[Bummer]

Hi there,

I figured that this would be the place to get some advice on the above topic. My wife weighs 47kgs which results in her 85mm Marzocchi EXR AIR fork not activating very well, even at very low PSI.

If I reduce the PSI further, the fork sags too much and there is not enough rebound. Writing in to Marzocchi gets no reply.

I'm keen to keep her mountain biking experience a good one and would like to find out what sort of lightweight XC forks folks here would recommend for someone with her weight?

Many thanks.

 

[Lucky]

Hi there,

I figured that this would be the place to get some advice on the above topic. My wife weighs 47kgs which results in her 85mm Marzocchi EXR AIR fork not activating very well, even at very low PSI.

If I reduce the PSI further, the fork sags too much and there is not enough rebound. Writing in to Marzocchi gets no reply.

I'm keen to keep her mountain biking experience a good one and would like to find out what sort of lightweight XC forks folks here would recommend for someone with her weight?

Many thanks.

I have a '00 Sid XC which I've had no trouble getting all the travel out of. The HydraAir system seems to have a good tuning range on the low weight side. I'm not at the minimum air pressure to get a good ride. A lot of folks say the SIDs are flexy, but at her weight, it may not be an issue. I haven't really noticed a lot of flex, and I'm about 59kg dressed and ready to ride.

I have a Fox Talas on another bike and would not recommend it for a light rider. I'm already running the air pressure off the chart on the low end to get all the travel.

I'm about to try out an '04 Manitou Skareb Super, as soon as I put the soft spring in it. They also make an x-soft spring for even lighter riders, so this might be one to look into. It's an oil-damped air and coil sprung fork. There were a couple folks over on the Shocks page who had switched from '00 SIDs to the Skareb Super and liked it better. Sorry I don't have any comments on it yet. Maybe someone else will. Good luck!

Kathy :^)

 

[GMF]

Hi there,

I figured that this would be the place to get some advice on the above topic. My wife weighs 47kgs which results in her 85mm Marzocchi EXR AIR fork not activating very well, even at very low PSI.

While that fork is definitely beefier than she needs, you can tune that fork a bit, if you are somewhat mechanically inclined... You can change the oil and the oil height to really tweak the characteristics of the fork. Lowering the fork oil (more total air space) will make the fork go through it's travel more easily, which sounds like what you want. Also, switching to a lighter weight oil will let it rebound more briskly. I've done both of these things to my exr air, and it really livened up the performance, which i previously thought somewhat lifeless and bland. You can also think about just ditching the oil out of one leg and simply running the air/oil thing on one side only. It'll save a bit of weight and make the remaining leg think it is supporting someone twice your wife's size. (i've never done that myself, though).

This is obviously a cheap solution. A generally lighter fork would likely be appreciated, but IMO probably not necessary. As a counterpoint, though, i just put a Noleen Mega Air on my wife's bike, so we'll see how she likes that.

Good luck,
-Damon

 

[formica]

the weight of the EXR is one of the things that's kept me from putting that Bomber on my bike. I''ve currently got a SID SL w/ 80 mm of travel on my bike, I think it's like 1 maybe 1.5 # lighrer than the EXR. It rides really nice, but I''ve had some maintenance issuew with it. I finally sent it back to RS for a warranted factory rebuild and it seems fine now. I've got my bike set up as a lighter FS rig, and I weight #130.

I noticed the Jenson catalog has a really good breakdown of shocks by weight, that could be a use ful too.

formica

 

[Bummer]

I'll try changing the oil weight first...

Thanks very much for the replies. I shall try what GMF suggested before trying a different fork.

Cheers,
Chi

 

[litespeedchick]

I'm metric-challenged, but I weigh 110 lbs. and here's my set-up:

'03 SID Team. It's very light-weigh (less than 3 lbs.) and although I don't get a lot of travel, it's about all I need, and reasonably plush. I had to send it back to Rock Shox after the first 3-4 rides, they had a manufacturing glitch, but they fixed it free and it's been fine now for over a year. I had an '00 SID Race before that (2.5 lbs) and it lasted about 3 years.

Rock Shox is not for everybody, but if you are a lightweight rider who wants lightweight parts and you aren't a hucker and you don't mind buying a new, fairly expensive fork every few years...then it will work for you.

 

[formica]

I'm metric-challenged, but I weigh 110 lbs. and here's my set-up:

'03 SID Team. It's very light-weigh (less than 3 lbs.) and although I don't get a lot of travel, it's about all I need, and reasonably plush. I had to send it back to Rock Shox after the first 3-4 rides, they had a manufacturing glitch, but they fixed it free and it's been fine now for over a year. I had an '00 SID Race before that (2.5 lbs) and it lasted about 3 years.

Rock Shox is not for everybody, but if you are a lightweight rider who wants lightweight parts and you aren't a hucker and you don't mind buying a new, fairly expensive fork every few years...then it will work for you.

That pretty much goes with my experience, is that RS is not the most reliable. I had mine rebuilt twice by RS before it quit leaking, and my good pals who are bike parts gear nerds ( tech crazy?) call RS Rock Sucks. But otoh, these forks are lighter than some of the others, and that is definatley a consideration.

formica

 

[JustDoIt]

I'm also in the RS camp. I don't notice flex. Love the weight. The air shock works well for me. I have a 00 SID XC on my ht, and a 04 SID Team on my fs. I've never had any reliability problems with either shock.

[Formica, I keep noticing you have "tree hugger" under your avatar. A guy at work tried to call me that once. He was quickly corrected by another guy who said, "Men are tree huggers, women are fern sniffers." I had never heard THAT before. Guess you're crossing the line?]

 

[formica]

I'm also in the RS camp. I don't notice flex. Love the weight. The air shock works well for me. I have a 00 SID XC on my ht, and a 04 SID Team on my fs. I've never had any reliability problems with either shock.

[Formica, I keep noticing you have "tree hugger" under your avatar. A guy at work tried to call me that once. He was quickly corrected by another guy who said, "Men are tree huggers, women are fern sniffers." I had never heard THAT before. Guess you're crossing the line?]

tree hugger has to to with a bike wreck I had once. For all I know you all have seen the pic and didnd't know it was me - you know how that stuff gets forwarded around the internet. Maybe I'll post it someday.

;-)

formica

 

[JustDoIt]

tree hugger has to to with a bike wreck I had once.

Ouch!! That gives it a whole new meaning!
I think I'd rather fall on a fern... just don't want to be called that.

 

[Zonic Man]

Get her a fox air fork.

They rule.