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Downhill fork for lighter rider

nybike1971

nybike1971

Chimp
Nov 16, 2006
67
0
Niskayuna, NY
I am building a new DH bike for my wife and I can use some input from lighter riders on which fork works best for them.

She weighs about 130lbs and has been riding DH for the past couple of seasons. This will be her first DH bike, so far she has rented or used my Banshee Spitfire in mini-DH configuration (she raced that bike at the Citizen's Race at Windham this past Summer). She is a solid rider but she doesn't leave the ground much (although that's been changing a bit lately): she is all about the steep and hairy!

Basically, the three choices I am considering are Fox 40, Boxxer Team, or Boxxer WC. I weigh 165lbs, and alternate between a yellow and red spring on a Boxxer Team, so I would imagine she would be on a silver spring. I have been extremely happy with the Boxxer Team, after rebuilding it properly.

Any experience with stiction on the Boxxer Team with such a light spring? How sensitive are these forks with low air or light springs? I can revalve the Boxxer for her weight, if she finds the fork too heavily damped. How is the air spring on the Boxxer WC at low pressures? Does it blow through the travel?

I realize that women are not allowed to post on the DH forum on Ridemonkey, but if any of you ladies hides behind a male identity feel free to chime in without blowing your cover! :D
 
Jim Mac

Jim Mac

MAKE ENDURO GREAT AGAIN
May 21, 2004
6,352
282
the middle east of NY
Luca, go for the Boxxer w/ the lighter weight spring or the WC air version. Maureen loved my Boxxer (compared to the Manipoo I have on her DH bike).
 
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illnotsick

Monkey
Jun 3, 2009
257
0
If you're getting a boxxer, go world cup. I weigh 125lb and I've found the lightest spring rockshox offers for the boxxer to be too heavy. The world cup allows you to have the air pressure low enough to suit the lighter riders. Plus it's about 3/4 lb lighter than the team so it will be earier for her to leave the ground when she wants :D

That said, I own a 40 with the 2nd to lightest spring and it is dialed. It has never felt over damped. Plusher than an expensive teddy bear.
 
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climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
It seems rock shox spring recommendations are a little off when it comes to the DH damper ones. I would go for a boxxer wc to keep her bike light and its a lot easier to change the pressure then try to find a spring that would work.

What bike is it going on?

another option if she is that light would to go with a fox 180 float. It would be the same height but drop even more weight. Unless she is competing at a high level it might be perfect for her.

My wife weighs exactly the same and we are thinking of building her a 2011 sx trail with a fox float 180 for her DH bike. At their sizes a full DH bike might not be needed.
 
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illnotsick

Monkey
Jun 3, 2009
257
0
Transcend said:
A Fox 40 with a black spring would work well for her, as would a World Cup boxxer where you can set a very low spring rate.
Click to expand...
The black spring was too light for me at 125lb. It gave about 3.5" of sag and bottomed constantly even with the both compressions maxxed. The purple is the perfect fit, 2-2.5" sag.
 
nybike1971

nybike1971

Chimp
Nov 16, 2006
67
0
Niskayuna, NY
climbingbubba said:
It seems rock shox spring recommendations are a little off when it comes to the DH damper ones. I would go for a boxxer wc to keep her bike light and its a lot easier to change the pressure then try to find a spring that would work.

What bike is it going on?

another option if she is that light would to go with a fox 180 float. It would be the same height but drop even more weight. Unless she is competing at a high level it might be perfect for her.

My wife weighs exactly the same and we are thinking of building her a 2011 sx trail with a fox float 180 for her DH bike. At their sizes a full DH bike might not be needed.
Click to expand...
That's a very interesting thought. I'll run it by her and see what she thinks.

It's going on a Ventana El Cuervo that I picked up from Go Ride. She was looking at a bunch of 2-3 season old bikes, but for the price Go Ride is selling the remaining Cuervo's it was hard to resist. I think it's the perfect frame for the riding we have around here in the Northeast for someone who doesn't want to hop and skip over everything in sight.
 
gemini2k

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
130#? I'd go with a single crown. Something like a totem or a 66 RC3 ti. No need for a burly dual crown for someone that small IMO. One of my buddies around here is probably 5'4"-ish and 120-130 and loves his 66. Maybe have her give that a shot first. I just can't see why someone who's 100 lbs and probably a foot and a half shorter than me riding the same kind of fork. I dunno, might be way off here.
 
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BmxConvert

Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
715
0
Longview, Washington
I don;t know if anyone else has experienced this or not but I know that I certainly find my 2008 Boxxer WC to be far more "compliant" feeling than my 2010 Boxxer WC. It's always been this way. The 2008 seemed to make all the small vibrations and small bumps completely disappear, where as my 2010 feels pretty rigid on the smaller stuff.

I'm at I think 45psi(30%) on the 2010 and was a 140psi on the 2008(23%).
I would imagine that some of that is due to an increase in the stanchion diameter.
This might be something to think about for a lighter rider.
 
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illflip

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
548
0
Newark, NJ
im 125#...i was running a 2006 boxxer team for the past few seasons on the lowest spring (white i think), and it felt fine most times. thinking back on it, i think the next spring up wouldve been better. no stiction problems as long as you keep up with the maintenance.

wc would be the obvious choice if you want more spring rate tuning.

i'm actually in the same boat now since my boxxer is pretty much toast. i was debating between the dorado and the wc.
 
al-irl

al-irl

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
1,086
0
A, A
my girlfriend who's about 115lbs loves her totem solo air, that said she has to run a little below the recommended minimum pressure to get the desired sag. It gets a big thumbs up from her.
 
demo 9

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
manitou travis is what i put for my GF 115 and even she can bottom it out, its unrideable for me. I have only ridden 2 of them, and both sagged 4 inches. under my 175lb weight

super cheap on pinkbike too, only 200 for hers
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Luca, I'd echo the single crown recommendation. I had a Totem Solo Air for a while, and it was excellent. More than stiff enough (noticeably more so than a 32mm Boxxer), good damping, light. I'd do that or a 36 Float 180.
 
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