Mountain Biking - WTB Front Forks. Which one?

Since the day I got my new FUJI Nevada I've been wanting to upgrade to a better Fork. The SR SUNTOUR thats on there now should be remelted and turned into a more useful item like a planter.

I've been to about 5 different LBS and each seems to have a different recommendation for the entry level fork than I'm looking to buy ($300ish). Heres a list of the ones I'm interested in and what I know about them:

MARZOCCHI
EXR PRO:http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/listSPAManuals.asp?IDFolder=126&LN=UK&Sito=mtb&t=exr&TipoProdotto=ForksOE&IDA=8357&Submit=Search
Air travel – 100mm
30mm stanchions
Air preload adj. And some claim to have rebound (not verified)
Cheap! $100-150
MZ RACE:http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/listSPAManuals.asp?IDFolder=126&LN=UK&Sito=mtb&t=mz&TipoProdotto=ForksOE&IDA=30710&Submit=Search
Air/MCU elastomer – 100mm travel
30mm stanchions
Lock Out
Compression adj. Through lock out lever
Preset rebound
Moderate price: ~$200ROCKSHOX
DART 3:http://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/crosscountry/dart/#tab1
Coil spring – preload adj. 100mm travel
Lock Out
28mm stanchions
Rebound damp adj.
Moderate price: ~$170
TORA 318:http://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/crosscountry/tora/#tab1
Coil spring with U-turn travel adj. 85-130mm
32mm stanchions
External Rebound adj.
External Compression adj. and Lock Out
Motion control damping system
Top of my price range:~$300I've been told by one of the guys at the LBS (the one I prefer) that he would still take the MZ RACE over all the above mentioned forks. he claims that having rebound adjustment isn't the important and for the price its his favourite. I think he's biased towards Marzocchi casue he's Italian. I personally think I would like the Tora 318 the best BUT its also right at the limit of my price range (actually a little more than i wanted to spend) but it has everything I could want in a frork. Although i've read about some reliability issues with the damping blowing out.
So when it comes to the bang per buck I think I'm leaning more towards and MZ Race, although I've heard some mixed reviews about that too!

Any input you can give on the aforementioned material would be appreciated.

Their all gonna be better than what you have. The Tora is a pretty decent fork. The rest I really don't know about.

Tora 318.

Do NOT buy the DART.

Tora 318 is well worth it :).

Do NOT buy the DART.

Tora 318 is well worth it :).

Is the Dart that bad?

The dart came stock on my bike. Im not crazy about it by any means. However, it does its job as an entry level fork. I dont get to ride that often so it suits me pretty well. I would go with the tora though if you had the money

Is the Dart that bad?

No its not bad at all depending on what riding your doing, but its very limited (from my experiences anyway).

It's worth spending more and getting the Tora for sure.

If you will spend $300 on the Tora, look at a few other $300 forks too.

my friend has one of the MZ marzocchi forks, not sure which ones, but they have lockout. he says he loves them and they are so melow and smooth. i was riding with him the other day and it absorbed every little bump, unlike my Suntour ones that have to work until i get my bike built.

If you will spend $300 on the Tora, look at a few other $300 forks too.

which ones did you have in mind.

I feel your pain Norco_rider, both of the guys i normally ride with have nice forks. SID and Marzocchi EXR pro Air. meanwhile I'm still roughing it with pogo stick.

For those of you that are recommending the Tora 318, I've briefly looked at the Tora 302 which is one under the 318 and doesn't have the motion control but still has rebound, lockout and u turn. its in the $250ish range.

I'm still really undecided because it seems I can find a fork for another $50 over each of the previous one. :mad: after the Tora comes the Recon and so on.

My vote is for Tora 318. Funny enough, i have used all three of these forks. Not the same model year may be.

Marzocchi MZ race came stock on my Kona Cinder Cone 2005. While its reliable and decent fork, it lacks in adjustability. There is nothing great about this fork.

I have replaced the MZ race with a EXR Pro 2005 in 2006. I really like the performance and weight of the EXR Pro. very reliable and stiff. and allows some good adjustability. This is one of my favorit forks. Only second to my Rock Shox Recon.

I also have a Tora 318 Coil with u-turn. A lovely fork with alot of adjustability. Specially for the price I paid for it. I did not feel a significant difference between the Rrecon and the Tora apart from weight. But, you get all the features like Motion control, Travel Adjustment, lock out etc...

so if you want all the function and dont care about the extra weight - Tora may be the way to go. But, if the weight is a major factor, the EXR Pro should serve you well.

good luck.

My vote is for Tora 318. Funny enough, i have used all three of these forks.
.

This is the guy I would listen to.

Thanks guys for all your input. I did consider all of your comments while making my decision.
I ended up going for the 2007 MZ RACE for a few reasons. the biggest being that I was able to get a brand new one for $200 CDN. also I was getting real tired of riding on my POS so this was one of the fastest and cheaper forks I could get a hold of. the price played a part due to the fact that I now have a rim from Taco Bell due to a nasty hidden rock that snuck up and bit me. So now I'm in the market for a nice rim, and being a stundent the $$$ is tight. and no matter how good my fork is it won't help me get down the trail without a rear rim.

Anyways thanks again.
till next time...