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The guys on the forum have convinced me that front suspension is the way forward.
I am on a tight budget due to having lots of children, who also like biking.
I have tried a xc 28 rock shox, to be honest it felt worse than my rigid Marin.
I have tried a xc32 on a 29er which worked really well.
My question is, which entry level fork would you buy if you only had £800 to spend on a hard tail?
X Fusion or Suntour have some very good lower end forks (and some bad ones). Failing that Classifieds in here
I built my Hardtail for a lot less than £800 about 2 years ago and its been great.
You dead set on a 29er? no reason not to be but its a bit newer and may be a little more expensive second hand.
[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FBOOINX526/on_one_inbred_x5_26er_bike ]on one 26er[/url]
[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FBOOINX529/on_one_inbred_x5_29er_bike ]on one 29er[/url]
[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FBOO4561X5/on_one_456_evo_x5_sektor_bike ]A few £ too many... but still worth a look.[/url]
Again are you particularly after a 29er? You could pick up a Merlin Malt 3 (from Merlin bikes) & still have cash left over to get an upgraded fork from on-one should you find you really don't get on with the standard fork. £800 is an ample budget if your savvy.
I've got some manitou minute from crc £179
Look out for old stock air shocks like 2011 RS Tora or even RS Recon Gold or Silver. A little wile ago I picked up a new set of Recon Gold solo air for £169 and to be honest they are a great budget fork far better than the XC series, at least the airs are not sure about the spring versions. Cheap Suntour forks are rubbish really.
My hardtail came with a set of Tora Air. I thought that as a budget fork it would be the first thing to be upgraded. I haven't bothered because they're so good. I'm amazed at how they compare to higher end stuff like the Revelations on my other bike. Ok, so they're not the lightest thing in the world, but if I wanted to scrub off some weight, I'd address my pie consumption before spanking a load of cash on new forks
As an aside with regard to fork servicing, I had a very basic Cannondale about 6 years ago with a Rock-Shox Dart fork, I used the bike for commuting 5 days a week 8 miles each way on road and track, I never bothered to service it once till I sold the bike and my LBS looked at it and said it just needed oiling. I'm not suggesting that anyone should leave servicing this far apart by any means more that forks aren't as weak as you may think. I service my current forks at home now and I think it costs me around £50 a year in parts. Although it seems you have decided upon a hardtail now over a rigid.
I bought some Tora 318 forks for £120 on Pinkbike a few years ago to finish off my first bike build. My plan was to get some sids when funds would allow. Turns out the Tora is a great fork! I never bothered upgrading it. It was fantastic. Had lock-out and was dead easy to service. Highly recommend picking up a set.
Edit: This build came in at £550
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if you buy a bike from the likes of merlin and on one then you can always call them and ask about upgrading the fork from new. Or some of the forks can benefit from a damper upgrade from a higher model fork. Won't get the other benefits such as lighter stanchions etc but could be a lot cheaper.
Look at older marzocchi's 1998 to 2006. Pick them up cheap and they work really well. Great reliability. I have some marzocchi mx pro 100mm air fork for £60
When I eventually get my act together I've some RS TK32 Forks (for 26" wheels) that are going on the classifieds or E-bay.
Mail me if your interested!