Mountain bike question

[jp1]

I've had a 2001 Giant NRS XTC 2 for years, and never really got into it until this year. It has a Rock Shox Judy XC (80mm) fork on it (coil & oil). I changed the coils for my weight and dabbled with the oil viscosity a couple of years back but not really thrilled with its lack of tuneability (yea, I'm a tinkerer). I put aftermarket Rockers (pivot arms) on the rear suspension also, which gives it 4 3/4" travel in the rear.

What would be a good replacement fork ? How much longer can I go without really messing the geometry up ? 100mm / 120mm ?

I'm thinking 120mm and set it up with a little more sag than recommended (for more extension when needed) is this thought process flawed?

I'm thinking along the lines of a used Recon / Reba as I'm not going to dump a lot of money into it even though it is in excellent condition.

I only ask here because I trust the Bombers input, know there are a good buch of knowledgeable people here and don't really have any other idea where to ask.

Any input is appreciated / jp1

[kieran]

you can probably go to 120mm easily enough, so long as you get a fork where the dropouts are not as offset from the centerline of the piston tubes as your current set.

what do you want to do this for though? downhill, bumpier XC?

[Surf Quebec]

He John, no snow in your area ?

[D.T.]

How much longer can I go without really messing the geometry up ? 100mm / 120mm ?

I'm thinking 120mm and set it up with a little more sag than recommended (for more extension when needed) is this thought process flawed?

John,

Pick the fork that will give the top tube the same angle it had prior to the rear suspension modification. In theory, this should keep the suspension close to being in balance, at least so that you can make minor adjustments to get it balanced. I wouldn't eff with the sag. I would recommend using the manufacturer's recommend setting - on one end to minimize the likelihood of bottoming out, on the other end to give you the right amount of feel and keep from pushing it out.

On my street bike, the suspension was set-up for a 170-lb rider. For me the bike feels wallowy, it's hard to keep a line through corners and any bump/seam/crack that unsettles the suspension results in me providing a lot of input to stay upright - to remedy this situation, the bike will under go a transformation this winter (new internals [springs/valving] of the front, a new adjustable Ohlins on the rear). With the dirtbike, I made the mistake of trusting the word of someone that I did not know with respect to how the suspension was set-up. After two major get-offs and $2.5K in out-of-pocket medical expenses I decided to check the settings for myself. The front sag was too low and the rear sag was at half the recommended setting. No wonder I wasn't getting comfortable on the bike. The rear had no feel and always felt like it wanted to walk around the side, which was made even worse by the front being too soft. Again, this bike will also see major suspension work this winter.

An out-of-balance, out-of-adjustment suspension is not worth it. As you know from your roundy-round experience - a well dialed-in suspension is heavenly, while a a set-up that just ain't right can be a nightmare.

[jp1]

kieran, XC.

Stephane, nothing worthwhile yet.

DT, I learned today, my thought process IS flawed (more sag would be a bad idea).

Actually I found the issue today, it's not the fork it's the seat ! Well it's not actually the seat, it's the person on it :D but I'll keep at it.