie, but I took that ride three times, the halsons bottomed on landing, but no damage. This is a light X-C bike not an engine-free moto-X downhiller! They are great.
I love these forks and when they die I shall cry. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ray
a Weekend Warrior
from Antioch CA
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Black Diamond Mines | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Did I say stiff. Little to no flex
I can stand my 200pd body on my bike and kick ass uphill or on the fly
Easy Maintenance
All Black Color | | Weaknesses: | Spare Parts
Halson has been out of business >5 years | | Similar Products Used: | manitou 3,judy tt | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Wahoo, LX derailleurs, LX brakes and levers,Titec stem, Bont crowbar handlebars,lx shifters, deore crank, xt chain, xt bb,rocky mountain pedals, sram 9.0 cassette, speed v saddle, mavic rims, irc and ritchey tires 2.1 | | Bottom Line: | Purchased the fork brand new two years ago on ebay and it just sat in my garage until MAY 04. Had some problems with the judy tt I had on my bike so I decided to install this classic fork on my rig . The fork elastomers were stock and set up for a 150-170pd rider, but I heard from the grape vine some time ago that old answer elastomers would work in the fork. So I went on a manhunt a low and behold I found bike shop with a ton of elastomers of every durometer for dirt cheap. Wow, what a difference I can set up how much spring I want depending on the temperature outside (Cold-softer elastomer set-up Hot-harder elastomer set-up.
The fork tracks where I point it. I could never fly on single-tracks with the judy but the halson allows me to just breeze through. The fork fits my style of riding but is not suitable for jumping or freeriding. What fool would jump with 2 inches of travel anyway?
Before I installed the fork I serviced it. What a breeze remove the brake brace hex screws, remove the rubber boots carefully (so far mines are holding up well, I just made sure I used sufficient silicone sealant where the brake brace enters the boot slot), grease, put back together add elastomers.
I will try and keep this fork alive as long as I can that the forks of today (2004) are flexy and pogo like. I'm probably the only guy in the country riding on this fork. What a feeling. Live life | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ROGER BURBANK
a Cross Country Rider
from VANCOUVER
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | CORKSCREW | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | COVE | | Strengths: | TOO GOOD A FORK / IT KEEPS WORKING BUT I WANT TO BUY A NEW ONE | | Weaknesses: | SLIGHT WEIGHT DISADVANTAGE BUT THE STRENGTH AND QUALITY PAYS BACK 10 TIMES | | Similar Products Used: | OLD MAG 21 | | Bike Setup: | HARD TAIL / STEEL RULES BABY / DONT BELIEVE THE EASTON HYPE | | Bottom Line: | TOO GOOD / I WANT TO BUY A NEW FORK BUT WILL
NEVER BE ABLE TO BLOW IT UP | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Manseau
a Cross Country Rider
from Southborough, MA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Simplicity. Light weight. Ease of service. | | Weaknesses: | Company is out of business | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shock Mag-20, Marzocchi B2 Bomber, Lawill Leader(by Control Tech - JUNK) | | Bike Setup: | Currently on my old Fat Chance, but seriously considering putting it on my Schwinn Sweet Spot full suspension frame. | | Bottom Line: | I wrote a review in '97 and stick by it today. The unit has performed flawlessly. The design works perfectly. Judys all suffered from a fatal flaw: lateral flex. The other new forks I've tried have been unimpressive, e.g.: S.I.D., Manitous, or Marzocchis. They're either too flexy, too limited in speed range, too heavy, or WAY too expensive. $700?! For a fork?
