last time i checked all those fancy pro race guys get those fox 40's for free and fixed every run, and if they brake well, they get a new one..........for free........, well I'm not one of those guys, so dependability and serviceability is more important to me than "what fork should i get if i were a world cup racer'', but thats probably just me.
Fox 40rc2 vs. Avalanche DHF-8
- Thread starter yearoftiger
- Start date
i agree with wingman. I hear what people say about avy's being really reliable, but my bike already weighs 45 pounds and an 8-9 pound fork just adds more weight. So a lightweight fork that is easy to service would be nice. a 888 may be the way to go
yah, except the avy ti weighs about the same as a 888, weigh both, i think its like 1/4 pound diff.
so the new 888 weighs around 8.5 pounds, thats pretty heavy.
didnt fabien barel use the new 88 to win the world cup races, or was that fork handbuilt and different than the normal 888
most noticble thing for freeride and urban. i ride my DH bike EVERYwhere. its about 5-6miles from my house to good downtown riding. and i do that often. anyway, coming from the 888 works 8" to the DHF-8,
no pedal bob, the 888 would bounce up and down anywhere, not much less the an inch, but on climbs it was depressing. the DHF-8. nothing, handles those lovely sidewalk cracks great on the climbs, but doesn't move up and down at all.
can notice weight a lot. but i just don't care anymore. you just let it go and it chooses its own line.
no pedal bob, the 888 would bounce up and down anywhere, not much less the an inch, but on climbs it was depressing. the DHF-8. nothing, handles those lovely sidewalk cracks great on the climbs, but doesn't move up and down at all.
can notice weight a lot. but i just don't care anymore. you just let it go and it chooses its own line.
OH! What a valuable and thoughtful post!demo008 said:
so what about servicability though because it seems that whatever fork (with some exceptions like the 888 and avy) would need maintenance on a normal basis. So between the 40 and wc which is easier to service by yourself?
i think i have made my decision. I have an ebay second chance offer on a brand new '06 888rc2x for $715 which isn't a bad deal i guess. Does anyone know, are the 888 internals anodized this year? I hope i'm not disappointed for buying the 888. thanks for all the help guys.
I work at a professional Motocross suspension shop and the stuff that Craig at AVY puts in his forks can only be compared to Motocross stuff. There is NO bike fork that will compare in quality or reliability. His forks DON'T blow out. The Fox is a RACE fork that is why it is 3lbs lighter. They do not take drops and big jumps well. And that 3 lbs if from the Ti springs that are to light for any one to ride FR with. Also Craig has some of the best customer service out there. Can you call Fox and talk to the guy who made your fork or the one who will do the servicing on it?
In the end go with AVY it will last you a long time.
Max
In the end go with AVY it will last you a long time.
Max
WTF is with the resurrection of old threads today???!
My Avy just started leaking after 4 seasons of use. I had one ride on my boxxer and it started leaking. Lets see if other forks can do that. I will deal with a few pounds for reliability and quality.
2.5 years with my Avy and no leaks. This year alone I've seen more oil leaking from 40's than the Exxon Valdez.
How many leaking 40's did the Exxon Valdez see??? 
i like the way the avalanche fork twists like a mofo from the smallest crash. and carrying tools to loosen the tripple clamps to re-set everything on the side of the trails is great fun.
if they could just build an avy that wasnt upside down and was burly like the 40, that would be sweet.
until then, the fox40 is the clear choice over the avy.
if they could just build an avy that wasnt upside down and was burly like the 40, that would be sweet.
until then, the fox40 is the clear choice over the avy.
I have never really had problems with my AVY twisting. Only a few time in really hard crashes. I can live with that. Going from a WC boxxer last season on the RL to this season with the Avy the Avy is the clear winner
I fixed thatHow many leaking 40's did the Exxon Valdez see???
Guys with a having a moto back ground does this fork and shock feel similiar to a moto. Will this fork and shock be good for freeriding, and I mean jumps and skinnies, jumps with flow and transistions. I'm not really interested in hucking to flat just flow. Or is this combo more geared for the rouch and rugged east coast dh. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks and chop and just freaking super stupid steep.
yes it will fell like a moto.
Thanks Daisy
I've never rocked and Avalanche up front, 10 lbs sounds a bit heavy, but word on the street is they feel great. I had an Avy rear on my Intense M-1 a few years back, and still think for 2001 it was way ahead of its time.
However, I'm currently riding Fox front and rear and have had nothing but a positive experience the whole time. Plus, Fox has a race trailer with some of the nicest tech help on the planet at most events.
There are a lot of great products out there from everybody, but Fox can battle with anyone when it comes to upper echelon perfomance suspension.
However, I'm currently riding Fox front and rear and have had nothing but a positive experience the whole time. Plus, Fox has a race trailer with some of the nicest tech help on the planet at most events.
There are a lot of great products out there from everybody, but Fox can battle with anyone when it comes to upper echelon perfomance suspension.
Have any of you guys tried the Avy MTN 8? Does any of you guys know its weight? Is it as good as the price is bad? In other words, is it that much better than anything else as it is much more expensive than anything else on the market?
I've ridden/have a DHF hk-8. Best feeling fork I've ever riden. The only down side is it weights 10.5lbs. I have an 09' Fox 40RC on my new bike, I like it, but don't love it.
It isn't more expensive than the new dorado fork.:biggrin: sorry, i have nothing really useful to add since i haven't ridden a 40RC2 or Avy.
I will tell you from my experience over 4 seasons on the fox 40.
