Which forks to get

the argyles are real nice dj forks go with that

Personally I really enjoy the pikes. But I have ridden a shimmed Fox 36, and it was absolutely sick.

id go with the rockshox i got the same ones and they hold up real good

train998 said:

id go with the rockshox i got the same ones and they hold up real good

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The Pike and Argyle forks are both RockShox. No helping there now are you?

I love my Argyle.

i had an argyle and i did not really like it. i prefer my DJ1(obviously)and what i noticed about the forks is that the argyle felt more like a bump absorber where as my dj1 feels more stiff and "poppy" the argyle did a better job eating bumps but i felt it didnt really help for dirt jumps. the dj1 is stiff and with the rebound set kinda fast u can get some decent pop out of it without slamming the lowers with speed.

demo 9 said:

i had an argyle and i did not really like it. i prefer my DJ1(obviously)and what i noticed about the forks is that the argyle felt more like a bump absorber where as my dj1 feels more stiff and "poppy" the argyle did a better job eating bumps but i felt it didnt really help for dirt jumps. the dj1 is stiff and with the rebound set kinda fast u can get some decent pop out of it without slamming the lowers with speed.

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liar you never had an argyle, you only rode other peoples. your silly.

how about you get an x fusion velvet. Now, and I mean now dammit.

my argyle air was perfect at 3" travel. pump it till it's stiff as "fyck."

but it's for sale now, because i'm post-suspension.

I have been rolling on a Marocchi DJ1, but I'm getting a lowered RS Pike 454. I really like the way RS forks feel. I can't put the finger on it, but I don't like how Marzocchi's feel.

kOlsen said:

I have been rolling on a Marocchi DJ1, but I'm getting a lowered RS Pike 454. I really like the way RS forks feel. I can't put the finger on it, but I don't like how Marzocchi's feel.

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same, I hate the way you can feel the shock of your tire hitting bumps where as on an rs you can't

jerseydirt said:

same, I hate the way you can feel the shock of your tire hitting bumps where as on an rs you can't

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Yeah!

RS FTW

jerseydirt said:

liar you never had an argyle, you only rode other peoples. your silly.

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yes i did. on the cowan ds-nice try though

demo 9 said:

yes i did. on the cowan ds-nice try though

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dammit, you sneaky bastard.

it's "fork"

:biggrin:

Unless you are talking about more than one.

Argyle is sick... I am very satisfied with my argyle 318 and I ride at bmx tracks, skate parks, and dj's. They are very easily adjustable too.

Cru Jones said:

it's "fork"

:biggrin:

Unless you are talking about more than one.

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cacti, octopi, are both plurals in the singular form. From now on I am going to call moar then one fork,( forke) ie( I have many forke)

I would not recomend the coil sprung argyle, because there is no a easy way to preload the fork.
With the zocchis DJ, you can pump some PSI to get that extra boost for the thechy trails.
Also you can always adjust the progresivity by pouring some more oil in the stachions.

Get a MZ dirt jumper. my 0.02 cents

New Nemesis Project X KOWA Dirt jump and street fork .
Nem-Pro tuned goodness straight outta the box , in production fork form !

Evil4bc said:

New Nemesis Project X KOWA Dirt jump and street fork .
Nem-Pro tuned goodness straight outta the box , in production fork form !

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Brad - any more info on that fork? Looks good in the pic.

I love my pike for its versatility and durability. It is the perfect fork for me.. I can swap it on different bikes and have more options, steel steer and solid crown make it plenty strong for street/dj and the weight is respectable at 5.4? lbs... Can also be made SUPER stiff or SUPER plush with no tools at all (other than possible swapping of spring for your weight.)

A+ to rockshox on the pike.

EDIT: Brad that fork gives me a tent in my pants... BTW just about to email you on a status report.

don said:

Brad - any more info on that fork? Looks good in the pic.

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Full press release posted on www.Kowa-Factory.blogspot.com

Zeronine said:

Real nice. $599 is a little to exp for me.

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All sus. forks are too expensive. Most things in the MTB world are over priced. They have been suckering yuppies for years. BMX companies have a different clientele, so they gouge a lot less, and typically understand their customers needs better. The MTB world typically misses the boat when it comes to BMX influenced parts/frames. They are making janky products and selling them to people who are more concerned about "geo" they they are about riding.

Maybe more companies will start pricing their parts at a reasonable rate, but I doubt it.

Evil4bc said:

New Nemesis Project X KOWA Dirt jump and street fork .
Nem-Pro tuned goodness straight outta the box , in production fork form !

Click to expand...

That fork looks nice, but 480mm a2c and 65mm/75mm of travel? That seems wrong.

swerve - I do believe the purpose of the fork is to provide a high-quality DJ/4x/slalom fork that does not change the geometry the frame was "designed" around. Some people love their stock geo around a 100mm sus fork, but want a stiffer, shorter, all around high-quality fork that will not mess with the geometry. Correct me if I'm wrong, Brad...

Either way, I am saving up my pennies for one

swerve76 said:

That fork looks nice, but 480mm a2c and 65mm/75mm of travel? That seems wrong.

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65MM of travel is about the lowest I would go on a frame designed around a suspension fork. Any lower and the GEO will be all wack. I'm no expert, but I speak from experience.