I applaud the people who admitted that eventually ALL things will fail under enough abuse. Always check your bike for cracks or loose parts. You just might save yourself a whole lot of aches and pains. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jo jo
a Downhiller
from australi
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | jojo kango | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$999.00 | | Purchased At: | izzi's kangorama | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | all | | Similar Products Used: | rst 182 | | Bike Setup: | team dh and halson, with 10 inch prototype discs? welded on to halson | | Bottom Line: | it is bad | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Dodge, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Lief Erickson | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Local Bike Shop In Portland | | Strengths: | I bought this fork something like 4.5 years ago, and havent had a day of trouble with it. It really is very good for the $$, don't get me wrong, there are way better forks out there, but with the lack of maintenance involved with this fork, it's been great! | | Weaknesses: | Not a plush fork by anymeans, nor any rebound adjustments, kind of like a pogo stick at times. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Judy LT | | Bike Setup: | Fuji Suncrest (steel is real!) With deore lx/xt set up. | | Bottom Line: | All you gotta do to this baby is put some teflon based lube on her elastomers every now and then, to keep them from drying out and cracking. That's all! You can't buy these anymore, and that shows how far the suspension tech. has progressed in 5 years, but if you bought one 5 years ago and haven't touched it since, it probobly works just fine, like mine.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tommy
a Racer
from Bellingham WA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Fast, techy xc--FAST! | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | used, friend at local shop | | Strengths: | very lightweight and tracks nearly perfect lines on fast descents. No crappy oil seals, no oil at all!! a big plus in wet conditions. Inexpensive and easy to maintain. A good fork for medium weight and not very aggressive riders. | | Weaknesses: | What the h*** is up with the glue-together constuction?! I haven't seen a poorer desing before, ever! This fork works great until you attempt to land a two-foot drop and the fork leg comes UNGLUED from the top brace. Seriously, there are threads on the legs and everything, but they're just glued yo the top brace! The upper leg simply slid down the lower leg and thewhole thing snapped off. Like it was slow motion--I didn't actually go down until ten feet after the landing. What the h***! Also, not a lot of travel. | | Similar Products Used: | Bomber z3 and z1, Rock Shox SL and 100. | | Bike Setup: | Training bike: KHS team aluminum frame with mismatch parts--race face cranks, syncros BB/stem/post, chris king headset/hubs, xtr der's, etc. | | Bottom Line: | Works great until it completely falls apart. I was a fan until yesterday. A great design, but no wonder the company went out of business. Oh, and good luck finding any parts for them.
Also note though, I am not a small rider and I do ride HARD. At 190 ibs is there anything that won't break? Well, haven't had any problems with my Super 8 yet.
I would recommend a sid, straight out, or a marzocchi. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tim
a Weekend Warrior
from cincinnati, ohio
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | super rigid,
short travel good for slow technical/ trials stuff
quick, springy rebound
simple, low maintenance design | | Weaknesses: | short travel not good for really high speeds
hard to get spare parts
offset crown on first-generation forks slows steering
stiffens up in the cold
no fancy adjuster knobs | | Similar Products Used: | mag21, judy sl, manitous, etc | | Bike Setup: | khs team 95, litespeed obed | | Bottom Line: | i used the old, black halson on my khs for over three years. my fork had some trouble just as halson was going out of business, but i found the owner ofthe company's e-mail address and he got me up and running on no time. the old fork is great for trials, the short travel and simple design are good for bouncing. the fork also lacks preolad adjusters, but that's fine because the elastomers pop out in no time flat. the brake brace and crown are both cast (which i see as a definite weakness), but at least the crown isn't gutted from the bottom, (like a rs, manitou, or marzocchi) which creates a huge weak spot. the only real problem i had was that the offset of the fork was in the crown, which slowed steering a bit.
i use the newer (but still old- 1996) fork on my litespeed. it doesn't have external adjustment, but again, disassembly could hardly be simpler. all the different pieces on the fork are cnc machined. the stanchions are 34.9mm in diameter, bigger than a marzocchi or white bros. the machining is amazing- 3D internal and external butts (wall thickness tapered not just along the length of the tube) as well as some impressive rounded edges. smooth, incredible workmanship. the fork brace is a .75in diam alum tube mandrel bent into an arch. it is the stiffest fork brace i have ever used. a booster really isn't necessary. the air damping on the fork is super simple, speed sensitive, and has no moving parts (there is a stationary valve inside the fork that slows the movement of air when the fork compresses- no seals). i think it works really well. the only fault i have with this fork is that it has an aluminum steerer. but the inner diameter is so great that you have to use a 1inch star-fangled nut- a 1 1/8 won't fit. burly. an innivative design that got pushed aside in favor of more easily mass-produced designs.
