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.
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.