I loved that fork when it was working correctly. Problem is the reliability is not there. I broke two Ti springs in 4 seasons, had to get my cartridge(s) rebuild five times (one 05 cart and one 07 cart) and to top it all off you have to pull the damn thing apart ever week to clean and grease the seals to ensure it runs smooth or it feels like dog sh*t. I talked to the fox mech about it at sea otter two years ago and his response was, "its a race fork, it has to be serviced often". So now I am on the new 2010 boxxer team and I love it in every way so far, well after I got it rebuilt for the first time, they are crap out of the box.
I loved that fork when it was working correctly. Problem is the reliability is not there. I broke two Ti springs in 4 seasons, had to get my cartridge(s) rebuild five times (one 05 cart and one 07 cart) and to top it all off you have to pull the damn thing apart ever week to clean and grease the seals to ensure it runs smooth or it feels like dog sh*t. I talked to the fox mech about it at sea otter two years ago and his response was, "its a race fork, it has to be serviced often". So now I am on the new 2010 boxxer team and I love it in every way so far, well after I got it rebuilt for the first time, they are crap out of the box.
ok since gnrendeiro brought this thread back...
anybody had some riding time on the newer DHF 7.5 8.5?
i owned a first generation DHF 8 back in the day and now i am considering buying a DHF 7.5
did craig fix the small quirks? especially the super easy twisting, and maybe he even made some lower stacking triple clamps.
anybody got some information on this?
the pictures on the website still show the old forks
anybody had some riding time on the newer DHF 7.5 8.5?
i owned a first generation DHF 8 back in the day and now i am considering buying a DHF 7.5
did craig fix the small quirks? especially the super easy twisting, and maybe he even made some lower stacking triple clamps.
anybody got some information on this?
the pictures on the website still show the old forks
Wasn't the mtn8 the fork with almost MX bike weight? Like 6-8kgs or sth? If you've got the cash why not get a dorado/new boxxer/bos rare or something along the lines. IF you want exotic you can always try to get the highest model tech-in fork. It's usd, pretty light and supposedly all the Japanease pros run it.
the mtn-8 comes in at 14 or 15lbs. I'm sure it will be the best feeling fork out there, but good luck lifting it over anything.
So far, i only have a day on my old Boxxer WC after riding the DHF HK-8 for two seasons....and I'm super pleased. It's not quite as plush as the avy, but the fork feels better, ie more lively, and still absorbs as much shock as the avalanche. Plus, I saved 4 or 5 pounds on the front end alone, my fork doesn't twist in the smallest crash, and my steering isn't busted up because of the huge amount of trail.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the avy when I had it, but it severely needs to be updated with modern geometry, weight, and things like integrated stems.
To focus back on the latest poster's question, if you're falling off of buildings and letting somebody else carry your bike back up for you, it'll be well worth it. If you're DH racing or riding recreationally, there are forks that will perform nearly as well, are infinitely lighter, and are easy to find replacement/support parts for.
So far, i only have a day on my old Boxxer WC after riding the DHF HK-8 for two seasons....and I'm super pleased. It's not quite as plush as the avy, but the fork feels better, ie more lively, and still absorbs as much shock as the avalanche. Plus, I saved 4 or 5 pounds on the front end alone, my fork doesn't twist in the smallest crash, and my steering isn't busted up because of the huge amount of trail.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the avy when I had it, but it severely needs to be updated with modern geometry, weight, and things like integrated stems.
To focus back on the latest poster's question, if you're falling off of buildings and letting somebody else carry your bike back up for you, it'll be well worth it. If you're DH racing or riding recreationally, there are forks that will perform nearly as well, are infinitely lighter, and are easy to find replacement/support parts for.
C'mon now, go look at the light DH bike thread, I bet most Pro's bikes would not be very close to the weights of the really light one's in there.
Gee's bike was over 42lbs last season, didn't seem to stop him.....
I would take a pound on the front of a bike that is going to live to go downhill only for the sake of reliability anyday.
I don't see the infatuation with ultra lite DH bikes, I think a bike that weighs between 39-42lbs is perfect. I can see a lite bike if there is a lot of pedaling, but in the nasty technical sections, it's nice to have a bike with a little more weight that sticks to the ground a bit better.
Im using the DHF7 for 3 years now mostly racing. I love it!
review
http://www.dh-zone.com/en/Articles/48.html
cheers
Pawel
review
http://www.dh-zone.com/en/Articles/48.html
cheers
Pawel
Does a 2-3# lighter bike really feel less sticky while being held down by a Clydesdale???
I can't answer this question w/any amount of certainty since I am not a Clydesdale but I would venture to guess a "light DH" rig would break a lot faster.
In all seriousness though, I have to agree w/Brian from above. I was on a mission for quite some time to build up a super light DH bike. I finally built one that was just shy of 37lbs. While it was great at accelerating and cornering it was sketchy during really high speeds, steep sections and gnarly rock gardens. My other DH bike, just over 40lbs felt so much more stable and overall faster. I am not going to say this is strictly due to weight but the frame geometries were very similar and I used a lot of the same parts to build the bikes.
If you have a 10#+ frame and build it up in the 36-37# range I would be concerned that some of the parts would break pretty quickly unless you are using them strictly during the race and then putting other parts on for practice and general DH riding. And the converse is true too, if you have a DH frame that is less than 9# with normal DH parts, I would be concerned about fatiguing the frame.
At 160#s myself and a fairly smooth rider I have been fortunate to not damage many parts or frames for that matter regardless of weight but I do feel that the lighter the bike got the sketchier it got for me too. Other riders may have a different experience from this as our riding styles probably very but that is just my 2 cents.
Ok, sorry for getting off subject, I realize this doesn't have much to do w/the two forks in question.
NO! Just more shady.