i will miss this fork when it finally dies. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a cross-country rider
from Berkeley, CA
Date Reviewed: August 11, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Smooth fork with excellent handling. Way better than Rokshits or manitous. No complaints besides a complete lack of customer service. I need a new steertube and think that I might be pretty much #$@. Anyone out there have access to a 1 1/4 threaded tube for a Halson? The threads on mine are shot. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kris Bagdasarian
a weekend warrior
from Southington, CT
Date Reviewed: May 22, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
This is truly a remarkable fork. It is much smoother that ANY other elastomer fork. Also, it takes the big hits as well as most air/oil shocks, but doesn't require the maintainance thereof. I've had it 3 years and still have all the original boots. Easy to adjust, tune, and maintain. It's also very strong at the crown, which makes it almost as stiff as a rigid fork! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cameron Smith
a weekend warrior
from Palo Alto, California
Date Reviewed: April 12, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I had these one month before they bent. And it wasn't during a crash, but from heavy riding. Both legs buckled behind the fork crown which rendered the fork useless. Halson's customer service is undeniably the worst. The forks are mad in Taiwan and the construction is poor. I've now ridden Control Tech Leader 3's for a year and feel they are far superior. Made in the USA also. I've dealt with their customer service also, and it was a pleasing experience. Never again a Halson. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J Boeker
a cross-country rider
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: April 9, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Very plush, durable and low maintenance fork that still competes (1994 model) with new technology and looks great.The best facet must be their versatility over trail shock and big bumps and ease of adjustment.Unfortunately they don't get the 5 star rating as the boots have deterorated faster than expected and the spare parts service here is not well developed since they were introduced with a bang. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dave hansen
a cross-country rider
from Newport, R.I.
Date Reviewed: March 30, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
awesome. better than anything else we'vve ridden in R.I. only problem is maintainance. We ride a lot mud and grit and it seems to be wrecking the seals
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob Info
a cross-country rider
from Downingtown, PA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have been riding a Halson PDS for about six months now, so far the fork has provided excellent performance. Initially I had some trouble with water contamination in one leg, but I finally determined the problem was a small tear in the boot. Since the fork has no wiping seals on the legs, it is critical that the integrity of the boots be maintained. Coming from a softride stem, this fork is a definite improvement in handling and descending. From what I can tell from other riders bikes, the Halson has a much higher quality feel to it (Judys and Mach 5s feel sticky and loose in comparision). This fork is sweet. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick Grba
a weekend warrior
from Tacoma WA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I've ridden about 150 miles on my Halson fork,and can say that its a low-tech, simple setup fork. The main reason I bought it is its beefy,flex-free performance.The upside-down design is terrific for heavier people. They just need to update its internals (nobody makes aftermarket parts for it,either.)
The elastomers are'nt very supple; basically like an old Manitou fork.The travel is just under 2.I would'nt mind selling it to buy a fork with more travel and more supple travel. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Thad Wheeler
a cross-country rider
from Bethel, Maine
Date Reviewed: March 17, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I put a 1996 Halson Inversion fork on my trusted cross-country rig and all I can say is, This thing rocks. Previusly I have ridden an Amp F2 fork and loved the torsional rigidity of that fork, it was however a bit harsh in the stutter bumps. This lightweight marvel was replaced with the Halson, and even though it added some weight the performance was worth it. This fork is very stiff torsionally yet very plush through the 2.5 inches of travel. I highly rercommend this product to anyone looking for a great cross-country fork, as I said before, IT ROCKS. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Peltier
a racer
from Minneapolis
Date Reviewed: February 16, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I owned a Halson Inversion for approx. 4 months. After 3 months, the uppper left bushing had moved up about a centimeter. This caused alot of play between the upper and lower tubes. Just when I was on the point of return it to the company, I noticed a small cracking noise when the fork was compressing. Both upper tubes were cracked horizontally from the slot through which the fork brace attaches to the lower tubes. I was fully reemboursed.
The design was excellent, but was badly effectuated. It worked very well while it was alive.
Note: I'm not a weekend warrior, I'm a warrior who rides everyday but I serviced it every 2 weeks. (no kidding)
2nd Note: I'm 15 and I weigh only about 100.
3rd Note: I'll buy a Marzocchi Bomber Z2
Date: December 13, 1996
The fork is superb. I got the new one over the summer. Less maintenence, plush travel, lateral stiffness that NO other telescopic fork can even begin to compete with. The first time I swung my leg over my bike after installing, it was to start the first lap of a 24-hour race. I never looked back, and had a blast, instantly adjusting to the fork's predictable responses to all terrains. Outstanding on fast descents and singletrack, but not for people who are tricked into believing they NEED 4 of travel. If you think you do, go spend $1000, I'll just pass you going uphill, and down. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Raymond Tsang
a cross-country rider
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 11, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Forks are solid and sturdy in construction however rubber boots are fragile and wimpy and prone to tearing. Fork's length seems to be longer than other suspension forks in the market. In fact, they're 3/4 longer than my old Manitou 2's. This will undoubtedly alter your bike's geometry. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Michael Mahovich
a weekend warrior
from Florida
Date Reviewed: December 2, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I read all of these reviews before I made my decision to purchase the
Halson Inversion fork and I also read some reviews in major Magazines.
