[drumbum540]

My dad and I have been doing rides lately at greenbrier state park in MD. And the trails are surprisingly rocky and dangerous. Right now I have a Scott Reflex 20. I love this bike...It is my first real mountain bike, and I am new to all this. I have Rockshox Dart 2 on mym bike, and they don't seem to handle all the rocks and drops too well. And If I am going to be riding these trails weekly, I want a fork/ forks ( dont know which one). that can handle these rough trails. I appreciate any help,
-Ben I love that smiley.

 

[TreeSaw]

them I personally love Fox Forks...an expensive upgrade, yes, but worth the $$$. Check them out at www.foxracingshox.com

 

[drumbum540]

I would love to have something fox...but I don't know if they have any long travel or travel adjust. The most I would want to spend would be $400. But I would buy used if it was well taken care of. I have been looking at Manitou Nixons. They seem to be a decent, reliable fork. And also Marzocchi all mountains. I have ridden the all mountains and I liked them, but I dont think they have lockout, which is another thing I want. I have a standard QR wheelset on also.

 

[NJ-XC-Justin]

Just keep in mind the forks you're looking at are a bit longer and will therefore slack out your bike's head angle quite a bit. A 160mm Nixon has 2 inches more travel than your Dart, so while descending will be better, climbing will be harder.

And does Manitou make the Nixon in QR form anymore? It might be 20mm only now, though if so you could probably still find a closeout online.

I would also think you'd be violating your frame's warranty with a fork that long.
A Reba would remain around 100mm (you can remove a spacer to get 115mm) and will be smoother travel than the Dart, so that might be a better bet for your bike. Around half the cost of a Fox.

 

[CraShRyDer7]

check out the marzocchi 55 series. looks good. the 55 ata looks nice, adjustable travel from 120-160mm i think

 

[JRogers]

I think it'd be good to look at forks with no more than 5" of travel; 4" would be ideal to not mess up the geo. You might want to look at a used Fox or Reba for something reliable and good.

 

[drumbum540]

yeah, I would not want to mess with anything too big. The reason I liked the nixons is that you can a little trigger that mounts on your bars and that adjusts the travel. I looked at the marzocchi 55 series and they are all 20mm axles I think. I can't find one with a standard QR.

 

[NJ-XC-Justin]

yeah, I would not want to mess with anything too big. The reason I liked the nixons is that you can a little trigger that mounts on your bars and that adjusts the travel. I looked at the marzocchi 55 series and they are all 20mm axles I think. I can't find one with a standard QR.

Check your frame warranty and if it's good for up to 130mm (about 4.5"), I'd go Revelation. If not, Reba which can be slacked out to 115. Find both used on eBay for 200 beans.

 

[MI62887]

I was in the same boat with a Dart 2. It was horrible! I found a Marzocchi All Mountain 2 for under $300. It was a 2006 model. I went from 100mm of travel with the Dart to 130mm with a travel adjust switch in the AM 2.

It is unbelievable what a difference it makes.

 

[drumbum540]

do the all mountains have travel adjust or lock out?

 

[drumbum540]

hey, I have a pretty important question on my mind. I have recently discoverd some awesome singletrack at Gambrill, and it sounds like we are going to be going there frequently now. If I were to upgrade forks to something bigger and better, and stiffer...would it be worth buying a 20mm hub and getting it laced up to my rims? I have heard good things about 20mm axels but I am wondering...what is your opinion on a 20mm hub+fork?

 

[lamp]

consider saving your money and not buying anything for the time being. it may be better to just buy a new rig rather than upgrading your bike and still not quite being satisfied.

 

[drumbum540]

I couldnt buy a new rig, I just spent all my money on this one, and the only thing I dont like are the forks. this is a brand new bike, the frame is nice, and the brakes, and everything else, just not the forks.

 

[lamp]

after riding a z1 with 32mm stanchions for two years (and 20mmTA), for general agessive-xc-trailriding I wouldnt go for a 20mm setup unless you are rocking something with larger than 32mm stanchions, as far as stiffness is concerned.

The 20mmTA is going to stiffen things up but you are still going to have some noticeable flex in the stanchions on a 5 or 6" fork. And probably you wont have noticeable flex with or without the TA on a 4" or under fork . . . if you can notice the flex you probably need a stronger fork

 

[lampy29]

There is an upgrade that you may want to to consider on top of a new fork. Clipless pedals offer the most drastic performance upgrade. If you're an advanced rider and want to climb better and spin faster, you will be amazed what a difference llipless pedals make.