[mikeee]

Hi, I recently bought a new mtb frame, and want to buy a suspension fork to go with it. My question is, my frame is pretty light (4.5 lbs) and will a heavy suspension fork totally screw up the balance of my bike? What's a good weight for this? I've been doing a lot of googling for bike geometry and such, but everything I read seems to deal with replacing an existing fork and not with adding a fork to a frame w/o one. My frame is pretty much generic (i think, no decals, just plain black) and didn't come with an owner's manual. Any tips? Also, can anyone tell me why the down tube is so funny looking? (cross section would look like a teardrop)

Thanks.

 

[Spoondy]

Depends on what type of riding you wanna do with it. if you wanna use it for jumping around, go with something that can take the punishment, like marzocchi's. if you wanna use it for just cross country riding, go with something lighter (sid, skareb etc). but it all depends on how you wanna ride it. I a fork's gonna weight 3-5 lbs depending on which one your buy. also, how much travel do you want on it? 80mm, 100mm, higher? I don't think the weight of the fork will change the balance of your bike all that much though. I dunno.

 

[ARB]

Rock Shox Judy TT

Like the last post said it depends on what type of riding you want to do. I've always liked Rock Shox forks. Go to http://www.nashbar.com/ and request the free catalog on the left hand side. Page 5 has a Rock Shox Judy TT for $70. Pretty good inexpensive shock.

 

[ARB]

Rock Shox Pilot C

Like the last post said it depends on what type of riding you want to do. I've always liked Rock Shox forks. Go to http://www.nashbar.com/ and request the free catalog on the left hand side. Page 5 has a Rock Shox Judy TT for $70. Pretty good inexpensive shock.

Forget my previous post. Here's a better fork for almost as cheap.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=FK606A00

 

[SwissBuster]

Hi, I recently bought a new mtb frame, and want to buy a suspension fork to go with it. My question is, my frame is pretty light (4.5 lbs) and will a heavy suspension fork totally screw up the balance of my bike?

I would worry less about the weight and more about the travel of the fork. Your frame will be designed with a particular fork length in mind and the geometry will be optimised for that fork length. If you add, say, a 150mm downhill fork to a frame that's designed for an 80mm fork, you'll seriously change the headset angle and the wheelbase length which will effect the handling characteristics. Choose a fork that's suited to the frame - if its a light frame that is probably an 80 or 100mm travel fork.

 

[HTail]

Agree w/above

As the prev post stated, frames are usually designed to work with certain travel forks. If you get the wrong travel (sit's too high or low), your steering may be compomised. Of course the beefer (longer travel) the fork it will typically be heavier. Again, depends on the frame design and your intended type of riding.

It's common with many frame manufacturers to use odd shaped tubing. I've been told from custom frame builders that the regular round tube is the best shape for strength, but special shapes may work if stategically located, or if you're going fast enough may have an aerodynamic effect (usually on road bikes).

 

[mikeee]

Thanks everyone, will keep the suggestions in mind, still got a lot of researching to do. I've already got a bike to ride, so this new one will be my 'project bike'. Trying to learn about all these complicated bike things can get aggravating without a helpful resource.
Thanks again