[Rollin'in'Zona]

Howdy! What 130-140mm fork are you 105-110lb ML riders using?

I bought my wife an '07 140mm Fox Float last summer - for her '05 XS Motolite - and it ain't workin. According to Fox, it will not work for riders uner 125lbs - no way, never, tough titty. Played with it for a year. i even removed one of the negetive springs, and it's "better", but now it's funky in a different way. We're ready to move on.

We're considering a RS Revelation dual air, but others have suggested that NO air fork will work for such a light rider - they say coil is the only way to go :skep: ???

Needs are: 1) 130 - 140mm travel 2) as light as possible.

How about converting the Float/air to Van/coil? :eekster:

BONUS Q: what a about shock? The Float R is tired. Again, 105lbs nekid rider.

 

[geolover]

Again, 105lbs nekid rider.

You say she rides nekid????? :eekster:

I declare, "THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[Rollin'in'Zona]

You say she rides nekid????? :eekster:

I declare, "THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hippie girl...

 

[crisillo]

well.. the dual air on the RVL should at leat hep you get sag correctly for such a light ride, so it is worth a shot...... the vanilla conversion should be possible too AFAIK....

on the shock... why not send it to push and have it tuned to her weight?

 

[mcrent100]

I would call push Industries and ask abot both ends. They may be able to help you out on the fork and shock....

 

[i1dry]

My wife's been riding a XS ML for a couple of years. She's barely 120 lbs. with gear. She had the same issues initially, using a Float RLC 140 up front and Float R in the back. After getting them both PUSHED she's lovin it. Very, very plush.

Weight will be a big issue with a coil, especially with someone as light as your wife. For smaller people, that added weight up front can really take it's toll on longer more technical rides. All that repeated lifting of the front end is hard on the arms, shoulders, and neck. I'd highly recommend, getting her current fork and shock PUSHED.

i1dry?

 

[txn]

My friend is about your wife's size, and she's running a Manitou Black on the front of her Truth. IDK what she's running for a rear shock.

 

[antonio]

My wife's Reba is pretty plush, yet still controlled. I'd guess that having the negative spring along with the positive probably helps, but I'm no fork expert. Might it be worth posting this question in the shock's forum?

Oh, and she weighs 110lbs.

Ant

 

[zorg]

Time to fatten her up, I reckon.

 

[Rollin'in'Zona]

Time to fatten her up, I reckon.

:idea: :lol: :skep: :nono:

 

[HoJo]

Same Problem went with Manitou Black

My wife like yours is tiny 110lbs rides an XS ML. After looking at a bunch of options she and one her similar sized friends ended up with Manitou Blacks. They have a coil/air spring and a TPC damper. We put in the lightest spring they make and swapped the 5wt shock oil for 2.5wt in the TPC. Both have been on them for a couple of years. They get full travel, and appropriate rebound and compression dampening.
The other options we tried we either couldn't get the correct spring (negative spring with Fox) or ended up with a dampening system that was way too sluggish.
They don't make the Black anymore but you may want be able to find it on close-out. If not the replacement is the Minute Elite TPC. If you decide to go Manitou be sure you end up with a MARS air coil spring system and the TPC damper, their other dampers are not adjustable for light riders.
Hope this helps
HoJo

 

[Rollin'in'Zona]

My wife like yours is tiny 110lbs rides an XS ML.... ended up with Manitou Blacks.
...They don't make the Black anymore but you may want be able to find it on close-out. If not the replacement is the Minute Elite TPC. If you decide to go Manitou be sure you end up with a MARS air coil spring system and the TPC damper, their other dampers are not adjustable for light riders.
Hope this helps
HoJo

Thanks HoJo! This is great info! :thumbsup:

You comment on the MARS air coil. Is it both air and coil?
From the website it looks to me like the Minute MRD TPC has the "Noble" spring. Are you saying that this "Noble" will not be as good for a light rider?

Thanks man!

 

[HoJo]

Suggest Elite not MRD

Hey Rollin,
I'm recommending the Minute Elite, it's also cheaper. It uses the old Mars air/coil spring system. It has an Air chamber on top supported by a coil spring. Manitou offers several different coil spring weights for different riders. The coil makes the initial travel very plush, the air spring provides bottom out progression and very is easy to tune for rider weight. The system is reliable and has been around since the Xvert Air days (2000). The only maintenance the air spring requires is to keep a few ccs of 30 wt Motor oil in the air cylinder. If it runs dry the seal gets worn and you have to replace the air piston. (not difficult to do).

I preface this with the fact I do not have extensive experience with the new Noble Air. The Nobel air replaces the coil spring with an automatically adjusted negative air chamber. Every dual air system I have tried, this included, provides addition maintenance challenges, reliability issues, and are not as plush. You save a few oz but gain a lot of headaches.

I wish Manitou, now a division of Hayes, would just keep the Mars / TPC system but they keep coming out with the "newest/greatest" not always reliable technology...

I didn't intend this to a be an pitch for Manitou's older technology. I'm also a huge fan of Fox's forks, the Vans and Floats are fantastic (Talas and their racer forks I don't like). Fox's uses a very similar "Spring side" in the Floats, an air cylinder but with a negative spring. Works great for riders over 150lbs, anything less and you lose travel. The air pressure required for light riders is overcome by the negative spring.

Later HoJo

 

[txn]

Hojo's the man; he knows what he's talking about.

 

[Rollin'in'Zona]

Hey Rollin,
I'm recommending the Minute Elite....
....Fox's uses a very similar "Spring side" in the Floats, an air cylinder but with a negative spring. Works great for riders over 150lbs, anything less and you lose travel. The air pressure required for light riders is overcome by the negative spring....

Later HoJo

Cool. Thanks! Yeah, I removed one of the two coil negetive springs from the Float - it helped, but created other wierdness.

I appreciate you assitance:thumbsup: