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Suspension fork for urban trials

unusualpunk

Chimp
Dec 21, 2003
70
0
at your girlfriends house
OK I was wonder5ing what would be a good suspension fork for trials. Would I want a 85mm or a 100mm fork. Also what brands, models would I be looking at. I do urban, and use a Marz dj 3, and it is a little on the heavy side. I weigh a little less than 200 pounds if that means anything.

Thanks,
 

Nate at RIT

Monkey
Oct 8, 2003
278
0
bending stuff in the ROC
Don't know a whole lot about trials, but it seems to me that you would want the less (85mm) travel fork, and if you're really into it, a rigid fork. Less travel the better. You're btter able to transfer energy, and predict the bike.
 

RITFreeRider

Monkey
Sep 10, 2003
182
0
In a Boulderado state of mind
I would look into the Fox Forx line. The Vanilla forx are adjustable between 80, 100 and 125mm of travel so it will give you many options. They don't weight much so that will help and if you really need light weight the Float forx are air and still strong. Fox forx in general are very stiff and plenty strong for trails. So I'd say get a Fox Vanilla 100 R.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
just drop your dj3 down to 80. stuff in two or three negative springs and a extra firm 80mm spring kit and you should be set.
 

Chutney

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
155
0
Tacoma, Wa
For my urban/trials bike, i use a Psylo xc, and it has treated me really well. in the 80mm setting, it sags down to more like 40mm or so when I have my weight centered over the bike. It also works in the 125mm mode for more urban stuff. It may be a little flexy for you since you weigh significantly more then me (i weigh in at 155), but it works well for me.

Looking back on my decision to get the Psylo, i wish that i had either gotten a Judy/Manitou 6/Rigid fork as i have ended up doing more trials then urban stuff. They would have been cheaper and lighter, but the psylo still works really well.
 

Ascentrek

Monkey
Jul 17, 2003
653
0
Golden, CO
The Rock Shox SID XC (80mm) is a good fork. Its light, and doesn't jack up your geometry too much. I run one on occasions on my Zebdi. ...and you can find them in good shape, used for 50 bucks.
 

nydave

Chimp
May 8, 2003
61
0
Orange Co. NY
If you got a trials specific frame, you would be better off with a rigid fork. But if you do want a squish fork, you'll want something with 80mm or less, setup very firm. I ride a Zebdi with a rigid fork. But I have seen SID's used, as well as the older 'zoke Atom Race's and Judy's setup with 63mm travel. There are other web sites devoted specifically to trailsin' out there, and if you surf them you will see that most all trials bikes are setup with rigid forks.
 

Mattoid

Monkey
Aug 3, 2003
973
0
Charlottesville, Virginia
I ride urban with a buncha trials stuff tossed in. I ride with a 5" dj3 and while i wish it wasnt so long it doesnt really restrict me much. If it was run at 3 or 4 inches it would be perfect. For all out trials riding, with suspension, check out the lightest options available; MXC, fox, air psylo etc.
 

BIG_MAN_290

Chimp
Feb 12, 2003
11
0
i'm thinking about putting a sus. fork on my trials bike as well. i know ryan leech uses a 2004 marz. mx comp. i'm not sure if he uses the air or the coil version though..i know the coil version is adjustable down to 85mm of travel, which would be nice for urban and such....they aren't too pricey either.
 

Chutney

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
155
0
Tacoma, Wa
I actually just put a rigid fork onto my trials/urban bike instead of the psylo xc i had on it before (see above post) since i seem to be moving more strict trials. It has made the bike feel a whole lot lighter (i only lost 2 lbs or so, but it really makes quite a difference), and feel like im becomeing a much more smooth rider. However, my shoulder elbo and wrist joints hurt A LOT more then they used to (emphasis on the becoming more of a smooth rider :D ).
 

iridebikes

Monkey
Jan 31, 2004
960
0
seattle
Just go rigid. If you think that it'll hurt too much to ride rigid, you will just become a better rider. you start riding smoother because you know that if you smack really hard on the front wheel that it will hurt your wrists. plus you will also loose about 2-3 pounds by going rigid. Surly makes a good fork for trials, thier 1x1 is a good fork, its cro-mo, so it is nice and stong, its pretty light, and best thing about it, it is cheep.
 

W2ttsy

Chimp
Jul 19, 2003
4
0
Australia
i have a judy TT 80 mm on my trials bike, and it complements the frame (Ryan Leech team by Norco) really well.

If you are into full bike trials, then rigid is the way to go. but if you do street trials, then a small travel light weight squisshy is the way to hit it. make sure you get stiff springs (if going coil) as it helps to emulate the rigid fork while still having squish on big hits.

and another trick ive found is to tighten the headstem so that its stiffer to turn. makes great work for manualling and wheelies. not to good for nose picks tho.

W2ttsy
 

letoyboy

Chimp
Nov 27, 2003
27
0
Springfield, VA
I'm running rigid on my Echo Urban, and wouldn't have it any other way. Riding rigid not only gives you way more control, but teaches you proper technique and how to become a smoother rider. If you're set on a suspension fork though, I would try and find an old Indy from RockShox. They had 63mm of travel, low height, and you can find them new for under $100 if you know where to look. I wouldn't invest too much in a fork, trials puts a lot of strain on a suspension fork. All that twisting, dropping, endoing of the front end, harsh braking......all that stuff will be killer on the bushings and crown and so on. If you decide to go rigid, the Woodman trials fork has made me very happy :-)