Mountain Biking - Upgrading an old Front Suspension ... Thoughts?

This is my first post in the MB forum. I'm a roadie on a single and tandem also.

I'd like to get my old 94' Trek 8000 out this winter more than usual now that I've had a good 3k mile season on the road. I have one of the OLD Rock Shox "CHEAPIE" suspensions on the front. I think it cost me $100 back in 1994 to replace my regular rigid fork. Here are a couple photos:

http://www.woodcycl.com/images/ebay/Trek%208000%20Mountain%20Bike%2013.JPG
http://www.woodcycl.com/images/ebay/Trek%208000%20Mountain%20Bike%2015.JPG

I don't have much $$ to spend on a new front suspension. Would it be worth it to spend the $75 on this one as a replacement to the old one in your opinion?

Manitou Six Comp Suspension Fork
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/AN-SXCMP.gif

Keep in mind that you will also have to replace the front brake and lever as well with v's(or disc) because newer forks don't have a cantilever hanger.
Oh. And I had the Manitou Six on another bike. It is a botom of the line Manitou and isn't great by any means but might be ok for your bike. I wouldn't put too expensive a fork on a bike that old. I'm thinking that old RS fork is 65mm travel and the Manitou is 80-100mm. Make sure you run it at 80mm or it will change the geometry too mcuh and put more stress on the headtube. I'm not sure if you should put anything over 80mm on that frame.

I would rather run a rigid fork than that bottom of the barrel manitou.

Or maybe try bottom of the barrel Marz instead.

try RST

I have that same fork on my 94 GT. I've also messed around with that Manitou Six on a GF Marlin. I honestly think my RS Q10 works better, at least it rebounds after I compress it. The Six is garbage from what I've seen of it.

Thanks for the feedback!

Looks like I should leave this model of Manitou alone ... and if I want to look at upgrading ... try the RST or Marz brand front shocks.

Any other suggestions for a inexpensive upgrade from what I have now?

Well, the rst one might have been a joke. rst isn't regarded by most as a good suspension company. If I were you I would look into getting a recent model rockshox judy. It's their lower end forks but aren't too bad for the bike you are putting it on. A judy xc u-turn would go good on that bike and they're pretty cheap. And I say the u-turn version because as I said earlier, 100mm is probably too much for that frame so you can use it at 80 instead. Don't think they have the Judy for 2005 though. I've seen them on ebay for $100 new. The new fork will probably feel soft though after using an older fork. Marzocchi makes the stiffest stock forks if that's a concern to you. You could look at the Manitou Axel as well but I;ve never ridden one, just an option. The Axel models are a step up from the six's and are still fairly cheap but should be better. At least it's not the bottom of the barrel.

I don't think we have "inexpensive upgrade choices".

You would have the cost of the new shock, the cost of changing the headset to threadless, the cost of a new stem to fit the threadless headset, the cost of V brakes up front because new shocks don't accept canti's, the cost of new levers for V brakes because our old canti levers don't work on V's.

Turns into a costly upgrade real quick.

i saw someone dh racing a rst in a mountain biking mag. go figure.

the lowest marz for you can get is the mx comp, and that is 200(i think)
low end manitous are rumored to be bad forks.
i would go with the rock shox judy.

before doing anything, take a trip to a respectable lb. tell them your situation and they will most likely either back us up or give you another option.