[mtnbkmann]

My buddy just got a 2008 Fox Talas R and wants to sell it to me for $400. He hasn't even ridden it once. I really want to put it on my entry level hardtail, a Giant Yukon. Right now I have a crappy fork, the Dart 1, and I was wondering how much of a difference it would make. What do you think?

 

[Monk_Knight]

Well... the fork itself would feel amazing... those are really nice forks. Though going from 4 inches of travel to 5.5 inches would mess up your geometry pretty badly... that said you could just keep it in the four inch setting and just bump it up every now and again... I don't know, but that is a pretty darn good fork for $400...

 

[womble]

A 1.5" change in fork length could be fine- I've had my own bike change from anywhere between 110 and 150mm.

Anyway, you should be looking at AC height, not the amount of travel. The relevant forks might be on this list: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=228241&highlight=fork+height

 

[bikerjay]

coming from a dart 1 you are gonna think you have a whole new bike. I think the dart 1 has that infamous rock shox NO dampener. If that talas fork is really in good shape I say bolt it on. And womble has has some solid advice about axle to crown length.

 

[scottzg]

You will have to invest in a new front wheel.

 

[Flystagg]

the fork is going to be disk only, so make sure you have the wheel and brakes to go with it, or it will cost you more than $400.

 

[DGB]

You're also likely to put more pressure/stress on the headtube of the Yukon and the chances of cracking it are higher if the Talas is run at 130 or 160mm travel. If the Yukon is new and still in warranty and you crack it with the Talas on it, Giant won't warranty it.

 

[tomsmoto]

i paid 170 for my 2007 talas RL.. there was a boatload of them on ebay right around 200 when i picked mine up. 200 plus a fox rebuild comes out cheaper. sure its technically not "new", but after push is done its probably better than new.

 

[mtnbkmann]

I think it has the 9mm open dropouts. Would I still have to then?

 

[mtnbkmann]

The Talas I'm looking at goes from 100-120-140. Do you think It'd be fine to run it at 120? I want to buy a fork that will last me a long time and that can be moved from bike to bike.

 

[mtnbkmann]

I think I would just keep it at the 100mm setting and sometimes bump it up to 120. I want a fork that's adjustable so that I can put it on bikes in the future.

 

[Whitedog]

Is the fork your buddy wants to sell you new with uncut steerer tube? $400 was about the going rate on ebay for the R model new when I bought a couple a year ago, so he's not necessarily cutting you a deal. A quick check on ebay completed items shows pricing averaging more in the range of $350.

Even if you kept it in the 100mm travel position for your Yukon, the fork will be a huge improvement over the Dart1...and as you mention, the fork could transfer with you later to a longer travel full suspension bike.

The 08 Talas has the normal 9mm QR dropouts so your wheel will fit fine. Also, according to the Giant website the Dart1 came on 2008 & 2009 model Yukons and based on the pics, it appears the Dart1 fork has post mount tabs for brake caliper mounting and the Talas uses the same post mount tabs, so your caliper would swap no problem
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/mountain/1280/29353/?collections_id=3
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/mountain/2279/32121/

 

[mtnbkmann]

Awesome, thanks for all the help guys. I went ahead and bought it and I'm so excited. Thanks again for all your input.