Rigid fork comparison.

[Brizn]

Further perseverations on gear, by Brizn.

Wanted: beefy yet svelte susp corrected fork for clydesdale-all mountain application. Prefer bent crown vs. segmented. Disc only, no bosses. QR. Rake/trail not so important- as long as it's within average range. Can anyone comment on the below listed forks? Any other recommendations? (I think the legs narrow in too much on those hot Vicious & Kelly forks..)

Fork-------------------------------- Axle to Crown ------------------- weight lbs

DMR Trailblade 2------------------ 457 ------------------------------- 3.5
Kona Project 2-------------------- 410 ------------------------------- 2.4
Zion -------------------------------- 428 ------------------------------- 2.45
Identi Rebate Jump--------------- 425-------------------------------3.1

[hophead]

Any other recommendations? (I think the legs narrow in too much on those hot Vicious & Kelly forks..)
What size tire do you intend to run up front? I run 2.1's with my Vicious fork and have had 2.3's on it. Both fit fine. The only problem that I have run into is that anything over 2.1 is a little hard to get on between the v-brakes. This, of course, would not be an issue on a disc set up.

[fausto]

frame this is going on? the same frame with a 410 vs 457mm A/C is going to ride very differently. 3.5# seems like a heck of a lot of weight for a rigid fork too...

[2big2ride]

I have had the burly 29er KM fork and have then since switched to a Vicious. I am no lightweight, tipping the scales over 200 lbs. (not anymore :D ) I have ridden the Vicious for over two years now in all-mountain conditions and have had no problems....

[eloach]

How much do you want to spend?

I picked up a PACE CF with TI in it and it is super light and super strong. I got it for ~$350 and list is about $375. I think it can take up to 220 pounds of rider, but double check their site. It's their answer for those who are either to big for their other rigid CF forks or tend to bang about in a rough manner.

I go 180 and I am anything but graceful. I mounted the fork on my 26" SS and it's taken some hard hits and performed well. I think the fork weight is actually BELOW 2 pounds. I think they produce a 29er version of the same fork. The 26er version comes 420mm and 440mm sizes (crown to axle). Go with the 440 unless your frame is setup for less than an 80mm fork.

I don't know how it would do at The Shed or someplace where it might get nailed from the side by a rock. My next goal is to master FH on it, so I have a while to go before I take it to The Shed.

[hophead]

If you want cheap, I happen to have a used Bianchi DISS fork that could use a good home. I couldn't find any specs on the web for it, but it is disc only, flat black with only minor abrasions from normal use. My tape measure shows about 420mm axle to crown and 195mm of steerer. Let me know if you're interested.

-Scott

[allroy]

suspension corrected for what, 26" or 29", 80mm or 100mm?
What price range?
What bike is it going on?

Kona P2 forks are pretty burley and stiff, but 410 isn't really suspension corrected. You may want to look at the Surly 1x1 and Instigator forks depending what you are looking for.

Further perseverations on gear, by Brizn.

Wanted: beefy yet svelte susp corrected fork for clydesdale-all mountain application. Prefer bent crown vs. segmented. Disc only, no bosses. QR. Rake/trail not so important- as long as it's within average range. Can anyone comment on the below listed forks? Any other recommendations? (I think the legs narrow in too much on those hot Vicious & Kelly forks..)

Fork-------------------------------- Axle to Crown ------------------- weight lbs

DMR Trailblade 2------------------ 457 ------------------------------- 3.5
Kona Project 2-------------------- 410 ------------------------------- 2.4
Zion -------------------------------- 428 ------------------------------- 2.45
Identi Rebate Jump--------------- 425-------------------------------3.1

[Brizn]

Hop, good point. I'll likely want to run a big 2.4, but I had kinda ruled out the Vicious anyway, because they narrow out, and apparently they flex a little more than I'd like.. And looking for a new/never used fork, but thank you.

Not sure about the frame yet. WBut it'll be something in the beefy AM or FR vein. I do understand about A/C effecting HA, etc.

CF forks are right out.

Price should be 60-150ish or so maybe.

Susp corrected @ 26" x 100mm.

Yea, 3.5lbs is wild. But that's a burly fork, too. Surly forks all have superfluous bosses.. and I want a clean look. Yes, that rules them out.

[allroy]

the canti-posts are removable on the Instigator fork, if-in that's not clean enough, for the price (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=FK0005) you could 'remove' (grind, file and dremel) the brake bosses pretty easily and then get it powder coated so it's even more sleek and purty all for less than some of the higher priced options AND run some sweet 2.7's.

Vicious flex... wow??? The 29er I rode was as stiff or stiffer than the Karate Monkey fork.

Hop, good point. I'll likely want to run a big 2.4, but I had kinda ruled out the Vicious anyway, because they narrow out, and apparently they flex a little more than I'd like.. And looking for a new/never used fork, but thank you.

Not sure about the frame yet. WBut it'll be something in the beefy AM or FR vein. I do understand about A/C effecting HA, etc.

CF forks are right out.

Price should be 60-150ish or so maybe.

Susp corrected @ 26" x 100mm.

Yea, 3.5lbs is wild. But that's a burly fork, too. Surly forks all have superfluous bosses.. and I want a clean look. Yes, that rules them out.

[hophead]

Vicious flex... wow??? The 29er I rode was as stiff or stiffer than the Karate Monkey fork.
Yeah, my 26" Vicious fork is pretty stiff too. The tapered legs make it a bit more compliant than the stock Surly fork, but it certainly isn't flexy.

[jon_baler]

On One Superlight Fork. They have a disk only version in black for 26er.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=67&MMN_position=190:190

It's segmented, which is way better looking (IMO :cool: )

I have the 29er version and I am no lightweight.

[Brizn]

I might could go for segmented-- Yueq says they're probably stronger.

I know 2 guys running the Vicious fork in Frederick.. and one claimed that it flexes from time to time. So bear in mind that my info is limited.. but anytime the word 'flex' is used, i become averse. I know that it's sometimes good to have some flex in a fork, depending on the application, but psychologically- those legs just look too narrow for me. Sexy forks tho.. Kelly's, too.

[yueq]

Just measured my Vicious fork. It's 2.60 between the legs. A true 2.1 tire sits fine, but anything close to true 2.3 might have problem. The Surly fork is almost 3.6 between legs.

[hophead]

I know 2 guys running the Vicious fork in Frederick.. and one claimed that it flexes from time to time. So bear in mind that my info is limited.. but anytime the word 'flex' is used, i become averse. I know that it's sometimes good to have some flex in a fork, depending on the application, but psychologically- those legs just look too narrow for me. Sexy forks tho.. Kelly's, too.
Flexing is much better than the alternative which is failure. You can't have enough flex on a rigid fork to ride in the shed. I tried that once on my Surly and once was enough. My kidneys are still bleeding. My shed ss has a nice 108mm fork on it which imo, is still marginal. Rocks+squishy fork= :)

[Brizn]

I think I'll bump this back to the top, ..

Looking for strong uni-crown disc only fork @ ~ 450mm A/c.
Black Sheep's stuff looks nice,..