They all praised the fork for its design and performance. I purchased
the fork and I will tell you that for the first twelve days I fell in
love with it. Then it broke. Now I understand that shit happens and
stuff breaks but this was unique. You see, it seems that the large clear
boot, that seals the joint where the stanchion tube connects to the lower
leg assembly, if torn will expose the raw alluminum of the lower leg to
whatever is on the trail. In my case, the sticky rubber boot stuck to the
stanchion tube and ripped itself. Water and sand locked up the suspension
and almost killed me. If you look at other forks you will see a rubber
seal where the tubes meet. This keeps water and dirt out of the working
mechanism. On the Halson there is no seal except for the thin skinned
boot. Originally when this happened I would have let it go if the
company rep Steve Wilson would have considered even a partial refund.
Instead he told me I was crazy, He insisted that I am expected to
service the shock once a MONTH by completedly disassembling and
regreasing it. Not only was I disappointed with the way I was treated,
But I was disappointed in the product. After two long distance phone
calls to Halson, including insults, I returned the shock and wrote a
letter to my credit card company. A MONTH 1/2 later I recieve
the repaired shock in the mail. Of course I returned it.
What is the moral of my Hellish story? First, Had I bought the
RockShock that I was considering not only would they have overnigted
everything and tried to treat me the way you do when you want to keep
someones business for life, but I wouldn't be expected to service the
shock once a month and in all reality I probably never would never have
to at all. Personally I dont care it you buy a Rock Shock or a Manitou,
I would hope that somebody learn from my mistake and not jump on the
wagon. PS: I am still riding on my old RockShock Quad5 and it hasn't been
serviced in 2 years. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Curtis Poff
a cross-country rider
from PDX,Oregon
Date Reviewed: November 21, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought a Kona Explosive over the summer,it came w/judy xc,rode for a month or so.I was not impressed, so having Halson in my area Idecided to give it a try, the Halson made the Judy look like a Walmart fork,absolutely no comparison! This fork kicks butt!
Likes;smooth,stiff,low maint.and bitchen looking(IMHO)
Dislikes;only a odd topping out sound when catching air
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a weekend warrior
from Australia
Date Reviewed: November 20, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Great forks, simple design yet they work....some problems with topout on big airs!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Randy
a weekend warrior
from College Station, TX
Date Reviewed: November 8, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I am totally satisfied with the Halson Inversion fork. I bought the newer model (than the one pictured above) factory direct at an unbeatable price. It weights the same as a judy with less maintenance and better performance. This fork is very stiff and responsive. And for those that love colors, they have a very wide selection. The only problem I had was getting through to Halson to place my order, but what a small price to pay. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dR. GonZo
a cross-country rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: October 25, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I agree with all the good words said thus far about this fork. I have had it for 2 months now and it is really sweet. I weighed it when new and it was 3.7 pounds (1.125 AL steerer). After the same amount of riding, my former Judy XC had already blown her cartridge.
A few minor criticisims:
1. Customer Support ... Its been really tough to get a hold of Halson on the phone
2. Extra inertia. Although the stiff structure has many benifits, its mass distribution outside the steerer axis contributes to a feeling of extra inertia. (very minor point, all the benifits out weigh this comment) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Manseau
a cross-country rider
from Southboro, MA
Date Reviewed: October 21, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I replaced a Lawill Leader linkage fork with truly minimum loss in steering performance.
Shock absorbing is first rate. Setup is a snap.
There is only one bad thing about these forks,
nothing else will ever be good enough anymore.
