Quantcast

Single Crown Racelink/new fork

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,920
borcester rhymes
So I love my racelink. It's really great, the suspension is great, the braking is great, the geometry is pretty good, etc. etc.

I'm not sure about the fork though(avalanche DHF HK). I've always placed damping quality above weight, but recently I took a couple trips down Highland with a lighter, all-mountain oriented bullit equipped with a single crown RS Lyrik, or similar. I was blown away by how easy it was to pop out of berms and take off pedalling. My arms loved it after a hard morning of riding, and when I switched back to the Avy my speeds were way down, or at least they felt like it.

I've been weighing my options and a trying to come up with a decent solution on how to lighten the front end of my bike up without committing too much financially or giving up too much in the damping department. I was thinking about either getting a single crown 7" fork, like the lyric or 66, to keep on hand for days when I'll be riding mountains that are less steep or more pedally (ie some of highland + diablo) and keep the avy for bigger mountains (whiteface, plattekill). The alternative is to try and pawn the avy for a lighter fork, like a boxxer WC or fox 40.

I don't race, so having the lightest thing isn't as important as the most durable or best performing fork. I like the avy because it's relatively low maintanence, and it usually performs well, supposing I don't twist it. I have 8" travel plates for my bike as well, so with the single crown I might be able to convert it into a faux-slopestyle bike, but I wonder if it's worth keeping the avy around or just go for something more middle of the road.
 

bent_steel

Monkey
Jun 19, 2007
165
0
South
I would say a single crown on a racelink would be interesting to say the least, but I would imagine picking up a 40 or a boxxer would lighten up the front end a lot. And 40's just looks sick on racelinks!

 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,861
4,158
Copenhagen, Denmark
I love my Boxxer WC and it has worked great since I got in 2005. Then you will not have to change forks around. I was on a Shiver before and had the same experience like you and still appreciate the low weight of the Boxxer.

Low weight is not only for racer boys but a light bike is fun just like you described it.
 

STPIZZAY

Chimp
Nov 22, 2007
57
0
Sacramento
Well if your more concerned with durability and performance than having the lightest thing out there, you should look at getting an 888. I have an 05' Marz 888 Works that has never let me down, and ive spent time on the slopes with the new 08 forks as well, and although its a bit heavier than the boxxer, its on par with the weight of the 40, and IMO stronger. A 888 is more of a "set and forget" fork, like what your used to, and strong as hell. and the new ATA fork allows you to adjust the travel on the 888 from 160mm to 205mm too.
Just giving my 2 cents worth.
-E
 
Last edited:

offtheedge

Monkey
Aug 26, 2005
955
0
LB
A 40 weighs as much as any worthy SC, so why sacrifice any durability or geo issues...I'd go with a Fox.
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
Forget single crowns.
I'd look at Kowas, light, travel adjust, stiff. Or 40s.
What are your 8" plates? Are they the dog bines or something else?
Have you got rid of the 24" wheels yet?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,920
borcester rhymes
finally moved up to 26" wheels...they made a huge difference...as I expected them to, I was just too lazy/cheap to switch. My 24" wheels were brand new and my collection of tires is never shrinking....sigh.

I don't think we get kowas here in the US...or at least, I'm not in a position to buy a new pair, I'm looking at lightly used stuff.

The 8" "plates" are the lower dogbone assembly...I think if you look at yours, it'll say 9" LR or 9.5. My bike was originally a very early model 2001 or whenever they came out, so it originally came with the shorter plates, and now has the 9" rockers on it.
 

lachy_mtb

Monkey
May 25, 2008
124
0
i was in your situation afew months ago, i had my all mountain bike and rode it on dh and fell in love with how it rode v.s. my dh bike. so ive gone for totems on my dh and i wouldnt go back.
not sure what the totem would be like on the racelink. but totems ride oh so nicely, just put some on my bike as i said. they are still sorta beading in, but they still feel sick. id recomend them
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
I am going to add my 2cents, your speaking of keeping your geo, but geting something lighter, durable, and dependable, then My suggestion would lean towards a Marz Product.

The 66 is a Single crown of coarse, but at the same time, its a tall SC, burly, strong, and suprizingly stiff. I weigh in at 250 and i beat teh holy hell out of mine, never have I had a problem.

