[brd]

Howdy,
Long time no post... been rockin this climate warming here in the alps with my Id

I'm looking for advice on suspension setup. I have a romic rear (with two springs, but not really sure which one I should use for my weight to be honest! - are there guidelines?).... and a Marz z1 Freeride QR20 130mm (5"). The Romic gives 5.75" on the rear, right? ... cos I was thinking about the idea of upping the front to 150mm (6").. and am looking for recommendations for a fork.... a good one.. preferably spring based... light and strong... 20mm axle.
The disadvantages I see are going to be cost, and a raised top tube on an already high top tube frame... and is it worth it? I like the ride as it is... although sometimes I get the impression the front is very nervous... although maybe I need to play with settings more on it.
Any thoughts appreciated! Thanks.

 

[thumbies]

Pike....

I recently bought an unused 05 Pike Team (coil, U turn, 140 mm), I am using it on my "freeride" bike (lots of rocks and techy stuff, no drops) which is an 02 Kona Stinky. It slackened the HA a little bit compared with the last fork (an 02 Vanilla 125) which was a welcome change for riding the rocks. It is also easily the nicest fork that i have ever ridden . incredibly smooth and plush, stiff as hell, and very easily adjustable. You can ride it wide open or bump up the compression damping and control the level of platform with the turn of a knob. U turn travel adjust works very well, from 95 to 140 mm. Last but certainly not least is the MAXLE thru axle system which is phenomenal...literally as easy as a traditional QR but Waaaay stiffer.

Thumb

 

[JM01]

Howdy,
Long time no post... been rockin this climate warming here in the alps with my Id

I'm looking for advice on suspension setup. I have a romic rear (with two springs, but not really sure which one I should use for my weight to be honest! - are there guidelines?).... and a Marz z1 Freeride QR20 130mm (5"). The Romic gives 5.75" on the rear, right? ... cos I was thinking about the idea of upping the front to 150mm (6").. and am looking for recommendations for a fork.... a good one.. preferably spring based... light and strong... 20mm axle.
The disadvantages I see are going to be cost, and a raised top tube on an already high top tube frame... and is it worth it? I like the ride as it is... although sometimes I get the impression the front is very nervous... although maybe I need to play with settings more on it.
Any thoughts appreciated! Thanks.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=8200

you can also change the rear travel to 5.75" by swapping in a 2.75" stroke shock

 

[chad1433]

It's quite likely that the axle to crown length of the Z1 at 130mm is greater than the Pike at 140mm (Marzocchis were notoriously tall, but '06-'07 models are more "normal".). Possibly, the Pike will steepen the HA, especially if you run the longer shock. The idea behind the shorter shock was to lower the BB and slacken the HA of the traditional Id (called the California Id).

So, you would need a longer fork to equalize the changes you make by adding the longer shock. Fork options would include the '07 Z1 (orange and blue!), AM 1s (now with 20mm TA), Lyrik U-turn and Van 36. The Lyrik, though a 160mm fork, does allow for fine tuning with the U-turn option. It's very stiff and RS's damping is excellent. It's not overly heavy either.

I think you need to look at the A to C of your current fork and compare that to what you might want to buy to judge how it will affect your HA. It may not be the best idea to swap the shocks w/o buying a taller fork.

 

[JM01]

It's quite likely that the axle to crown length of the Z1 at 130mm is greater than the Pike at 140mm (Marzocchis were notoriously tall, but '06-'07 models are more "normal".). Possibly, the Pike will steepen the HA, especially if you run the longer shock. The idea behind the shorter shock was to lower the BB and slacken the HA of the traditional Id (called the California Id).

So, you would need a longer fork to equalize the changes you make by adding the longer shock. Fork options would include the '07 Z1 (orange and blue!), AM 1s (now with 20mm TA), Lyrik U-turn and Van 36. The Lyrik, though a 160mm fork, does allow for fine tuning with the U-turn option. It's very stiff and RS's damping is excellent. It's not overly heavy either.

I think you need to look at the A to C of your current fork and compare that to what you might want to buy to judge how it will affect your HA. It may not be the best idea to swap the shocks w/o buying a taller fork.

Yes, but what will it to to the standover?...with a 30" inseam and 5" travel on my Id, I'm glad that I'm not planning on more kids

 

[lidarman]

The Id is ideal with a long fork (140 mm or greater) when using the 2.25 stroke Romic. Or using a 5" fork and a 2.0" stroke shock in the Cali-edition mode. Why? Otherwise, the head angle is too steep and the bike oversteers when the front dives slightly. I found a fox vanilla was notorious on my id before i got a pike.

Pike seems to be the best fit for the Id in that you get 140 mm of travel, with minimal a2c length, keeping the bb and toptub minimal, while still being long enough to deal with the oversteering.