So then, I havent needed to buy a new fork for about 15 years or more, and am seriously out of touch with what is out there. The last fork i bought was an Epicon air fork 26" version to re place a dead SID fork. Cant say I was overly impressed, but it did the job at the time. That fork is now long gone, but I find myself thinking about buying a new old mtb again , probs gonna be a circa 2005-2010 model, having ridden mostly road and gravel bikes for the last 10 years.
The absolute best fork I have ever ridden was the Fox fork I had on a n Orange Crush from about 2008/9 from memory, that was head and shoulders above the others, but it felt like it may have been coil rather than air, it was that smooth.
So, basically, Im wanting suggestions for a fork which is 26" specific, pretty available on the second hand / ebay market, possibility of qr or through axle ( can you adapt through axle to fit qr skewers? ) and rides as plush as that Fox fork on my Crush. Spec says it was a vanilla R, but it really did feel like a coil. Never tried to pump it up cos I didnt have it long at all.
Relying on those who have much more knowledge and experience to help me out here, thanks in advance.
What’s your budget for an mtb? Geometry has changed a lot since 2010 and you’d probably be better off with a newer budget mtb than an older more bling one.
Your variety of 26” forks is slim now - especially if the frame you picked up is straight steerer. You’d be resigned to bottom end stuff new (e.g epixon or recon).
The reason your Fox Vanilla would have felt like a coil, was because it WAS a coil. (Vanilla = coil, Float = air)
Bolt through forks are not adaptable to QR hubs, but many QR hubs (but far from all) are adaptable to bolt through forks.
As above - you'll be very limited if the frame only takes a straight steerer.
How much travel are you after?
What travel do you need? And what's it going on?
I'd probably just look for an under-used Fox fork from ~2012 or so, to give you the best chance of finding something compatible.
It will be going on...i dont know yet. Gonna treat myself to a mid 2000's ebay special as and when I find one. Currently got a GT force but its too small, so maybe a late iDrive?
Just missed out on somebodys beautiful Gary Fisher Roscoe recently, so thats the kind of era I'm looking at. Im a terrible rider so these bikes will be more than enough for me.
Might even buy a frame and build it up with ebay bits n bobs, done that a lot, really enjoy it.
If anyone wants to make any suggestions on great bikes theyve had in the past which might fit the description that would be helpful too.
Cheers.
You can't choose a fork until you know what your frame is. If you're buying a frame, get one that will take a tapered steerer. Many older frames with internal headsets (44 mm internal diameter headtubes) can take a 1.5" external headset so it's simple to just replace the lower bearing and run a tapered steerer.
A 27.5" fork will work fine on a 26" frame. It will slightly slacken the geometry, but you can generally slam the saddle forward and the difference will barely be noticeable. If you don't mind it being slackened off a bit more, you can mullet it with a 27.5" wheel up front and 26" on the back.
If you have a frame that can take a 27.5" tapered fork, there will be a huge variety of forks available second hand. Not a lot available with QR though, better to get a 15 mm through axle wheel. You can run a 15 mm hub in a QR fork with a cheap adapter, but not vice-versa, so a 15 mm hub will give you a lot more options.
Without knowing what sort of riding you like, something like a Rockshox Revelation or Pike is a decent trail fork, Sids are more XC oriented. Fox forks with 32mm stanchions are pretty flexy, unless you're a twiglet doing XC riding, you'd want a 34mm stanchion fork if you go Fox. There are millions of those Rockshox and Fox forks out there so picking one up second-hand should be easy enough.
