Mountain Biking - help me pick a fork

i'm building up a jamis komodo frameset that i just bought and i need to pick out a fork for it. i believe she will take a 100mm. i want a good fork as i'm a fairly experienced rider, but i'm trying to keep the budget down on this one, so models to look out for on ebay, or 'good value' new models would be good suggestions.

i already have two high end cross country bikes that i keep at my parents place in michigan (where i have lots of places to ride them!), and i have a nice road bike that i commute and ride around the city of chicago. the komodo's purpose in life will be to give me something to ride around town and goof around with when the roadbike doesn't sound like fun, as well as explore the (i hear relativly limited) trails in this area.

thanks yall!

price range? mar'zhi forks = nice

reba!

edit because i see you hang out at rockclimbing.com. so do i. small world. but you could find a sweet deal on some close out forks on ebay i bet. check out the reba!

see if pricepoint has any 05 rebas left I got mine for about 370 :)

I wouldn't put the Reba on a freeride hardtail.

I wouldn't put the Reba on a freeride hardtail.

okay, i'd like to know why? i havn't activly researched forks since about 2002, allot has changed since then so in getting my head around my fork decision i'd realy like to know your opinions and reasons.


edit because i see you hang out at rockclimbing.com

there are a couple of us around here, biking and climbing mesh well. if you want reading material check out the trip reports section of the forum, about a month ago we climbed a bigwall route on the diamond.


price range? mar'zhi forks = nice

i agree, but i'm sure they have built some duds over the years, as well as some forks that are way more than i need. price range = as little as possable to get something adiquate. so really, i don't know and thats why i'm asking. if i can keep an eye out for a certain good fork that usually goes for $180 on ebay, well i'll look for that, if i need to drop $350 at pricepoint to get something good, well i guess i have to deal with it.

btw, thanks for the link to pricepoint, thats a starting point.

whats the overall viewpoint on 20mm axels? i havn't bought wheels yet so i could still consider that.

If I were you, I'd get a Fox Vanilla 130. The Jamis Komodo is built for a 130mm fork. Go to Jamisbikes.com and check them out.

The Fox Vanilla 130 is cheap ($410 brand new) I got mine for $215 that was a brand new take-off from a bike. It has a coil spring, so it's pretty much the plushest 5" single crown fork out there and you never have to worry about air seals blowing out on you. Just set it and forget it. Perfect for urban exploration. You can make it 100mm travel if you want to with just 30 minutes of switcheroo.

I have ran mine on a hardtail at 100mm and on my 5" dually at 130mm. It's the coolest fork I've ever had and I was hoping I could build up a Komodo with one soon, myself.


The Reba is a cross country fork that tops out at 115mm. It is air sprung. It's okay, but if you plan to do any "fun urban riding" with some little drops and small stair gaps...I'd steer clear of the Reba. It's just not made for it. As far as Rockshox goes, the Pike is more your speed. If you wanna go cheap, you could get a Rockshox Revelation or Recon U-turn with the coil over air assist spring. That way you have the coil for smooth-buttah and air to fine tune the preload. They're pretty good, but nothing like the Fox Vanilla that I have grown to love.

The Reba is a cross country fork that tops out at 115mm. It is air sprung. It's okay, but if you plan to do any "fun urban riding" with some little drops and small stair gaps...I'd steer clear of the Reba. It's just not made for it. As far as Rockshox goes, the Pike is more your speed. If you wanna go cheap, you could get a Rockshox Revelation or Recon U-turn with the coil over air assist spring. That way you have the coil for smooth-buttah and air to fine tune the preload. They're pretty good, but nothing like the Fox Vanilla that I have grown to love.

+1

Put a Z1 on there.

I wouldn't put the Reba on a freeride hardtail.

The Reba makes a fairly decent fork for dirt jumping. Remember it is also used by some for 4x.

"05 'Zocchi "All Mountain" 1 100-130mm.
If you can stand the Desert Storm color.
They're pretty cheap right now. If money's
no option, then go "06 All Mountain 1, or
'07 All Mountain 2 for standard drop-out.

Don't buy a 'Zocchi AM (anything), as they're
made in Tiawan instead of Italy. What a disgrace
to Marzocchi.

All Mountain vs. AM = HUGE difference...

Shame on you.... (Marzocchi)

attached below is a photo of the frame i'm building. its a komodo fx, not the current model. from the limited info i've been able to find it came oem with a 100mm fork. i wrote jamis asking for some information, the havn't gotten back to me. :rolleyes:

http://i2.tinypic.com/282dv8g.jpg