Mountain Biking - Reba or Vanilla?

I currently ride a 2005 Gary Fisher HooKooEKoo and have upgraded to:
Avid Juicy 5's
LX Hollowtech II Crankset
XT cassette
XT/317 disc wheelset
Arami Flow saddle
Easton EA50 Stem/ EA70 riser Bar
Lizard Skins Logo lock-on's

The fork that came on the bike is a Rockshox Pilot SL that has a coil spring with air assist and motion control with lockout.

I want to upgrade the fork and I can't decide what to get. I have narrowed it down to a Fox Vanilla RLC or a Rockshox Reba Team. I mainly do trail riding but I do also love to jump stairs and small drops and stuff. Weight is a concern, but not if the Vanilla is gonna be "The One".

My Pilot weigh's 4.3 pounds so either way I'm gonna save some weight. The Fox is right at 4 pounds and the Reba is around 3.5 pounds.

I read on a recent post that someone has had TONS of oil leakage problems with the Fox. Is this common? I hate air forks because my pilot had a leak for a long time and I had to air it up before every ride. I'm a set-it-and-forget-it kinda guy. GO WITH WHAT WORKS AND LEAVE IT ALONE. (except for maintenance, of course) That's why I love the idea of the Vanilla.

I don't mind riding a 25 pound hard tail if it is going to handle and feel great.

Sorry for the long description, but I don't want someone telling me that I need a Reba because it's lighter without weighing the positives of the Vanilla. I don't think 1/2 pound is very much, especially if I can save it elsewhere.

Comments?

The Fox is 1000x's better considering you change seals every season.

I guess changing seals once a yr. is better than messing with air pressure all the time. I also heard of people losing air from the positive air spring into the negative side on the Reba.

problem is the fox will most likely slack out the steering. How much travel do you have now? If you go to a 5" travel fork you will mess up the handling as it is now.

Get the Reba. The Fox Vanilla is the biggest POS I have ever owned! It worked great for about 3 months then despite many rebuilds I can't keep oil in the thing.Fox won't respond to my emails. My LBS is trying to help with the problem.My only option now is PUSH and thats another 185 bucks.

problem is the fox will most likely slack out the steering. How much travel do you have now? If you go to a 5" travel fork you will mess up the handling as it is now.


My Pilot SL is 100mm travel. The Vanilla is internally convertable from 130 to 100mm. So I can drop it down to 4" w/o any problem and have the same handling.

Another option is to get the Reba Team U-Turn so I can have 100mm unless I decide to go find some stairs or dirt jumps (small ones) and then bump it up to 125mm.

I can never find a fork that everyone likes. I have talked to people that would never buy a Rockshox and I have found people that wouldn't give a second glance to a Manitou. I thought it was a no brainer going with the Fox until I read about the problem with the seals leaking oil.

I'm not 100% dead set on these two forks. I can get them for around $350 or so. That's where I'd like to keep it as far as money goes.

I just bought a manitou minute (130 mm travel) and seems decent to me. very adjustable. seems as smooth as a Fox talas, hopefully without the leaky seals problem. You can get 05 models on Ebay right now very cheap.

What really gets me about it is the fact Fox won't respond to my problem.Any company can let a lemon get out.I paid 400 for the fork, I've got about 200 in rebuilds and a fork that I can't ride.

silliest question ever. fox vanilla rlc. i put a vanilla on my 06 gary fisher tassajara (about the same geometry as your hkek) and couldnt be happier. the steering is still great. weighs very little, has fabulous adjustments, and is just plain sexy. plus, its a fox.

Between the two, I would go with the Vanilla. It is the plushest coil fork I've ever ridden. Tough easy to maintain and never had any problems in 2 years of abuse.

I've never been a big fan of RockShox because for years they've put out crappy forks & shox. I've never ridden on a Reba but if it rides like any of the RockShox of old, I wouldn't waste my money. Maybe SRAM has turned this company around and their products are just awsome now .... or maybe not.

i love my 2005 Reba SL. but i also got mine new from jensonusa.com for about 280 bucks. i guess as an end of the year sale...at that price and assuming i have no problems in the near future, NO other fork comes close in weight, rigidity, and responsiveness.

however, i notice they are much more expensive. if i get a 29er, i will get the Reba 29er fork.

tough decision, no one is really right or wrong...just opinions :)