Plush Front Fork Suggestions

[El_Steak]

I'm not too happy with my current suspension fork. Its a el-cheapo Marzocchi MZ with a 9mm axle. It doesn't look very strong and I'm always concerned that it might break while hitting a pot hole at high speeds (60-70km/h), sending me directly to the morgue.

I'm ok with spending around 500$ on the fork. There's a lot of models from Marzocchi, Rock Shox, Fox, etc. in that price range so I'm looking for suggestions. I want firstmost something really solid with a 15mm axel and secondmost something plush and comfy in urban riding at high speeds. Its only for commuting, I won't jump cliffs or ride down flights of stairs.

Any suggestions?

 

[dodjob]

fox fox fox... they ARE really expensive but they are really strong and reliable. my little 50cent thought

 

[cassschr1]

I was trying for RS boxxer on ebay but just didnt go that high...say 325.00, lost out 3 times at last second. I did buy a marz super T Pro, 100.00 from a friend, and a marz mz 150 from ebay 140.00. Haven't got that one yet.LBS owner told me the super t is going to be a plush ride. He races a lot of down hill etc.

 

[kfong]

If you can get Marzocchi 888, they look strong enough. Very plush. Fox would be also a good choice. I would choose these before Rock Shox, but never tried the boxxer.

 

[Drunkskunk]

MZ's are a weird breed. some years they sucked, and no one could make them work, then another model year and they were great. But they are the bottom of the line. anything else should be better.

If you need a stiff legged but plush ride, go with one of the triple crown forks. you can adjust them to sit low on the stanchions and ride low with a real plush ride.

 

[El_Steak]

Thanks for the info.

I did a bit more searching on the sphere and found this fork with dual brake mounts and hub (about 500$ to canada shipping included for the fork and hub). Its sold by the GreyBorg guys for use with their custom (awesome) frame. I think its a DNM Volcano (never heard of it). I'll research it a bit more as it seems to fit the bill for me.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20321&start=60#p465639

We tested many forks; FOX, Manitou,Marzocchi, Rockshox.
They are excellent if you are local champion in DH.
If you are average user, you will probably prefer a litle more comfort and much less maintenance.
Our new fork is very plush,very light, and exclusively adopted for 2 discs.

 

[fractal]

Make sure it fits with your headset. If you have to change your headset, you need a special tool to do it because its on there pretty tight. Looks cool with the dual rotor

 

[oatnet]

I've used RockShox Boxxer 'World Cup' forks on my last 4 builds - 8" of travel, air suspension, cushy ride - and I've been really pleased. I've been eyeing up accountant's fork too, mostly for the dual-disk capabilities.

-JD

 

[Beavinator]

I just got a set of brand new Rock Shox Domain RC forks. I think they would be an ideal fork for your application. They are dual crown forks that are fully adjustable. They come with medium springs installed but they also give you 2 extra springs, 1 - firm and 1 - soft. Also included is a tall crown and a regular crown so you know it will work no matter what bike you have. They cost just over 500 bucks and look awesome!

 

[MadRhino]

Your MZ is not gonna break on the street, unless it was involved in a crash previously. It is not a high end fork, but solid enough for potholes and curbs. My opinion is that it's not stiff enough for dirt, doesn't corner well on the rough, but never heard of one broken without a serious front hit.

You don't say how much travel it has, you should replace with the same travel to keep the original geometry of the bike. You will find air forks very linear, if that is what you mean by plush, but they are high maintenance and too complicated for the average user. I suggest that you look for spring forks that have preload, damping, external rebound and high speed compression adjustments, to be able to tune the feel that you like without the high maintenance of air forks. If your travel is short this can be found in your budget or close to it, but if it's a long travel you'd have to shop used for those spec on a long travel fork will make it 1000$.

 

[El_Steak]

Your MZ is not gonna break on the street, unless it was involved in a crash previously. It is not a high end fork, but solid enough for potholes and curbs. My opinion is that it's not stiff enough for dirt, doesn't corner well on the rough, but never heard of one broken without a serious front hit.

My concern comes from the skinny looking "drop outs":

As well as this sticker on the fork. Don't know if its lawyer talk, but not reassuring:

That being said, I googled for MZ failures and didn't find anything other than the fork spring (rubber bands???) mechanism breaking.

You don't say how much travel it has, you should replace with the same travel to keep the original geometry of the bike. You will find air forks very linear, if that is what you mean by plush, but they are high maintenance and too complicated for the average user. I suggest that you look for spring forks that have preload, damping, external rebound and high speed compression adjustments, to be able to tune the feel that you like without the high maintenance of air forks. If your travel is short this can be found in your budget or close to it, but if it's a long travel you'd have to shop used for those spec on a long travel fork will make it 1000$.

My MZ is short travel (120mm). I'll do some digging around for forks with the specs you mention around that size.

 

[kfong]

Those comments are for the more aggressive style of riding, as long as you have the axial pin locked tight. You should be fine with city stuff and regular offroad, but a serious pothole will be a problem.

The speeds you are going,45mph does require more serious equipment. Consider a DH frame.