Even Judy's with coil springs are really second class.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Carl Brunette
a weekend warrior
from Lancaster, CA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I also bought the PDS because of it's excellent reviews (bike mechanic, and magazine Nov 96'BICYCLING). Choice of color was also a bonus. The PDS from Halson Designs has turned out to be an excellent fork for cross country downhilling and just putzing around. The air/elastomer set-up works superb for those hard hits (if and when I feel them) and smooths out the small stuff as well. These forks are tough! The picture above is the older style, the new design is much sweeter. At $319 (+$15 s&h) the only thing beefy is the way they look!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary
a cross-country rider
from SouthEast
Date Reviewed: October 15, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought the PDS direct from the factory. I chose it for several reasons: great magazine reviews, color choices (other than gold!), simplicity in maintenance, an option for no brake hanger (at no extra cost), and stiffness. This fork has been everything I'd hoped it would be, and more. I levels singletrack chatter. It is, honestly, as stiff as the rigid fork I've been riding on my Klein for the last six months. It doesn't pack up at speed (35-40 mph) on downhills. And V-brakes fit and work flawlessly with its tubular brace. POINT: the PDS weighs the _same_ as a Judy if you put the two on a real world scale, not the one some manufacturers use for advertising specifications. The factory set mine up perfectly for my weight. And I think the Halson handles aggressive singletrack better than my buddy's Judy. The damping is noticeably better than the Judy's and the Manitou's, even though it is all done with air and a pinhole. Regardless of _how_ it's done, it's done right. I wish more people rode this fork. With their second effort they have equalled/bested the Big Two. And it's 100% U.S.A. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Danny Chow
a weekend warrior
from San Francisco, CA
Date Reviewed: October 8, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Halson Designs PDS ForkI had a JUDY XC (1996) model with 75 millimeters of travel. Although it did it's job quite well, I was not satisfied with its looks, construction, and feel on the trails. After shopping around, I've decided upon the PDS fork from Halson.Yes, yes, it is heavier than the JUDY XC. However, have anyone thought of the extra weight you would have added to your JUDY after the springs and the ultra-stiff fork brace? It would weigh almost the same as the PDS fork. Also, after all the additions to the JUDY XC, you would have invested almost $300 in addition to the purchase price of your JUDY XC. Yuck.Although it is half an inch less travel than my original fork, I haven’t miss that half an inch of travel. The fork is beefy in appearance and feel. It is a very, very stiff fork. It took all the bumps very, very nicely. It also handled the bigger hits quite well. The only oddity about the PDS fork is the zikky or zippy sound it makes when the fork moves up and down. According to Halson Designs, that does not affect the fork's performance. The sound is caused by the Teflon gliding over the machined surface of the tube. The zikky sound would progressively lessen after several rides. Overall, this is an excellent fork for the money. It is not perceivably heavier than a JUDY, it is beefy, very stiff, very responsive to hits, and very plush. I would recommend this precision instrument to most riders. (To place my review into a sensible context, I should point out that I am 130 pounds, and my riding style quick but non-aggressive. I hope this review has help you in your decision concerning which fork to buy.) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Abbott
a racer
from Provo, UT
Date Reviewed: October 8, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
The picture above it the old version. I bought the PDS (new version) to replace a very used Manitou 3. A low speeds, the Manitou was everything this fork is, but at high speeds it is a lot smoother. It is also a LOT stiffer than my Manitou was, but it was pretty worn out. Hard to say compared with when it was new. Compared to a Judy, it is hard to say. They're both pretty darn good. The fork doesn't have preload adjustment, which might bother some. I bought mine straight from the factory. They asked me my weight when I bought it and put in the correct elastomers. They were right on. Since fork performance is highly dependent on weight, I'll mention the fact that I am 145lbs and 5'8 tall. It might be heavier than the Judy's. I didn't notice if it is, though. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pete Ruckelshaus
a weekend warrior
from Trappe, PA
Date Reviewed: August 5, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I've been riding the PDS for a bit over a month now, and it's a great fork. I got it because I have been a bit disappointed with the performance of my old Manitou EFC - I didn't like the action (or lack thereof) and it felt a bit like a wet noodle when I pushed that old dirt envelope. I had seen the PDS and knew I had found my new fork.
>From a bike mechanic's viewpoint, this is one cool f*cking fork. First, you can put any size steerer tube in your fork, which is a big plus. The steerer fits into a slightly conical hole in the top of the crown and is fixed with a huge aluminum bolt that keeps everything in place. I recommend using Loctite when you install. Second biggie is that this is a pretty robust fork for us *er* robust riders. The inverted design necessitates the use of a pretty huge, slightly phallic fork boot, but the seals seem to be rubust and the regular basic maintenance (OK, every 50 hours or so, but it's been a dry summer) is pretty easy to do.
