Mountain Biking - Rigid Forks?

Ok guys, here's the deal. I think that I'm going to buy a Hardrock (regular) for a bit of trail-riding fun (aggressive XC??) , and some communting. I noticed, though, that the fork is some crappy RST. I was thinking that instead I might get a rigid fork, save some dough, and have the LBS seperate the shifter/brake assemblies. I don't want to be fixed up some crappy fork though. anybody got any suggestions?

I was looking at the cannondale singlespeed in that shop, and I noticed it had a rigid fork. Do you think that the shop gets a lot of take-offs for suspension forks on that bike? That fork is disc-brake compatible, and looks pretty beefy, anybody ride with it? Its called like the fatty-something. anyway, all suggestions are appreciated.

The Kona Project II is a nice steel fork at a great price. I know there is a v-brake model, not sure about a disc model if that is something you are looking for. The Kona fork allows almost the same geometry as far as height as a suspension fork, maybe just a tad shorter, but a spacer or two should make it about the same.

Check out Webcyclery.com They have a ton of rigid Trials forks that should be good for XC riding. Some of them are even as cheap as $50. Look in the Trials section off of their homepage.

Draft

You will not save any dough, because as you say it has a crappy RST fork. If the shop swaps it out, they now have an unsaleable cheap suspension fork with a steerer that will only fit that size or smaller frame. Plus the time needed to fit the new fork. If you are lucky it will not cost more than the base price of the bike, and this is assuming the shop has some old take off forks laying around. They might, if they have been in business for more than ten years, because it has been a while since we really needed to swap out rigid for suspension, just about all MT bikes have come with some kind of suspended fork since the late 90's

One of the best rigid forks I ever rode was the old Tange Switchblade and its cousins that were remarketted by various bike manufacturers. I wish they made an updated version of it (read: threadless 1-1/8" steerer). It was made from Tange Prestige tubing, tracked great and felt good on the trails.

I say, suck it up. You're not going to save enough money on the fork (if any like the good reverend said) to make it worth the pain your arms will suffer from having a rigid. I would say the RST is better than a rigid, because you're not going to wish your teeth were made of balsa wood like you will with a rigid.

Originally posted by DiL
I would say the RST is better than a rigid, because you're not going to wish your teeth were made of balsa wood with a rigid.

I would say no suspension is better than bad suspension. Many of us rode MTBs for years long before suspension forks entered the scene.

Once you have it you can't go back... :p

I don't even like riding a hardtail these days

Though no suspension is better than bad suspension, Chuck is right on this one. I had a similar question from a customer today-it's bad for the customer in that he's not really going to save money and it's bad for me because I'm not going to make much (if any) money on the deal and am stuck with a crappy fork I'll never sell.

I'll give you 10 for it! :D

Originally posted by Waldo
Though no suspension is better than bad suspension, Chuck is right on this one.

Oh... I agree on the economics of the matter. I'm sorta in the same boat with regards to my wife's hardtail and the RS JettXC fork she's got on there now. I'm considering having the shop throw a rigid in its place (she doesn't really want front suspension anyways) and am willing to accept that I'll be spending more money I'll never be able to recoup even if I try and sell the old suspension fork. The problem, as was already pointed out, is that rigid forks are hard to find and the quality ones are as expensive as some midrange suspension forks.

Yep, I was originally trying to come up with a decent rigid fork for my mtn singlespeed and really just can't be bothered ponying up the cash when I have a perfectly good Black Elite Air on there. Would be nice to simplify though...

Pace make a carbon fork for MTBs, very light and comfortable, but the price!

Springs are for sissy's, ride a rigid bike, it'll make a better rider out of you. The best rigid fork I own is a Fat city straight blade 100mm over for suspension compensation, they are no longer available so I guess the next best thing would be a Kelly fabrications straight blade fork, both and light and responsive. Ride the bike, have fun, there's nothing like an 18 pound rigid bike when things get rough and you have to ride it up the hill. the seal never leak, the tubes never bind, there's no lockout and the dampening is consistant as hell. Run wide tires at a lower pressure and you will be surprised at the all out performance. Be smart, race your riding partners up the hill not down, the demonstration of skill is on the way up the mountain, anyone short on common sense and the ability to hang on for dear life can ride it down, but up is a different story. Ride rigid, ride up, ride hard.