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My wife has just given birth to our son, so I'm not going to be getting out for many long rides for the next few months. Since I'm going to have more time at home, I thought I would have a go at building myself a mountain bike since mine was nicked last May. I've sourced a frame (Giant ATX- I know, not the greatest frame but will do for a project). I'm fairly certain it has a straight steerer tube (waiting for confirmation). What would you suggest as a good set of forks on a budget (less than £100)? Obviously used. Don't mind having to do a rebuild and service etc
assuming it has a 44mm head tube you can fit an external cup and run a tapered steerer. Cheapest option probably a suntour air fork.
An ATX isn't going to have a 44mm head tube, you're going to need a straight 1-1/8" steerer.
My suggestion would be to scour fleabay and classifieds for some old 26" Reba's or similar. They're common enough, simple to service and you can still find seals if you need them...
Edit: I thought the 'ATX' ceased to exist in the 90s, but it's still a current bike, whoops. World's tour oyster then forks wise.
These of any use?
https://www.air-bike.co.uk/forks
No idea if they’re any good.
Last ones I got were off eBay. Rockshox Gold 30 for £120 new for my winter/training bike.
Can't help with fork recommendations but...congratulations!
Congrats. And good luck with bike and child.
Whichs version/size ATX did you get? ie is this 26" or 27.5?
Following on from the posts above, two big questions are what size wheels it has and what size headtube? Also, if you have a wheelset, is the front a quick-release or through-axle?
If it has 26" wheels, you would probably be best to fit a 27.5" fork anyway for future compatibility. You could still run 26" wheels in it, or mullet it with a 27.5" up front and 26" back wheel.
It probably has a 1 1/8 inch straight steerer headset, which limits things. If the head tube is 44 mm, you should be able to fit a 1.5" external bearing on the bottom and run a tapered fork. That will give much wider range of fork availability.
The lowest end fork I would recommend would be a Suntour air fork (Epicon or similar). I have one on my commuter/hack bike. It's fine for light-duty trail riding. Stepping up from that, a Rockshox Reba or Revelation would be a decent XC trail fork. If you're a bit heavier, maybe a Rockshox Pike set to 100 mm or 120 mm.
If you are going to be buying a wheelset, a 15 mm through-axle hub would be better than a QR hub. Even if you have a QR fork, you can run a 15 mm through-axle wheel in it with a cheap adapter, but you cannot run a QR wheel in a through-axle fork. There is much greater range of forks available with 15mm through-axle, so that would be the way to go if you are buying a wheelset as well.
27.5"
Can it take a tapered steerer? If it can, there will be masses of good secondhand forks available. For example, this guy has some Revs that he can't sell (they could have the travel reduced by changing the airshaft). No doubt, there'll be lots more like him.
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/converting-27-5-forks-to-29ers/#post-12172439
Thoughts on s rockshox Judy solo air?
You'd be better off with a Suntour Epicon. Ignore the badge, they're good forks.
Stealth ad: I have some brand new Suntour Raidon Air forks for sale in the classifieds, straight steerer, 27.5", 120mm travel...