When I first rode the fork, I thought there was something wrong with my bike. The steering felt pretty squirrelly, and I wasn't feeling ANYTHING - the forks were sucking up everything I threw at them. Well, the forks weren't squirelly, they were just going where I pointed them, which isn't something I was really used to with the Manitou 1/3/4/EFC I have used for the past 5 years. Wow. My bike actually went where I wanted it to go, and I didn't have to do weird steering tricks to get there. Cool. What about shock absorption? Fantastic. There's a pair of long elastomers (MCU's, I think) in each fork leg on a skewer (Halson invented the idea), and just mix and match until you get the feel you want. I went with the smooth and supple with a hint of bump, just like I like my women :-} (kidding). I don't know how the pneumatic damping works (something called a brain, but it, well, works. I guess that's all that counts.
So, the downside?? Well, some people say it's heavy. Of course, I could lay of the post ride doughnuts, too, so I don't really care about weight, especially when it's put in the right place like in this fork. Prob'ly about 3.5 pounds. The other downside has something to do with one of the fork's big strengths - no free lunch, after all -- the fork brace. Man, this mother is big. And tubular. In fact, it's so big that I couldn't use my WTB Speedmaster cantilevers with the forks due to interference. So, I dove my spares drawer and came up with a pair of Suntour XC Pro's. Close, but no cigar. The cable fixing bolt on the back of the arm interfered slightly with the booster. So, I installed a 2mm axle spacer on the brake boss before I put on the brakes, and everthing works. Bottom line, check out your brake selection before you buy this fork. However, this fork has the BEST cantilever performance I have ever seen in a telescoping leg front suspension fork.
Other stuff. It's available in lots of cool cool colors, including green to match my WTB Phoenix. It's available with or without a cable hanger, so you guys with V brakes don't have to drag around unnecessary hardware. You can retrofit any size steerer tube in it, so if you change frames, you don't have to change forks. It steers great without any hokeyhuge front axle stuff. Brakes work great with 'em. I guess it has about 2.5 of travel. It's easy to swap elastomers.
So, who's this fork for?? Anyone who is tired of seeing Judy, Judy, Judy. Big fat guys. Little skinny guys who ride like big fat guys. Bike mechanics. Guys who don't like to maintain their equipment after every ride (AKA bike mechanics). Engineers. Guys who never want to buy another fork again (but what fun is that?). Hey, let's just say it's a contender. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rick Brusuelas
a weekend warrior
from Fremont CA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I have gone from completely rigid, to Allsop stem, to Mag21, and now
to Halson Design's Inversion fork. I have been a happy camper now for
two years with the fork. Its easy to tune, its very reliable, its a
lot more rigid than the Mag21 (and ast least as rigid as Judy), and
its suspension actions is smooth and controlled. Maintenance is a
breeze... simply unscrew the top caps and pull out the skewer to
clean the bumper stack (make changes if desired) and occasionally
oil the skewer with TriFlow. While the early (pre-96) Judys and
M5s suffered from reliability probs, the Halson works without a hitch,
providing 2 of travel, at 3.3 lbs, and less than $300. I strongly
recommend it if you can find one. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Martin Gagnon
a racer
from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 6, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
It's one of the best fork on the market and I don't know why I don't see more
of them on the trails. Very low maintenance. I replaced the stock elastomers
with a kit of Judy MCU, and this work very fine. This fork is stiff, very stiff.
I have mine since last year and I don't want anything else. I saw other people
having trouble with Judy oil cartdrige and some other loosing an elastomer stack
after it poped out of their Manitou. It's a good design that work very well...
period.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Simmons
a cross-country rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: March 28, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I am surprised I don't see more of these on the trail, they compare
very well to Judy's, at a significant discount. They are soft
enough on the initial part of the travel to soak up the small
bumps, and can handle the big hits very well too. And as a bonus
they look really cool and are available in several colors.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Blenio
a weekend warrior
from Los Gatos, CA
Date Reviewed: March 28, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
From my experience this is an excellent fork. Very stiff and the inverted
design provides for a more responsive ride. They are much better than my
old Mag 20's and much nicer than the Judy's I have ridden. Aesthetically,
this is an awesome choice too. I'm a proponent.
| | Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$
