Specialized RockHopper retro (full suspension)

Whatever else about geometry considerations for a fork; you are going to have two things that will blight your hunt for a decent fork, although more so one than the other; that you're rocking 26" wheels and need a 1 & 1/8 straight steerer tube. The steerer requirement is going to be an absolute sh1t to account for. It's not that they [26" forks with straight steerers] are impossible to find, just that your options will be severely limited unless you are prepared to bide your time.

What fork was on it originally? So we can get a sense of fork travel. I suspect given you have it dated to 1997 it'll probably be around 70/80mm, possibly 50mm at the lower end. That means any fork option that you choose now with longer travel is really going to affect the geometry and consequently the handling 'feel' of the bike. I swapped out an old Manitou 80mm fork on my Klein hard-tail last year for a 120mm Rockshox reba with the intention of lowering the travel to 100mm but with the extra length of the forks the geometry of the bike was changed regardless. How much is too much is subjective, but it is something to keep in mind. 130mm might be a bit too much but it all depends on the frames original intended head angle at the end of the day.

Regards finding a fork that you like; patience is what it may take. Took me a couple of years to find a fork I liked that was also in decent condition (I picked up a second hand fork).

Your looking at an RS indy - a mighty 48mm, although I had some long travel at 63mm I think.

Oh, elastomers too.

Modern forks will have a different axel to crown but I think suntour will take any of their forks and stick any steerer on it for you (fox also sell 1 1/8 forks, but special order and also not cheap). So the you can mess about with spacers to get geometry right.

Retro bike website is ace for getting bits.

Are you doing this on a budget?

If not I'd get this manitou markhor, decent air forks can be extended to 120mm and far more better than rockshox for the price, only thing is it's not for v brake if you want a v brake fork I'd get a suntour but in my experience suntours wont last through a winter.

You might have to keep v brakes in the back though as unless your good with metal work drilling disc brake holes in the rear might be a can of worms

Lemming wrote: »

Looks like Rockshox have expanded their 26" offerings since last year, and there's a few more offering straight steerer although the website now doesn't list what steerer options are available other than relying on the picture and hoping its right. There is a Reba in 26" but I don' tknow if that's got options for straight steerer. Both of the 30 forks appear to be straight steerer (30 Gold RL and 30 Silver TK although the latter is a coil offering).

BUT .... the Reba is a £400+ fork leaving the two budget options, so there is a case of "how much is it worth to you vs. compromising on what you want in a fork".

In my experience the manitou markhor is as good as the reba and like half the price although rockshox coil shocks aren't acctually bad just heavy

Tony04 wrote: »

If you buying a used fork you might need to service it aswell

I've written this before on this forum, but at risk of repeating myself, as a general rule of thumb, a second hand fork or shock would be best advised to go for service ASAP if for no other reason than to ensure there are no issues needing addressed that will cause damage if left unattended.

In any case, be prepared to wait and keep looking for a fork you're happy with unless you either get a good steer as per iwillhtfu's suggestion and/or get lucky, or you're not too fussed and happy to accept any fork that crosses your path first.

cletus wrote: »

I've been drinking for a number of hours now, so it's possible that I'm speaking out of turn. If your refurbing this bike to not use it as a mountain bike, have you considered putting in a normal fork as opposed to a sus fork?

A good example would be the early to mid '90's Rockhopper drop bar conversion on the Spindatt YouTube channel

*edit* it would appear that I am indeed drunk and speaking out of turn, as I see that it's a full sus, and not a hardtail you're working on. Carry on...

Drinking and online forums... always a great combination :-)

I was going to offer some rough Pace RC36 proclass2 lockouts but a quick Google tells me they are worth more than I thought.

And I've discovered the part to fix the rc41 fighters too. Happy days.