You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Hello,
Looking for a 120mm (ish) 29er fork with a 'standard' 100mm QR axle. Was QR phaased out about the time 29ers were taking off? Really not many out there
Would prefer a straight steerer so it will fit both bikes but tapered would do as it's unlikely to be used on the bike which will only take straight, just nice to have the option as a spare.
What are my options? Appears to be only Manitou Machette, Rockshox 30 or some Suntour stuff I've never heard of new and there's none at all second hand anywhere to be found. Anything I'm missing?
Straight steerer will be very hard to find. Probably a lot more 27.5" stuff available than 29"
https://www.jensonusa.com/Fox-32-Float-Performance-29-2019
Straight steerer would be nice but not essential. 120mm 29er with QR is proving hard enough without adding that into the mix! Only intended for use on one bike, straight just means it could serve as a spare for the other if required but that would be unlikely, already have two forks for that.
The 100mm version of those Foxes is QR but the 120mm version is 15mm so close but no cigar.
Is buying a new front hub/wheel to match whatever axle a new fork would have out of the question? Would open up pretty much every new fork if you did.
Or is converting your current front hub doable? I don't know a great deal about the various axle standards (still QR myself) but my Hope hubs are convertible to some.
I don't think there were ever any 120mm 29er forks with a QR?
Axle-crown length would probably similar to a 150mm 26" fork, so the 29er fork would start to get very flexy.
Should do you, the epixon was reasonable for a budget fork by all accounts but it's at the budget not performance end. (Certainly much better than the RS crap at a similar price point)
Dt did some carbon legged qr 100mm 29er forks that iirc also came in 120mm but the 100s were like riding cooked spaghetti as it was.
If 100mm travel would do, I have a Reba I'd sell. It may be able to be modified to go to 120mm.
In the usual 'not answering the question that was asked' style:
Get a hub that can be converted, build that into the existing rim and then buy a 120mm 15mm wheel for this bike and convert wheel when moving between bikes.
Probably be cheaper than sorting the QR fork as choice will be so much wider on the fork.
I doubt you'll get any straight steerer forks for 29 - I had to replace my 26" straight QR fork a couple of years ago and even then there was hardly anything around... given 29" came out around the same time as the move to tapered I'd have thought it would be even harder to find anything.
The 100mm version of those Foxes is QR but the 120mm version is 15mm so close but no cigar.
Looking for a 120mm (ish) 29er fork
100 mm may be as ish as you can get. Beggars, choosers, etc.
given 29″ came out around the same time as the move to tapered I’d have thought it would be even harder to find anything.
I have some first generation 29" Rebas with 80 mm travel. I bought them long before tapered steerers and 15 mm axles became the new standard. They are pretty shit, but 29" forks aren't a recent thing.
Thinking about it when i built my first 29er the xfusion slide was available with both straight steerer and qr options, a quick Google shows a few on eBay, possibly one of those will be what you're looking for, in budget, and maybe new too.
I bought them long before tapered steerers and 15 mm axles became the new standard. They are pretty shit, but 29″ forks aren’t a recent thing.
I take it back then, my memory must be fading with old age 😆
I really like my manitou machete pro, 120mm straight steerer & QR, on an ‘XXC’ hardtail. Can’t say I notice much difference in stiffness to the Fox 34, 15mm thruaxle & 130mm travel on the full sus, I’m ~75kg but not very princess/pea when it comes to bike feel...
Oh yeah, the damping on the machete pro is pretty good, I think the same as on their Mattocs etc, external rebound & compression, and much better than the 30mm RS options (and the cheaper RS32mm forks too). The machete comp is a different cartridge & gets much worse reviews...
I really like my manitou machete pro... not very princess/pea when it comes to bike feel…
It's all in the build of the fork though, the "standards" are all well and good for marketing but it's perfectly possible to build a stiff fork with 1.125 and qr, just as it's perfectly possible to build a noodle with tappered and boost 110x15. Of course one is likely to be heavier than the other for a given stiffness but how much heavier is length of string type question.
Buy a Reba 100 and swap this in
https://www.bikeinn.com/bike/rockshox-air-shaft-reba---sidb/136338326/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=4391135&country=uk&gclid=CjwKCAiAkrTjBRAoEiwAXpf9CTxomrtGFcRTsfxD2KhViN64kuJLc2cpRHSDbX0LB6CClwEpUbWH2hoCchwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I've got a 120mm Reba with a bolt through but have a wheel that I could chuck in if you were interested...
Hello again,
Thanks for the input everyone.
Pjay/waswas, yes, that is an option. Got a Chris King ISO so I know I can swap axles over to change it to 15mm if needed, but swapping it back to 9mm is just an extra level of faff if I want to put that front wheel into the other bike, it would solve the problem for this bike but I'm trying to keep as many parts as possible easily interchangable.
.
I hadn't thought of X-Fusion. Anyone had both those and Manitous to compare? I've had a set of Manitou R7s and really liked them. However, struggling to find Manitous in the 'Pro' version with a QR axle, the Comp ones I've found have it, but the Pros all seem to be 15mm.
.
Thanks for the offer Ian. I'd rather not have another front wheel taking up space if I don't have to but if I go down the new axle for current wheel route that's an option. Any pics/prices to tempt me?
.
Suntour Epicon/Epixon are good and come in QR and straight steerer.
Pjay/waswas, yes, that is an option. Got a Chris King ISO so I know I can swap axles over to change it to 15mm if needed, but swapping it back to 9mm is just an extra level of faff if I want to put that front wheel into the other bike, it would solve the problem for this bike but I’m trying to keep as many parts as possible easily interchangable.
That makes life easy...
Not tried the xfusion against the manitou but my xfusions were fine, not exciting, but never any trouble.
I've got some 29er 120mm Rebas (tapered/15x100) with markings on the stanchion for 120/100/80mm travel & sag which would suggest the CSU was common for all travel options a while, not sure of the year maybe 2015?
So it's not outside the realms of posibility to buy a 80mm or 100mm QR Reba and bump the travel up? (new internals?) or even buy a 120mm/15x100 and swap the lowers for some QRs from an 80mm travel version perhaps...
I do have to wonder why SRAM wouldn't do the 120mm travel version in QR flavour though?