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Thinking about a new front fork.....???

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
So I was thinking of replacing my 2002/2003 Shiver front fork for something newer. It's worked fine for my riding style for the last 3 or 4 years no issues or problems. It's really been a great fork!

I was thinking about finding a Fox 40 or a 888 in the used market. I know that you can tune them more than the shiver, and that they might be stiffer as well.

I am just wondering if these are decent choices & how the reliability on these is? I know Marzocchi's pretty well. Never owned a Fox fork yet. I am 218lbs right now and dropping weight. The fork would go on a M1 frame.

Any help/ideas?
 

frznnomad

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
2,226
0
a-town biatches
888's are deffinatly an excellent choice. i mean you have had excellent experiance with marzocchi in the past so i see no need in changing. i know guys that have been running them for about 3 years now and they still feel like they did after the break in. so used is the way to go with the 888's in the fact that there is no break in. with the fox you kinda have to be a little more careful, in my opinion, cause the older models seemed to have a problem with lowers breaking, and especially brake arches cracking or breaking. so i mean both excellent options and are excellent forks its just marzocchi seems to be a little bit more maintenance free. hope that helps man.
 

[Tha]Shovla

Monkey
Aug 28, 2007
119
0
Somewhere over the rainbow
40 is heavier than 888, very stiff, and once broken in the 40 feels great. a 40 can make a lighter weight frame feel front heavy. I have the RC2 and would only recomend that. A 888 being lighter sometimes ballances a bike out better. I do not own one though so i cant comment on which model to buy. I have ridden a 888 coil, not sure which one though. it was a very nice fork and ballanced the V10 out nicely. guy weighed 200 lbs or so and wasnt exactly a finess rider so you shouldnt worry about that being a problem i wouldnt think. just change the coils to get the right spring ride on either model. might go for the Zoke just for economical sense. I will replace my 40 with a 888. cant afford another one.
 

dhmike

Turbo Monkey
Dec 20, 2006
4,304
43
Boise Idaho
read some past threads on the 40. there's some good info that will help you decide. it seems to me that some people are having trouble with the 40.
 

Sir_Crackien

Turbo Monkey
Feb 7, 2004
2,051
0
alex. va. usa.
i as well would suggest the 888 as well. they have been proven reliable and are not too expensive.

i'm not the hugest marz fan but i feel that its the best dh fork out there. i own a 888 myself. light enough, strong enough, cheap enough, just well thought out
 

jcook90

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2006
1,211
1
Connecticut
My 888 is going on 2 years of DH and FRing with no problems, feels the same as it did right after the break in. Btw its a 2006 RC2x. Definitely a good choice that you really can't go wrong with.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
On that note, let us know what kind of rear fork you are going to buy too! ;)
The one that goes up yer butt.....:shocked: j/k

I only have stuff from the 2003/2004 time frame. I've had no need to upgrade anything. I figured that enough time has passed to pose the question. I did some searching on the boards but found lots of mixed opinions and reviews. I know Marzocchi products pretty well, and never had a problem with my current fork, but at this point if anything goes wrong with it I'm pretty much stuck as there's no more parts for them.

That's why I asked. If I could find a 05 or 06 888RC2X that was in decent shape (I know wheelworld has 2004 170mm RC2's) but I want the longer travel one.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
I only remember the manitou...were there others?
The old Balance bike days huh............I had a Balance and at one point wanted the 750 I think it was (with the rear fork out back). I've seen some for sale on Ebay before and Craigslist from time to time.
 

Avy Rider

Monkey
Feb 26, 2003
287
0
Muskoka,Canada
Avalanche is now offering a 888 anti-bottoming system...eliminates bottoming with hydraulic end of stroke oil lock chambers, allows for softer initial settings and lower oil heights for a plusher ride. Check out the website for more info!
 

Discostu

Monkey
Nov 15, 2003
524
0
My 888 has been great to me. Change the oil now and then and it will ride great. The thing you have to watch out for on older ones is cracks forming around the pinch bolts in the feet. If you're interested I'll be selling my 200mm 888rc with risse crowns/funn stem as soon as I install the new lowers. (Parting out my Turner since I'm getting a new bike)
 

jcook90

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2006
1,211
1
Connecticut
Avalanche is now offering a 888 anti-bottoming system...eliminates bottoming with hydraulic end of stroke oil lock chambers, allows for softer initial settings and lower oil heights for a plusher ride.
Is that essentially what the X cartridge is in the 06/07 models?
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
Your M1 will handle a little different w/ an 8" fork. The bike was designed around a 7" fork. The Shiver is 7.25", pretty close to stock geo. So its going to slack it out and raise the BB a tad. I liked the cornering of my old m1 better w the 7" fork, but for plowing the Tunnel gnar, the extra inch helps. I've had great luck with my '05 888rc. only oil changes and one set of seals.

Check your seatstays for cracks, M1's are notorious for failing there.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
I know wheelworld has 7" 888's on sale for not too much. When we were down there I almost grabbed one but figured I'd want that extra inch of travel.

Ha, my M1 is still ok. I saw a thread a while ago with someone looking for a M1 rear end. I think Risse was able to get one to him. I'd like to know how that kit works/installs as Intense is useless for that sort of thing.

I'll keep looking, if I come across a use 888 or Fox 40 that fits my bill I'll bite, but true, I think with higher front end it'd make the bike not feel as right as it currently does.

Too many choices LOL
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
If your worried about the 888 being too tall for the bike, order it with flat crowns. dropps it down a decent amount actually, there are also other companies out there that offer aftermarket low rise crowns
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
Remember with an M1 you need a drop top crown, not a flat crown! It has a very tall headtube. This applied with the 888 and I'd imagine it would apply to the 40 as well.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
Remember with an M1 you need a drop top crown, not a flat crown! It has a very tall headtube. This applied with the 888 and I'd imagine it would apply to the 40 as well.
Just the upper crown right?
 

tlproject7

Monkey
Nov 15, 2005
520
0
so about the high front end, a forty can be set to any travel from 8 to six inches, in half inch increments. and a min ago someone said that the 888 is lighter then a forty, thats not true, unless your talking about a 888 world cup, but still doesnt think thats lighter. but yeah both are sick forks, i have forty and love it.
 

Ian Collins

Turbo Monkey
Oct 4, 2001
1,428
0
Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA
fox.....notice how there aren't a million threads pertaining to fixing fox forks, tuning fox forks and trying to get hop up kits for fox forks, or where to send broken warranty fox forks?.......

it's because they work.....i've tried alot of forks and never been happier.....reasonably light....almost too stiff....just the right range of adjustment, nice ride height, strong, has travel adjustment from 6"-8" in .5" increments......good turning radius too.....you won't be sorry
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
[Tha]Shovla;2832150 said:
40 is heavier than 888, very stiff, and once broken in the 40 feels great. a 40 can make a lighter weight frame feel front heavy. I have the RC2 and would only recomend that. A 888 being lighter sometimes ballances a bike out better. I do not own one though so i cant comment on which model to buy. I have ridden a 888 coil, not sure which one though. it was a very nice fork and ballanced the V10 out nicely. guy weighed 200 lbs or so and wasnt exactly a finess rider so you shouldnt worry about that being a problem i wouldnt think. just change the coils to get the right spring ride on either model. might go for the Zoke just for economical sense. I will replace my 40 with a 888. cant afford another one.
Your not comparing apples to apples. The Fox 40 coil is lighter than the 888 coil. The 888 ATA (air) is .3# lighter. However, air in DH forks is still a sketchy area and reliability with last years ATAs was spotty at best.
It's really a personal decision as the 2 don't ride the same. I've been on the 40 for 3 years now and I love it. My bikes have all been sub 40#. I've had the same fork for all 3 years, so it's not like I'm getting a new fork every year.

From my experience and my friends experience (same team bikes), the lighter riders seemed to do much better on the 40s while the heavier guys had issues. I weigh 170 and had zero issues with tuning. 200# guys could get them not to bottom and felt like the stroke was too linear. Maybe this has all been fixed with the new valving.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
fox.....notice how there aren't a million threads pertaining to fixing fox forks, tuning fox forks and trying to get hop up kits for fox forks, or where to send broken warranty fox forks?.......

it's because they work.....i've tried alot of forks and never been happier.....reasonably light....almost too stiff....just the right range of adjustment, nice ride height, strong, has travel adjustment from 6"-8" in .5" increments......good turning radius too.....you won't be sorry


I have had just as many 40's come in for repair as 888's For that matter I cant think of a fork that I dont see coming in for repair/warranty issues. I know I sound like I am pro Marzocchi at all costs, but seriously both the 40 and 888 are great products. They both work very well, but in different ways, they do ride different, and If the OP is already happy and used to how the Shiver rides, than it would probobly be in his best interest to stick with a Marzocchi Product. With that said, If there is nothing actually wrong with the shiver, Why change it? Just get it overhauled and go for it!!!
 

BIGHITR

WINNING!
Nov 14, 2007
1,084
0
Maryland, east coast.
Manitou was the big name a while back. Why all the love for marzotch?

I remember people bashing them a while back for notoriously cracking the "M" arch. Now, everyone attacks Manitou. What for? I don't have $1500 for a boxxer and to be honest, a mechanic steered me away from the boxxer saying, "it's a super nice fork but maintenance on it is a B*TCH!" And his comment on the fox 40 was similar. I've maintained a Manitou very easily. Took it completely apart myself, with just average skills and had no prob. Not sure why everyone hates manitou. Travis got RAVE reviews just a short while back from everyone including this site. So Manitou sux now why?