Lightweight but low priced fork?

[mtber]

I've got a 96 F400 cannondale which came with Rock Shox Quadra 5 fork. Yeah the fork is still on it. Unbelievable but true. I've been slowly trying to bring the bicycle up to speed by updating some of it from time to time and now its about time for the suspension.

Any ideas for good forks that are not pocket burners but weigh in at around this one? The current forks weighs about 1300 grams. Don't need anything for rough terrain. I plan to keep the bike on the street and occasionally long distance.

Have a good one!

[mtber]

Oops I meant 1700g..

Well there is the Rock Shox revelation which is way too much but around that weight and I've found the Suntour SR SF10 but I'm wondering if there is anything cheaper than that out there?

Would appreciate any ideas. Thanks

[mrdunk]

have you tried http://www.chainreactioncycles.com ?

[Painkiller]

Get back to basics and go rigid. If you got the cash get nice carbon one

[JonB]

(05-20-2011, 05:21 AM)mtber Wrote:  Oops I meant 1700g..

Well there is the Rock Shox revelation which is way too much but around that weight and I've found the Suntour SR SF10 but I'm wondering if there is anything cheaper than that out there?

Would appreciate any ideas. Thanks

Revelations are pretty good forks, I've had a set. However most air forks will weight in around that, and Rockshox air forks are pretty good value for the money.

Stay away from Suntour, their seals are useless and their forks are pretty poor. If you're considering getting a Suntour, then get a Rigid like Painkiller says, the ride won't be noticeably worse, it'll last longer as there's nothing to go wrong and it will almost certainly be lighter. Also, if it's just for street and the occasional long distance, I'd go with a rigid simply because you will have no real need for suspension.

[mrdunk]

(05-20-2011, 05:56 PM)JonB Wrote:  

(05-20-2011, 05:21 AM)mtber Wrote:  Oops I meant 1700g..

Well there is the Rock Shox revelation which is way too much but around that weight and I've found the Suntour SR SF10 but I'm wondering if there is anything cheaper than that out there?

Would appreciate any ideas. Thanks

Revelations are pretty good forks, I've had a set. However most air forks will weight in around that, and Rockshox air forks are pretty good value for the money.

Stay away from Suntour, their seals are useless and their forks are pretty poor. If you're considering getting a Suntour, then get a Rigid like Painkiller says, the ride won't be noticeably worse, it'll last longer as there's nothing to go wrong and it will almost certainly be lighter. Also, if it's just for street and the occasional long distance, I'd go with a rigid simply because you will have no real need for suspension.

i fully agree with avoiding suntour suspension forks i have a set on my bike and they're terrible, i want to upgrade to a set of rockshox but thats going to take some serious saving

[nfmisso]

go rigid.

[mtber]

HO there's a lot of replies. Thanks!

Yeah I was looking at a couple of rigid forks myself yesterday after this post. I plan to keep the bike on the street but its really difficult. It's summer now and there's a rocky trail we take to the forest that goes on for a bit before we get to the beach and I would definitely need the suspension there.

Jon I didnt know that about Suntour. Never bought one but they're looking really good. Especially since I'm seeing more n more bikes with Suntours on them. But that's a good point about the seals.

Rock Shox Dart series is affordable but its weighty as well. Ah who knows maybe rigid is best after all...

[JonB]

Suntours are on loads of bikes because they come stock on many now. They're cheap, and they die really quickly. They're RST forks, and essentially rely on friction for damping. Even with some serious love, they always feel rubbish. I'd ALWAYS have a rigid over them; in fact unless you're a bit on the heavy side they feel like a rigid anyway (even on the softest setting)

Oh and don't bother with Darts, they're not that great and I'd rather have a rigid. If you're splashing out on a suspension fork, get something half decent (like a Rockshox Tora as a minimum) or get a rigid.

[mtber]

lol yeah I'm on the heavy side! That's where the bikes come into play to get me down to the average category.

The RS Tora is a bit of a heavy bugger weighing in at about 2400 grams. Maybe i can get my hands on a cheap revelation somewhere :-)

[JonB]

Fair enough.

I think you're being a bit optimistic with weight. Unless you buy an ultra-light XC race fork (which will cost £stupid.99), then 2-3kg for a proper suspension fork is fairly average. Air forks bring the weight down (they used to do Toras in air). My downhill fork weighs about 5kg, and to be fair my old Revelation was just over 2kg.

[mtber]

Yeah? I thought I read somewhere that the Revelation weighed in at about 1.8kgs. The thing is I really want to keep the bike as near if not lower than its original weight. I love that bike because its just so light. So I'm doing it up a little by little to see how light I can get it. You know, some carbon stuff where I can get cheap ones (seat post, handle bar etc).

I have another bike which is a fully equipped with a downhill fork. Now that bike, that weighs like a tank!

Have a good one.

[mtber]

Alrighty, before I go out there and optimistically get that Revelation, I was looking at headshoks or fatty's this week.

Only how do I know if I can put a Fatty on there? I have no experience with these forks but they sound like just the thing I might need. About 80 mm of travel, lockout, weighing light at about 1.3kgs, stiffer ride than most suspensions and a 2nd hand one which matches the color of my bike off of ebay would not burn a hole as big as a new Revelation.

Is there a guide on assembling a fatty on this website? :-) Just a reminder, its a 96 Cannondale F400 CAAD 2, almost exactly the same one in the 96 catalog at vintage Cannondale (difference being the Deore LX derailleurs).