Author Topic: 29er suspension forks  (Read 3242 times)

29er suspension forks
« on: 20 July, 2008, 05:39:16 pm »
I just accidentally bought this GT 29er off ebay :-[

Accidentally because I saw it a few days ago, thought it would suit me with the addition of some suspension forks, and then found out that there don't seem too be any forks for 29ers that cost less than £250, which is way more than I can afford! I wasn't too worried though because someone outbid me, but then I just checked ebay a few minutes before the item ended and for some unknown reason I was the high bidder again! It was too late to do anything about it so now I've won the bike and will be needing some suspension forks for it.

Does anyone know if there are any available that don't cost a fortune, or if it's possible to use a 26" fork anyway?

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #1 on: 20 July, 2008, 06:18:35 pm »
Chains a bit slack . . .

j
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #2 on: 20 July, 2008, 06:25:39 pm »
 :P

Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #3 on: 20 July, 2008, 07:03:11 pm »
***Sits on hands and desperately tries not o think n+1 thoughts***

Options:

a) Resell it. Get most of your money back (possibly all if the right people spot it). You could try selling it on Singletrack...

b) Break it up, and sell it. The middleburn cranks and XTR brakes will sell well. The wheels should get a few quid if they're reasonable, and the other stuff will get a fiver here and a fiver there...

c) Turn it into a 69er... According to the GT website, the fork's 470mm long, so the total crown-ground length is about 840mm. If you put, say, a Rockshox Tora fork (505mm) on with a 26" front wheel, the same measurement would be 835mm at 130mm travel.  ;D

Note, though, that the Peace has a 72 degree head angle as standard, so the steering might get a bit twitchy as the suspension compresses...
Life is too important to be taken seriously.

bikenerd

Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #4 on: 20 July, 2008, 07:49:23 pm »
Get over to the Singletrack forum.  Someone will probably be selling a 29er fork at some point...
Singletrack

Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #5 on: 20 July, 2008, 08:35:12 pm »
Someone on MTB-Wales.com is selling a pair of Rebas for £200

http://www.mtb-wales.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=XForum&file=viewthread&tid=20438

Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #6 on: 20 July, 2008, 10:19:54 pm »
Thanks, lots to think about!

I could sell it on, I'm picking it up on Thursday so I'll see how much I like it first though!
That Reba fork looks perfect, £200 is still a lot though for me! I did find these Marzocchi MX Comps on an American website, the price converts to £87, plus £17 shipping, which is great but import duty might whack a hefty sum on top!

Re: 29er suspension forks
« Reply #7 on: 25 July, 2008, 11:40:56 pm »
Well I had my first ride on the bike today, including as many bumpy bridleways as I could find. I'm pretty surprised at how smooth the ride is without suspension, the big wheel and fat (2.3") soft tyre seemed to soak up quite lot of the bumps, even when going over some biggish roots.

I still think suspension would improve things, but whether it's worth £200+ of my rather sparse funds I don't know! I reckon I'll try to take the bike to Swinley Forest (my nearest 'proper' MTB trails) sometime soon and if it's ok there I won't bother buying suspension.

The only other option I've seen is 700C hybrid forks, there are plenty of those going for cheap, particularly on German ebay, but I don't know if the tyre would fit in or if they'd break when used off-road!