My second suggestion would be the 888 of coarse, strong, stiff, durable, ETC....And as others ahve said, you wont feel the need to swap out your forks. Not taht the 66 wont take teh beating, but....... thats another arguement, for another thread.
 
Nov 5, 2004
202
38
hartlepool, uk
saw a picture of a rl with 66's. its a pink one think its some norweigen guy.

i have 40's on my rl. they are light, you keep the headangle fairly decent and, most importantly, look sweet
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
It seems like if you're trying to make your RL an all-mountain-ish bike, you're taking it in the wrong direction. Keep it and get a cheap trail bike for the local stuff?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,920
borcester rhymes
no, not trying to make it all mountain. The bike weighs maybe 50-54 lbs as it is. I'd like to get it closer to 42-45 just for the sake of a better riding experience. A lighter fork, like a boxxer WC or Totem, would shave FIVE POUNDS off the front end of my bike. Couple that with a few small, smart weight savers (ti brake bar, less burly stem and saddle) and I should be where I want.

I've never had a problem with the avy before, it was just the early season out of shapeness and the ultra tight berms that highland features on some of its trails. That's why I was thinking of being able to swap between the two. Then again, if people simply recommended getting rid of the avy and permanently swapping a lighter (888 or similar) fork up front, I might do that.
 

c.o.d51

Monkey
Oct 5, 2005
137
0
saw a picture of a rl with 66's. its a pink one think its some norweigen guy.
That would be Sverre. He ditched the 66 in favor of a Boxxer WC. His RL is about 41lbs. Awesome build on it too.

I got my RL down to 43lbs with a Boxxer Team up front. It was a surprisingly good match for the bike, and just an awesome fork in general. I highly recommend one on there. Toss on an integrated stem like Point One's or Sunline's, and you'll save a ton of weight too. Ti brake arm will save about a half pound if I remember correctly, and you can also run a Ti spindle for the Profiles and a Ti spring on the Avy shock. Oh, and tight berms and the Race Link just don't work together. Well, it and turning in general don't really get along, but that's another story. What kind of wheels are you running now?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,920
borcester rhymes
vuelta on hadley up front, 325/noname on the rear. I'd like to swap my hadley rear hub onto another vuelta I have, but I'm cheap right now, and the wheel works. 26 is a nice upgrade to 24"s.

Do you have any more info on why sverre switched? I already have a ti spring and spindle.

Why do you say the bike doesn't turn? Geometry? Weight? Suspension/pivot location?
 

c.o.d51

Monkey
Oct 5, 2005
137
0
Don't remember why Sverre switched, but he ended up building up the lightest Race Link that I know of. He posts on here (or used to) and you might be able to contact him through the BMW UK forum.

I never found the bike to turn well because of the high BB, long chainstays and the fact that those long chainstays grew about an inch when the bike went through its travel. I did also run the long dropout position, and I bet in the middle or short it would corner better. But with the short dropout, you need to run a smaller tire, like a 2.35 Minion, or equivalent.

I found lightweight wheels really helped my Race Link, along with the Boxxer. Mine felt much livelier than my buddy's that had the Avy fork and heavy wheels (obviously). Boxxer Team, do it.
 

Sverre

Monkey
Aug 26, 2004
400
0
Norwaii
Sandwich. I´ve had a SC on my RL, but moved away from it. I´ll tell you why.
The RL is pretty high and it´s got a fairly steep hta. (At least compared to modern racebikes). This makes it corner bad, compared, and to get it to ride and corner better you need to get the front as low and slack as possible. The wheelbase is also pretty long and your AVA fork got lots of offset, which increses the wheelbase. Sucks for thigth turns.
So, if you´re not bothered with hitting your knees in the forks upper crowns, I recomend you to get a DC fork. This because a they´re lower and gives you more travel for the same heigth as a SC. My Marz 66 was 595mm a2c with 170mm travel and my Boxxer is 570mm a2c with 203mm travel. The bike rides soooo much better with the Boxxer and stem slammed all the way down to the top crown. The RL´s front needs to be weigthed a lot to keep corner grip, so this really helps.
As an addition to lowering the front, I recomend you to lower the BB as well. Buy a half link chain so you can rotate the bb-cups down to the closest to 6-o´clock position as possible. Also run the mid or short dropouts to keep it a bit more nimble.
Good luck to you :)

My first setup:


My second setup: