[GFWD]

Just wondering what experiences people have had, if any. The website says you can put a 6 inch fork on, but I have never heard anyone comment.

I would be interested to hear comments and experiences.

 

[Gman086]

I have a Fox Talas 36 on mine - feels front heavy and only plush when in the fully extended mode which makes it too slack for tight trail riding. I honestly hate my BLT right now. I'm getting a Pike w/ 5.5" travel and 3/4 lb less weight not to mention far better damping. Keep in mind that bike was designed with a 130mm fork and not a 160mm fork even tho they say you can use one. If you need a 6" travel fork then get the Nomad to go with it. I have an M3 so I don't need a "tweener" bike and should have known better from the start.

Have FUN!

G MAN

PS - Talas 36 4 sale, LOL!

 

[crazy4blues]

Hafta agree. 6 inches is wishful thinking! The BLT is really a trail bike, and a 130 mm fork will get you where you wanna go. I'm running a Vanilla 140 right now, and I never seem to use all of the travel. No need to replace it at the moment, but I can't help but think that a 130'll get me through the tightest switchback singletrack a little more efficiently.

 

[MtnBikerDan]

I'm waiting for the Marzocchi 55 - I was going to go with the AM1 SL ATA, but heard of glitches.

I'm growing weary of Fox and their reluctance to modernize their line. T/A on lightweight forks are a needed product!!! Look at the success of the Pike!

I use all the travel on my Talas RLC 32 regularly and have had a few tank slappers from the flex of the Talas.

The 36 is overkill to me for the BLT - I was going to go with a PIKE 454 U-turn for the T/A stiffness. Then I heard about the 55.

I could definitely use the extra travel on the downs. But that's just me.... YMMV....

 

[A MAN CALLED HORSE]

I've fitted the 36 van off my other bike just to try it and thought it felt pretty good. I could still climb ok and downhill was a blast. I normally have a set of 32mm talas forks on it, but to be honest i'm so used to my 36s now that anything less feels so flexy that it spoils the downhills.
If you want stiffness and 130mm travel then look at the new 36 float, according to fox it weighs 4.7lb and the travel can be converted internally very easily.

 

[krd123]

I test road a BLT with a 6 inch Manitou fork

When I was deciding to make the purchase I went on an extensive test ride (Thanks Bow Cycle) with a 6 inch Manitou. I forget which one. The bike rode well and climbed effectively with the longer fork. I made the purchase and put on the Talas that I already had and couldn't be happier. I think you would want a longer travel fork to have a travel adjust feature for long climbs. I think a 36 is overkill but something like a Pike should be about right.

 

[GFWD]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I am asking about 6" forks isn't for the extra travel, but for the reduced head angle. I have recently moved, and the riding in my area is much steeper than what I have ridden before.

I am not in a position at the moment to buy a new, longer travel bike (nomad, reign, etc) so was hoping I could put a longer fork on the BLT to relax the ride a bit. I would probably look at a talas rc2 for the travel adjust, and run it in 5" mode most of the time, while saving the 6" mode for when I go riding with the 6" plus group of riders.

I guess I will have to do some more thinking.

 

[Gman086]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I am asking about 6" forks isn't for the extra travel, but for the reduced head angle. I have recently moved, and the riding in my area is much steeper than what I have ridden before.

I am not in a position at the moment to buy a new, longer travel bike (nomad, reign, etc) so was hoping I could put a longer fork on the BLT to relax the ride a bit. I would probably look at a talas rc2 for the travel adjust, and run it in 5" mode most of the time, while saving the 6" mode for when I go riding with the 6" plus group of riders.

I guess I will have to do some more thinking.

That's exactly what I was originally thinking when I put the Talas 36 RC2 on mine. Just didn't work out for me. When I pulled her off to sell I put it up next to my Talas 32, both dialed to 130mm. The Talas 36 was close to 2" taller for A-C distance! Which made MY BLT far too slack for my tastes. Test rode a Pike today and feels every bit as plush as the Talas 36 yet keeps a similar A-C as the 32 so that's definitely the route I'm going.

Have FUN!

G

 

[Climb-n-Bomb]

Just got a BLT and put on the Pike 454 instead of the REV 426--- it has been sweet.... my downhill skills are already better or it might just be that the Pike has helped hide my deficiencies--regardless is has been a blast to bomb like I never have before!!!

dave

 

[EastBay_Slim]

If you are using a King headset you may want to look into trying a 7mm crown race to help slacken the head angle.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/z...RODUCT.ID=3120&CATEGORY.ID=462&MODE=&TFC=TRUE

 

[Gman086]

Just got a BLT and put on the Pike 454 instead of the REV 426--- it has been sweet.... my downhill skills are already better or it might just be that the Pike has helped hide my deficiencies--regardless is has been a blast to bomb like I never have before!!!

dave

Did you go with the air or the coil version?

 

[m-dub]

I run a 36 in 6" 90% of the time. I like slack bikes and the short seat tube of the 4X wouldnt fit my 6"2" frame. Its my XC/trail rig and I have used it at a 4cross and 24 hour events. It does feel a little tall but still has mellow BB height. I use the talas mode less and less and find the bike handles just as well with is at 6". Its really what you get used to. We have tons of sand and with the slacker angle I can fly strait through the soft stuff were others are doing the wiggle. If you like slack angles you will dig it if you like steep angles you will think its not so hot

 

[phunk_dup]

I have a 36Van on the front of mine and love it, I like the slacker angles and dont find it a problem on tight twisty rooty stuff that we have down here in NZ. I had considered putting something adjustable on and have a pair of Z1 SLs to try, but probably wont bother as it rides too well to mess with.

