[the_godfather]

I am interested in purchasing a new fork as my old although very strong doesnt have the kind of travel i would like. I was looking at the rockshox pike and the marzocchi dirt jumpers and all moutain range. i use my bike very frequently mainly for going to college, but i also use it for some cross country, dirt jumping (5-6ft), Light freeride and a bit or urban aswell (lots of stairs). Although most of my drops are fairly small (6ft to flat max) i would like to know about the durability of the forks because i have a tendancy to brake things. I am also confused about the pikes because they come in three different types. could anyone please shed some light on the different types

thanks

godfather

 

[crisillo]

about the pikes..

There are 3 number models :
409: internal floodgate adjust (you can use the rebound dial to adjust the floodgate)
426: external floodgate
454: lighter crown

and there are 3 spring types

U-turn : coil spring with external travel adjust
Dual Air: air spring with internal travel adjust (need to disassemble to change travel)
Air U-turn: air spring with external travel adjust

The 3 spring types are available in the 3 models.

I hope this helps...

 

[crisillo]

by the way... welcome to mtbr, godfather! :thumbsup:

 

[the_godfather]

okay thanks for clearing that up now what type would you recommend for my biking needs as i do not know a lot about forks. i am not really bothered too much about weight so the upgrade of the 454 would not really benefit me. I really need a fairly tough fork that will be able to take lots of stair and 5-6ft drops max and quite a lot of dirt jumping aswell. any models that i havent looked at that others would recommend would be very helpful aswell.

btw i have heard that the air forks are less durable than traditional spring forks and also need a lot more maintainence. are there any other benefits to air forks other than being lighter

thanks
the godfather

 

[Mr. Doom]

The stock spring on the Pike is too soft for some riders. No pre-load makes it more difficult to dial in for aggressive or heavy riders.

I weigh 170 and needed to upgrade to the firm spring to reduce the brake dive, would have gone for an air model if it was available at the time.

The air sprung models have proven to be reliable from what I have heard. I have had a air sprung Zoke that has no problems for four years with little maintenance other than an oil change or two.

 

[konut]

z1 freeride or even a 66 with adjustable travel sounds good.

 

[the_godfather]

yeah ive looked at the Z1 and the 66's but they are a bit too piricey for my liking, looking to spend under bout £300 so any other options would be greatly appriecated. It will be going onto a Kona Cowan Frame, so anything really over 160mm would be changing geometry dramitcally. Or would it??/
thanks in advance

 

[fsrxc]

yeah ive looked at the Z1 and the 66's but they are a bit too piricey for my liking, looking to spend under bout £300 so any other options would be greatly appriecated. It will be going onto a Kona Cowan Frame, so anything really over 160mm would be changing geometry dramitcally. Or would it??/
thanks in advance

'06 Z1 SL, they are selling for <$500USD right now, so might be under 300 quid over there.

Also there is the '05 and '05 Nixon Elite, dirt cheap over here (<$300USD).

The '06 66 Light is fairly cheap over here right now, but maybe overkill for your bike? (170mm but it does have ETA)

 

[jeffj]

Seems like a 100mm travel Marz DJ would be right in line with what the bike was designed for (and your intended usage - except for the commuting to school part) since they spec that fork on a complete bike for 07'.

That said, if riding a bike to school there is anything like riding a bike to school here, I would budget $50 for a campus beater (and another $10 for a lock) and leave your nice Kona with a nice fork at home.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[konut]

have you checked out chain reaction cycles they are having a sale on at the moment.

and why not put your cowan in the kona forums.

 

[crisillo]

have you checked out chain reaction cycles they are having a sale on at the moment.

and why not put your cowan in the kona forums.

yeah.. the coil pike has a great price at CRC!

 

[ripper1]

What about the Rock Shox Tora 302, they seem to be a good shock at the right price????

 

[crisillo]

What about the Rock Shox Tora 302, they seem to be a good shock at the right price????

I'd recommend you get the 318 so that you get Motion Control damping... the 302 only has rebound and turn-key lockout...

 

[the_godfather]

yh i have looked at the marzocchi dirt jumpers but apparently the crown snaps if u land front heavy and i do that quite a lot! (still learning). I would put my cowan in the kona forums, but its no where near finsihed. its half n half with mine and my sisters bike. only have brakes, frame, gears and a back wheel. The front end sucks at the moment. bent handlebars, 60mm travel forks crap wheel. The chainset will also need upgrading in the future aswell. The front forks are so old that they are threaded, so i cant even put a new stem with new handlebars on (hussefelts require larger stem diameter). So i really need that new fork. I think im going to go with the rock shox pike 426 coil u-turn in black. They are supposed to be very strong (i know some people that use them for light downhill/freeride so they must be tough)
Anyway thanks for the advice, i'll be sure to put up some pictures of my bike when its finished though
thanks for all your help.

the godfather

 

[the_godfather]

last thoughts

what about the rockshox argyles. They are well in my price range, has anyone had any experience with these. They seem to be built very strongly (however you pay for this in lots of weight.) The only problem is that they dont have adjustable travel (which i would like) but if im not gonna bottom them out then whats the point.

thanks

the godfather

 

[C3Racing]

Have you looked into the manitou forks? They have alot of types for all kinds of different applications.

I myself just upgraded to a 07 R7 super with air/rebound/TPC lockout.

 

[the_godfather]

nah im not a liker of manitou forks. I rode someone elses specialized P.2 (i think) with a manitou gold lable jump series fork (05 or 06) and didnt really like it. Always seemed to want to throw you back off the bike after it had been compressed.

 

[the_godfather]

i've found some marzocchi z.1 sport RV for well within my budget from jenson USA. $325 with about $40 sahipping to UK. These are a lot cheeper than the rochshox pike and i am told that they are built stronger because they are a freeride fork. The only downside for this fork over the pike is the lack of quick adjustable travel. On the pike the U-turn system is used, but on the marzocchi Z.1's changing the spring is the only way to change the travel. But this travel adjustment isn't essential for me. Strength vs. Price is my main concern so would anyone recommend getting the Zocchi Z.1 Sport RV as it is nearly half the price of the Pike 426. As i said before i dont do huge jumps or drops (at the moment anyway) maybe 6ft at the most and lots of stairs and smaller dirt jumps (4-5ft) but i will probably move onto larger stuff in the near future (planned a road trip to france in september/october to do some biking/skiing/snowboarding/anything else down the french trails)

 

[crisillo]

If I am not confused, the damping on the z1 sport is not as good as its higher siblings' or the MoCo on the Pike...

 

[rzozaya1969]

I don't know about Kona's, but if your bike came with a 60mm fork, don't go over the edge with one 160mm! Definitely check in the Kona forums, since there might be better advice regarding your frame and possible forks, even if you're just starting building it!