Suspension fork - 80 or 100 ?

Gavin

I have a Manitou Axel Plus fork that came with my 04 Rockhopper. I can't find a specific manual for this fork, but the one below seems to be for it. I think I have the Comp fork.

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fspoke-n-word-cycles.com%2FTechnicalDocuments%2FManitou%2FManitou%25202003%2FManitou%25202003%2520Axel%2520Service%2520Manual.pdf&ei=bfCFSIa3MoiE1wbkoZnNCA&usg=AFQjCNETWsdZsIttiVUq79WP_flkJvl0Nw&sig2=an1iLfaRWzPi_p1WfxYLsg

According to the badly written manual, I may be able to convert the travel from 80 to 100. Should I do this ? Why wouldn't I do this ? 100 is bigger than 80 so surely bigger is better !

I've never opened the forks before, should I get them serviced or are they so cheap it wouldn't make a difference ? Bring it to a shop, or just do it myself?

Configuration wise, the only lever I can find on it is for adjusting rebound. What are the pros/cons of high/low rebound? I assume it's basically how fast the fork pushes back up after absorbing a bump?

Cheers for any help, I know jack **** about suspension..

sean_d

From what I remember (its been a few years since I worked on an Axel) they were very very easy to work on. Changing the travel from 80mm to 100mm was simply a matter of opening the fork and changing the position of a metal spacer on a rod attached to the stanchions. 10 minute job, if you've got any inclination towards bike mechanics at all. Give everything a good clean while you're in there too.

As for why you should and shouldn't do it, you need to judge whether jacking the front end of your bike up by 20mm more is going to make a difference to your riding. (It will definitely affect the geometry of the bike, but it may or may not bring it outside of what works/is comfortable for you) That 20mm WILL be very noticeable. If the bike is designed around an 80mm fork, I'd be tempted to leave it at that.

You are correct in saying that rebound adjustment affects how quickly the fork re-extends. You need to find the sweet spot somewhere between the fork pogoing back upwards very quickly, and it packing down completely, where you will run into trouble if you encounter multiple bumps.

Sean

Gavin

Thanks for that, I found a better manual after going through mtbr.com, so taking it apart looks fairly straightforward. I'll give it a lash this weekend and see if I notice any difference.