 

[Gman086]

I have a 36Van on the front of mine and love it, I like the slacker angles and dont find it a problem on tight twisty rooty stuff that we have down here in NZ. I had considered putting something adjustable on and have a pair of Z1 SLs to try, but probably wont bother as it rides too well to mess with.

A Foes FXR was designed with a 6" fork in mind as was a Nomad so of course they're going to feel fine on the twisty stuff. My point is IF you start messing with forks NOT designed for your frame then you'll run into A-C issues that WILL affect headtube angles and thus the handling your bike was designed for even if you adjust the travel up or down. A 2" A-C difference is a LOT to compensate for.

Have FUN!

G MAN

PS - So far we have three positive comments for a 36 and NONE on a BLT. The 4X has an even lower BB height than the classic while the BLT is higher than the classic so I could see how that could work and the others are on a Foes FXR and an Ellsworth Moment BOTH designed for 6" forks. Anyone actually have a 36 (or other 6" fork) on a BLT (THAT IS A BLUR LT PEEPS, READ THE QUESTION) and like it?

 

[keen]

I can't comment on the actual ride of a 6" fork on a BLT but I have measured the HA of a BLT w/ a Fox 36 = 67* HA. Now this is the same angle you will get running the same fork on a Heckler. What's odd about the BLT is the BB height w/ a 36 is 13.5" sort of low considering it will get lower w/ a shorter fork. I find 67-68* HA are tolerable on an agressive ridden trail bike. An un-balanced suspension set-up can make a bike ride like poo - I can trail ride my balanced Bullit w/ a 65* HA.

 

[GFWD]

Gman: What year TALAS 32 were you comparing to the TALAS 36? The axle to crown heights I have managed to find for both are:

TALAS 32 at 140mm: 515mm
TALAS 36 at 160mm: 545mm.

So if I remove 30mm from the TALAS 36 it would seem to measure the same at the same travel.

I will have to do a side to side comparison to get real life info though.

Also, two of the mechanics at a local shop run 36s on their blur LTs and both seem to love them.

If the TALAS 36 sits at 515mm in 130mm mode then I think I am going to pull the trigger.

 

[A MAN CALLED HORSE]

A Foes FXR was designed with a 6" fork in mind as was a Nomad so of course they're going to feel fine on the twisty stuff. My point is IF you start messing with forks NOT designed for your frame then you'll run into A-C issues that WILL affect headtube angles and thus the handling your bike was designed for even if you adjust the travel up or down. A 2" A-C difference is a LOT to compensate for.

Have FUN!

G MAN

PS - So far we have three positive comments for a 36 and NONE on a BLT. The 4X has an even lower BB height than the classic while the BLT is higher than the classic so I could see how that could work and the others are on a Foes FXR and an Ellsworth Moment BOTH designed for 6" forks. Anyone actually have a 36 (or other 6" fork) on a BLT (THAT IS A BLUR LT PEEPS, READ THE QUESTION) and like it?

Not sure if you were refering to me, but my positive comment was for the 36 on a BLT, the 36 normally is on my Moment but i may buy one especially for the BLT. I didn't feel as if the 36 made the angles too slack, and the bottom bracket height still felt ok. BTW my experience has been that the first gen brown 36 talas can make any bike feel like shite, whereas the Van has the opposite effect.

 

[Gman086]

>>BTW my experience has been that the first gen brown 36 talas can make any bike feel like shite<<

Well that is exactly what I tried (the chocolate monkey) and couldn't wait to replace it. I was comparing that (2006 model) to a 2005 model Talas 32 that extends out to 130mm. I dropped the Talas 36 down to 130mm from 150mm and placed them side by side. The larger crown on the Talas 36 made it approximately 1.5" taller for the A-C distance so it went away on E-bay last week. I admittedly don't know how the newer versions compare but I'm not about to fork over $1,000+ for a new Talas to find out! My Pike 454 Air U-turn should be showing up any day now and I'll give a report back as soon as I get a chance to rail her.

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[phunk_dup]

PS - So far we have three positive comments for a 36 and NONE on a BLT. The 4X has an even lower BB height than the classic while the BLT is higher than the classic so I could see how that could work and the others are on a Foes FXR and an Ellsworth Moment BOTH designed for 6" forks. Anyone actually have a 36 (or other 6" fork) on a BLT (THAT IS A BLUR LT PEEPS, READ THE QUESTION) and like it?

I have a BLT with Fox 36 Van, that was my point :eh:

 

[Gman086]

Ride report: After getting a few rides in now with the Pike I'm blown away! At first I thought I may have made a mistake because the coil version I'd tried seemed much plusher but the air version just had to get broken in. The Motion Control damping is far superior to anything Fox has. It has adjustable compression damping via a blue lever that allows you to fine tune BOTH platform and blow off damping so you can still get a nice smooth ride WITHOUT any brake dive or bike yaw. The 20mm TA makes my BLT track every bit as true as with the Fox 36 on it AND it saved over a POUND from the pig heavy Fox 36. EXTREMELY happy with the Pike. BLT FINALLY feels balanced now and I didn't have to give up any travel - Pike has 140mm USEABLE travel and I never could get the Talas to use the end of it's travel ever anyway no matter what compression settings I'd used. The Fox was a nightmare compared to the Pike! Also got my RP3 redone by PUSH. Werd: The only good Fox shock/fork is a PUSHED Fox!

Have FUN!

G MAN