I lowered my fork to 55MM of travel, it was too low and the bike rode like ****. I raised it back up to around 67.7 (exact number with the spacers I used) and it rides a lot better. I may even raise it to an even 70 (i just need to remove 1 shim). Most BB's sit right where they need to be with a normal fork at 80MM of travel. My night train 24 was designed around such a fork.

Looks to me like KOWA is more practical in their goals and their end market - It seems to me that this fork was made for what we want, not MODIFIED to what we want.

A+ on the KOWA stuff Brad.

perhaps what Swerve means is that 480mm is too high of an A-C for that short of travel. It's taller than Marz, FOX and RS's DJ forks.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=470024

rpet got it right. That A2C seems huge for the travel. I'll stick to my short rigid fork and lowered marzocchis.

^^ Even with that thread, still false information...

Argyle 80: 471mm
Argyle 100: 491mm

Gold Label 80: 460mm
Gold Label 100: 480mm

DJ 1: 490mm
4x 100: 490mm

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A standard DJ fork (that have practically always started out at 100mm, until this new age of shorter travel came along...) has been right at 480mm +/- 10mm... 480mm is what practically ALL MTBMX frames are designed around. Yes there are exceptions to that, but the majority are designed to optimum geometry with an a2c @ 480mm. But now people are wanting steeper H/A's for street/park, so they're resorting to lowering their sus forks to achieve that. But for those who still want to keep their current geo, this is a great product for them.

Swerve - this fork is obviously not geared towards "your" corner of the market... Just because it isnt what you personally like to ride or see on your bike, does not mean someone else wouldn't like it.

A grove. Its kind of funny that you bring up "my" corner of the market. What exactly would that be? Didnt you say in another thread on here you wanted to make a 24" mtbmx and would like to be able to switch between a lowered fork and a rigid? And when you said "480mm is what practically ALL MTBMX frames are designed around", who exactly did you mean? My molly wasnt built around that. I may be wrong but I dont think the fall guy was built around that either. Oh well. Im done threadjacking. To zeronine, that argyle is a good deal.

I didn't mean that to be offensive or a personal attack. There are different corners or niche's in the market. There are the guys who want incredibly steep bikes that react as close to BMX bikes as possible (IE your molly, and fallguys too). And yes, I did say that, and I am currently building the frame/fork as we speak. I put myself in "your" corner of the market as well. I am designing the frame to be able to run a lowered fork for street/park, and a fork set around 100mm for DJ's if I so choose.

"480mm is what practically ALL MTBMX frames are designed around" ...By this I meant that most frames in the market today are designed around a fork that has an a2c of around 480mm. This is where the manufacturer feels the "ideal" geometry is going to be, and this is how the frame is jigged as well. That does not mean that you wont want to run a lowered for to obtain your "ideal" geometry... that just means that is what the designer feels is the best. Molly's (and I think fall-guys as well...) are designed around a shorter fork, yes. I believe that is because the mollys are geared towards street and park riding, and having a shorter fork most often means a stiffer fork as well. Up until what Brad has done with Kowa, there was no other option other than lowering what forks were currently available.

I am not saying what you prefer or do is wrong by any means, I'm also not saying the kowa is "right" either. All I'm saying is that they BOTH have their purposes in the market.

rpet - thanks for that link. i have no patience for that site haha.

i love the idea of the fork and the crown is amazing. hope it works out.

edit*
a grove - put the keyboard down haha

The link is def. a good one to have, didnt know it exsisted. I'm done with the whole kowa deal. Hopefully that was more clear, ha.

Aaron has made a few very good pints here .

First off Axle to crown seems like the big issue here , you guys really need to look at the #'s out there then do the math there ALL pretty much the same .
Sure you can run a XC fork with will be lower and lighter . Strength to weight ratio doest even compair on most XC forks with a fork with dedicated 20mm through axle lowers.

Axle to crown measurement's per my records .
RST / Society Zeno 80mm = 482mm
Lowered marzocchi 4x to 90mm = 480mm
Rock shok argyle 100 =491mm
Lowered FOX 36 =485.30mm

Keep in mind before I started lowering forks and doing custom tunes on damping systems everyone was running 100mm -150mm forks on their DJ bikes that moved around like pogo sticks .


As Strauss pointed out ( thanks Levi ) these are production forks designed to ride well on most every bike out there , there not ment to be modified at all these are take out of the box install and ride away forks .
Litterly set it and forget it , no need to mess with spacers and heavy weight oil's these are straight outta the box pro level DJ forks that can be ridden by the best riders out there and not harmed .
I WAS NOT going to release a product that would PUT MY CUSTOMERS or MY TEAM riders LIVES at RISK . IE: these aint snapping off at the crown or stanchion anytime soon !!

Please keep in mind this is our initial offering , it cost a TON of $$$$ to have new magnesium lower casting made and if sales go well , you will see more DJ and Street specific forks coming out through KOWA Factory in the near future . Next up we have a 100-mm 1.5 steerer tube slope-style fork coming out for people who like to jump their Bottlerocket's and other bikes similar to this .
I have one of the largest manufacturing corporation's in Japan supporting me and my designs now , really anything is possible.

What other bike manufactures have their own suspension lines BTW: Foes , Specialized ? YUP and Now Nemesis Project

well ill be running the kowa on my new deathmobile coming from a SLAMMED 4x so ill let you guys know the differences. lots of work has gone into tuning these forks and making them pure badass. cant wait to rip it up