Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Top forks for Clydesdale

What is the consensus for bigger guys and front suspension? Since I have gotten the bug for wanting to race XC and weigh about 220 right now what are my options? I am pretty sure I want to go with a FOX and I would like a lock out feature. Fox's website sucks.

FWIW I will be having a custom hardtail built and retrofitting my complete 8-speed XT-R to it.

Thanks.

Any fork with preload adjust. Air is better. I have a friend who is 6'4" and he has a Marzocchi All Mountain 3. He just puts a lot of air in it and it's fine.

Any fork with preload adjust. Air is better. I have a friend who is 6'4" and he has a Marzocchi All Mountain 3. He just puts a lot of air in it and it's fine.

Thats pretty funny advice since 90% of the clydes out there won't use an air fork.

I agree though the all mountain series by marz would be good. Just make sure any frame you have can support a 5 in fork :)

Please remember, initially at least, I'd like to run my V-Brakes.

How would we know that unless you mention it. ;)

I am outta the loop then. I don't track which forks keep mounts on them

That makes things really difficult. The only stiff fork with V bosses that I can think of is an Mz comp. :p

That makes things really difficult. The only stiff fork with V bosses that I can think of is an Mz comp. :p
yeah, out of all the jumps and hard landings that i took i only managed to bottom it out a few times (im kinda light tho...)

yeah, out of all the jumps and hard landings that i took i only managed to bottom it out a few times (im kinda light tho...)
I'm only 155, and I used to bottom the crap right out of my Mz Comp. It's not as stiff if you change the oil. I've got a Z1 Fr 3 now, and I put my Mz comp on my brothers Trek 4100. It kinda looks funny. But, yeah, there are a few ways to soften it up.

I used to have the first generation Rock Shox Judy SL. I was constantly bottoming out, and upgraded it with the long travel kit. After that I had no problems. I just bought a Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc, and it has the Rock Shox Recon. This fork is great for me. The lock out option is great! A turn of the knob, and they stiffen up. For a bigger person, they sill have a small amount of travel without bottoming out. The rock Shox Judy DH was also a good v-brake fork with lots of travel. You can still find them on ebay for around $100.00 (if your looking for something cheap, but reliable) I've tried air forks, and they either leaked, or I blew em' out.

Air forks will work great and will save you weight. If you are building a pure race machine I would suggest an air fork. A good air fork will give you all the adjustments you need and will save some weight. If it will be on a race only ride then it wont be taking the abuse of an everyday ride. Either the FOX FSeries like the 32 F100 or 32 F120 or the Marzocchi Marathon Corsa SL WC (V-brake optional) or the XC 700 ATA (disc only).

If this will be an everyday bike as well as a race rig then go with a coil fork. The coil fork will handle the weight better and not break down as fast.

A good air and a good coil fork are both going to get the job done and both are just as good as the other but they will each give you a different type of feel.

Also, at your weight, to properly set up the suspension you will have to add more air then a lighter rider which will make the ride a bit on the firm side and not absorb the hits as well. There will also be a higher chance of blowing a seal with the higher pressures.

With a coil fork you can (and I would highly suggest doing so at your weight) put in extra stiff springs and increase the weight of the oil. It will add weight over the air fork but it will ride much nicer.

As far as keeping your V-brakes, I do not believe any of the good FOX XC forks have mounts for posts so you would need to go disc.

DBD:beer:

This thread is from a year and a half ago, I would revise my above judgement. Recent air forks released by Fox and Marz do the trick really well. Air shocks as well. While I still don't like the feel, they dont blow up like a big pile of poo like previous generations.

This thread is from a year and a half ago, I would revise my above judgement. Recent air forks released by Fox and Marz do the trick really well. Air shocks as well. While I still don't like the feel, they dont blow up like a big pile of poo like previous generations.


Hehe. :o I do not even look at the dates anymore. Cheers Mael

DBD:beer: