Suntour XCP-75 users - too stiff fork????

Warp · May 23, 2005

If you have a Suntour XCP-75 fork and you feel it too stif, here's the cure....

If you remove the top caps on top of each leg, you'll note the spring/elastomer stack almost sticks out (arrives nearly to the border of the crown, just shy of 2-3 mm)... when you place the cap back in it will compress the spring/elastomer stack nearly 15mm. So when a less than 170 lbs rider rides the fork it is too stiff due to the over-sprung fork.

The cure to it is simple... pull both legs stacks out and measure the threaded portion of the leg cap - some 15mm. Now cut off that measure from either one of the elastomers for each leg. Reassembly and voila! You have now a fork that... well, kinda works like a fork now.

By doing it saturday night before sunday's ride (30 min job max) you'll get a fork that you might actually have to preload with the preload adjusters to get proper sag. I was getting 52mm (max) of travel before the mod. After sunday's ride, I got 63mm - Almost 3/8" off a 3" fork is likely an improvement and the fork rides just better.

My two cents....

Call_me_Clyde · May 23, 2005

Or possibly this

Warp2003 said:
If you have a Suntour XCP-75 fork and you feel it too stif, here's the cure....

Remove bolt from cap on headset, release tension in bolts on stem allowing said XCP-75 to fall haplessly onto floor, replace with '04 Marzocchi Marathon S 120.

o O ( Couldn't resist, dude...)

Bob

Warp · May 23, 2005

Call_me_Clyde said:
Remove bolt from cap on headset, release tension in bolts on stem allowing said XCP-75 to fall haplessly onto floor, replace with '04 Marzocchi Marathon S 120.

o O ( Couldn't resist, dude...)

Bob

RLMAOL!!!!!!!

You're predicting the future actually... sooner or later it'll happen.

Man, I fell in love with that Zoke... A buddy is riding a Fox Vanilla... and it's nowhere plush as the Zoke... awesome. Plain awesome. Soncerely I cannot leave my awe.

Prexus2005 · May 25, 2005

About to upgrade my stock Suntour fork. That sucker weighs 5.5lbs!!

I've narrowed my choices down to the 04 Marathon S 120 at $270, an 04/05 EXR Pro at $150 or an 04/05 MX Comp Air at $160... Not sure which one yet but leaning toward the MX Comp. Heard too much good things about Marzocchi to not try one. =)

Phil.

Warp · May 25, 2005

Prexus2005 said:
About to upgrade my stock Suntour fork. That sucker weighs 5.5lbs!!

I've narrowed my choices down to the 04 Marathon S 120 at $270, an 04/05 EXR Pro at $150 or an 04/05 MX Comp Air at $160... Not sure which one yet but leaning toward the MX Comp. Heard too much good things about Marzocchi to not try one. =)

Phil.

Get the Marathon.... I saw one of those in action and is out of belief how this thing works. You could see how the handlebar barely moves with the terrain while the fork was just working like crazy... amazing. The Fox I've seen are plush, no doubt. But the Marathon goes beyond belief....

tigerdog · May 25, 2005

Yeah but the worn-out limey riding that Marathon S was consistently getting his arse served to him by a guy with some crazy RST dual crown thingy. As Lance so correctly states: "It's not about the bike".

I've heard somewhere that stripping out all the SR Suntour's internals and replacing with a 50/50 mix of Oaxacan cheese and mole colorado provides plush "bottomless" travel. Of course I may have missed something in the translation there.

Matt

Warp · May 25, 2005

tigerdog said:
Yeah but the worn-out limey riding that Marathon S was consistently getting his arse served to him by a guy with some crazy RST dual crown thingy. As Lance so correctly states: "It's not about the bike".

Good point.

tigerdog said:
I've heard somewhere that stripping out all the SR Suntour's internals and replacing with a 50/50 mix of Oaxacan cheese and mole colorado provides plush "bottomless" travel. Of course I may have missed something in the translation there.

Matt

LOL! ... I still have to play with the levels of mole colorado to eliminate brake dive but I got the right sag and progressiveness out of the Oaxacan cheese....

tigerdog · May 25, 2005

Prexus2005 said:
About to upgrade my stock Suntour fork. That sucker weighs 5.5lbs!!

I've narrowed my choices down to the 04 Marathon S 120 at $270, an 04/05 EXR Pro at $150 or an 04/05 MX Comp Air at $160... Not sure which one yet but leaning toward the MX Comp. Heard too much good things about Marzocchi to not try one. =)

Phil.

As a 105 Marathon S owner, I'd say ifyou have the extra $100 it's money well spent. The HSVC damping cartridge in the marathon is a lot better than the SSV ones in the cheaper forks. It eats up high-speed stutter bumps much better.

Oh yeah and the gold anodized top caps have got to be worth an extra $50 alone!

tigerdog · May 25, 2005

Oh yeah and the ETA saved me on sunday on the climb to the tienda

Prexus2005 · May 25, 2005

Yeah, the Marathon S is obviously the better choice when compared with the EXR and MX Comp Air... but then... when comparing forks that are around the $270-300 range... does it still hold up as the best value/choice for aggressive XC riding?

I'm leaning now toward the $160 MX Comp now after just spending $50 on a failed smog check.. knowing I'll have to spend more money to correct the issues and get a retest... There goes another $50-100.. and hopefully not more. =/

Phil.

Warp · May 25, 2005

Prexus2005 said:
Yeah, the Marathon S is obviously the better choice when compared with the EXR and MX Comp Air... but then... when comparing forks that are around the $270-300 range... does it still hold up as the best value/choice for aggressive XC riding?

I'm leaning now toward the $160 MX Comp now after just spending $50 on a failed smog check.. knowing I'll have to spend more money to correct the issues and get a retest... There goes another $50-100.. and hopefully not more. =/

Phil.

Dude, that is a 500 bucks fork that happens to be out there for less than 300 for the fact that nobody understood it at its time. The Marathon S was "heavy" and long travelled for Marathon racing. It turned out to be the perfect weapon for the trail rider being light, pretty adjustable and long lasting.

It holds fine against a 400 '05 Vanilla... easily.

The MX Comp damping is nowhere near a Marathon's one.... and the Marathon chassis is lighter and as resistant as the MX.

Prexus2005 · May 25, 2005

Ok ok I'll buy the Marathon S, please don't hurt me Mr. Warp..

Was trying to find the weight of that fork... any idea what it is?

Thanks.

Phil.

Warp · May 25, 2005

Prexus2005 said:
Ok ok I'll buy the Marathon S, please don't hurt me Mr. Warp.. Was trying to find the weight of that fork... any idea what it is?

Thanks.

Phil.

Fine you finally understood, son....

I guess the Marathon is around the 4-4.2 pounds.

tigerdog · May 26, 2005

I didn't weigh mine, but I swapped from a skareb which probably weighed 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound less. I'm a much happier man today. I find that weight-weenies are generally unhappy people chasing an impossible dream. My sh!t works and it works damn well. I climb better, I descend better, and as I recall from my last ride my sh!t eating grin is bigger all round.

Suntour XCP-75 users - too stiff fork????

Warp

Call_me_Clyde

Warp

Prexus2005

Warp

tigerdog

Warp

tigerdog

tigerdog

Prexus2005

Warp

Prexus2005

Warp

tigerdog

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