Matching forks to older frame

[DuncanM]

Hi

I've been out of MTBs for ages. I'm now looking for something I can do some reasonable (not too serious yet!) off roading on, and I'd like a decent hardtail, but I'm out of touch with the modern tech. I was wondering if I could take an older (late 90s) steel frame and put modern forks and kit on it, or whether I'm better off just going for a newer bike altogether. If I can use an older frame, how do I match it to a set of forks so I don't screw all the angles up? My previous experience was that a good steel frame didn't beat you up like an alloy frame, though I guess that may have changed over the years!

The budget is negligable, but I am OK with the spanners (though I don't know much about disks, or even if the cheaper ones are worth having over Vs), so I'm not expecting much but would be happy with a project!

Cheers
Duncan

PS
Can you reccomend any websites that can help me get up-to-date?

[PaulF]

Obviously will depend on your frame/fork combination but if the frame was originally designed for rigid forks then suspension forks will be longer and will slacken the head angle and affect the handling.

[spesh]

A late-90s frameset may be "corrected" such that a short travel fork (50-65mm) could be fitted without slowing down the handling too much, expecially once the preload was set properly.

Current forks for XC hardtails have typically 80-110mm travel, so fitting one to a late 90's frame is asking for Harley-Davidsonesque handling. It might be possible to find an old school fork on eBay, but spares and servicing could be a nightmare.

Mind you, whilst forks have got longer, stems have got shorter and handlebars wider. Thus it might be possible to compensate for the slower handling that comes with a modern bouncy fork by fitting a shorter stem and a set of riser bars.

[Buzz]

I had a 99 model GT and that was corrected for an 75/80mm ish travel rockshox, 50-65mm forks being old hat by that time.

If you do want a new fork you may be limited to the very light XC race forks which still come in shorter travel versions, just keep it running under 100mm and you should be OK.

[PhilO]

A lot depends on how much kit you already have. Forks, in particular, can be very expensive bought separately, so buying a new off-the-shelf bike is likely to be much cheaper than building up an old frame.

If you do opt for the build, some forks can have their travel reduced fairly easily. Fox Floats, for instance, can be reduced in 20mm steps by adding an internal spacer....

[henshaw11]

I guess it depends on what you can get your hands on - anything of that age is now in the 'retro' category, and might actually be relatively expensive for what it is because there's a bit of interest in old stuff, inc mtbs:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/
 - I think I saw someone with an unused Kona steel frame recently (I *think* most were ally by 2000-ish) for something like 400 quid.

Forks - difficult to say, circa 96 (I've an '96 M2 Stumpjumper) typically about 65mm travel or so - I've got some '97 Pace Evos on mine, which were 70mm...tho' then put a meaty headset on it which jacked it up a bit more, and it was ok. Putting some 100mm forks on for an alps trip (having pranged the Paces - later fixed) - fine downhill, wandered like anything uphill.

Not sure exactly when 80 mm forks arrived - Manitou and Marzocchi certainly had 80mm travel forks by then.

some travel info here, plus there's assorted old catalogues scanned on the web (inc retrobike) which'll tell you what frame/forks went together
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RockShox
http://mombat.org/Suspension.htm
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/v/Manufacturer+Archive/

Hmm...an early 00s Orange P7 might be an idea - I've 2002 P7 that's got 80mm Manitou Sixes (which is the shortest you'll get new, nowadays), the following year the P7 geometry got tweaked to make 100mm the default (IIRC)...the most recently versions are for 130mm (or so) forks, sliding dropout, and have lost the rack mounts of the old versions. (XC frames tend to be at the 100mm mark, but various frame manufacturers have 130mm corrected offerings as a bit more do-it-all - that's the 'all-mountain' term you may see)

That said - for the price of a decent s/h frame you might be as well to look at a Dialled Bikes Prince Albert (XC, but designed for 120-140mm forks) or one of the On-One offerings - eg the 456 handles 4/5/6" travel forks - you'll find more than a few people with 'em on the singletrackworld.com forums.

http://www.dialledbikes.com/products/mtb/prince-albert.php  -ah, they've gone up 295 - used to be nearer 200 quid..
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROO456/on_one_456_steel_hardtail_frame_2011 - still 199..

On-One often do decent packages/deals too - worth being on their mail list for occasional offers.

[henshaw11]

On the offchance anyone's looking - looks like On-One have got 25% off a lot of frames at the mo' - so the steel 456 is now about 150 quid...

[rogerzilla]

Anything late 1990s will be "suspension corrected" to some extent.  Just look up the old specs and find out what length of fork it was designed for.