Mountain Biking - Fork Help

I have some RST Delta XLs on my bike. They are good forks for the price but thye have jackets (those rubber things on your forcks that sit on your travel area) Seeing these are DC forks, the jackets look really uncool. I want to take them off and i know how but im wondering if my forks will stuff up if i do.

What do you guys think?

Here is a pic of the forks:

i know that the RS don't keep the boots on because they have the XXX seals that keep dirt out. NOt sure about these.

Yeah i know RS have those seals. When i pull up the boots the forks have seals but i dont know how reliable they are.

Here is an exploded diagram of the forks if it helps:

http://www.rst-europe.com/parts/2000/P-delXL-T.HTM

Stay away from the RST DC, not a good product, you can get a SC fork that has the same amount of travel that fork has plus these sc's will last longer than that DC RST.

Hey anthonaut guy, its cool that you have all those great pics and stuff on your site. Were you there to take them? Did you travel all the way to utah to do the mushroom drop, because you have your sites logo on the picture. Hopefully nobody comes across your site and sees a picture up there that they are paying for to use on their site.

Yeah i see what you mean. I didnt realise that until you told me. I'll change it right away

A few things.

#1, its Fork. Not forks. You wouldn't ask your mom to get you a pair of forks so you could eat some mac and cheese.

#2, RST does not make a quality product. The boots are there because the seals are inadequate. Leave them alone.

#3, Replace the fork as soon as you can. Not only are you getting a sub-par peice of equipment, but also terrible quality in terms of travel.

A few things.

1# It can be called a fork but they are known as forks too. You dont say, "Wow, did you see those fork?" or "I really like my fork".

2# RST make a very quality product for the price of them. So far, mine have held up well and i have had no trouble with them. Its just people who can afford much better forks who turn their nose up at the letters "R S T"

3# The forks have 5 1/2 inches of travel. I am happy with them and will not replace them until I need to. I am not dishing up over $1000 (AUD) for some new forks just because some guy on the net tells me they suck.

I didnt want to start a new thread on forks becuase there is a lot right now, but I got a question for forks too. I want to buy a new fork for my Trek 4300 and was wondering what is the most travel it will be able to handle? I do aggresive cross country (3 ft drops at the most) and weigh 150 at the moment, any suggestions? Thanks.

I definitely would not remove the boots from your fork; you can but put some Lizard Skins in their place. The seals will not keep crud out of there, and the stanchions, do not have any kind of treatment that other forks get (hard anodizing etc..).

I understand you wanting to ride what you got, so I won’t preach about why you need to upgrade; riding is what it’s all about anyhow. Maybe if you put some Lizard Skin Boots that match the color of your bike it might help some.

Just do not take those off until you get a replacement. If you do you’ll wear out your fork, stanchions included real quick.


RIDE ON!

MandansFinest,

I would not get a fork with more than 100mm and keep with a single crown. There are several different forks that will fit your need, but, you left out one important detail...How much are you willing to spend $$?

Yeah I was planning on a single crown. I am willing to spend up to 400. Thanks again.

MandansFinest,

$400 will buy you a lot of very good quality forks. Just remember not to go above 100mm's, otherwise you risk slacking out your geometry too much, and weakening the frame, especially in the headtube.

Check out Manitou, Marzocchi, Fox Forx, and RockShox. I would probably lean towards something with stable platform valving.

Much like the new rear shocks that help with pedal-bob, a lot of front forks now have this capability. Might be worth your while to shop around and if necessary spend the extra $’s on something that will last you a while.

A few things.

1# It can be called a fork but they are known as forks too. You dont say, "Wow, did you see those fork?" or "I really like my fork".

2# RST make a very quality product for the price of them. So far, mine have held up well and i have had no trouble with them. Its just people who can afford much better forks who turn their nose up at the letters "R S T"

3# The forks have 5 1/2 inches of travel. I am happy with them and will not replace them until I need to. I am not dishing up over $1000 (AUD) for some new forks just because some guy on the net tells me they suck.


#1 There is a thing called "Grammar" we have here in the United States. You don't say "Wow, did you see those fork?" You need to keep tenses constant. "Wow, did you see that fork?" And you DO say "I really like my fork." I don't know how things are in Australia, but over here, that's how it's done.

#2 For the price, you can buy a new fork, 1 year older and much better quality. I'm not saying you HAVE to upgrade your fork, but if you are going bigger, your fork is going to hinder what you are capable of. Why? Quality of dampening control. Take a look at todays forks. Marzocchi has HSCV valving (High Speed Compression Valving). Manitou has TPC+ and SPV (Stable Platform Valving). The way they handle high load (big drops and high speed) will allow you to progress further than a fork that has an open bath (spring sitting in oil) with no real controls besides pre-load. I am not telling you they suck, I am telling you that if you want to go bigger, you need the equipment that can handle it. It is simply not safe to be doing drops and downhill on a fork like that. It might hold up to it, but over time, you are asking for trouble.

Just my $.02 however, it's your money, and your life on the line.

#1 There is a thing called "Grammar" we have here in the United States. You don't say "Wow, did you see those fork?" You need to keep tenses constant. "Wow, did you see that fork?" And you DO say "I really like my fork." I don't know how things are in Australia, but over here, that's how it's done.

#2 For the price, you can buy a new fork, 1 year older and much better quality. I'm not saying you HAVE to upgrade your fork, but if you are going bigger, your fork is going to hinder what you are capable of. Why? Quality of dampening control. Take a look at todays forks. Marzocchi has HSCV valving (High Speed Compression Valving). Manitou has TPC+ and SPV (Stable Platform Valving). The way they handle high load (big drops and high speed) will allow you to progress further than a fork that has an open bath (spring sitting in oil) with no real controls besides pre-load. I am not telling you they suck, I am telling you that if you want to go bigger, you need the equipment that can handle it. It is simply not safe to be doing drops and downhill on a fork like that. It might hold up to it, but over time, you are asking for trouble.

Just my $.02 however, it's your money, and your life on the line.

Exactly, couldn't have said it better.

Exactly, couldn't have said it better.

Thanks man.

Riding that fork big, is akin to rally racing a Ford Festiva. It'll do the job, but only for so long.

Thanks man.

Riding that fork big, is akin to rally racing a Ford Festiva. It'll do the job, but only for so long.
Only if you spell "Ford Festiva" Y-U-G-O :D Comparing an RST to a Festiva (while still a POS) is kinda insulting

#1 There is a thing called "Grammar" we have here in the United States. You don't say "Wow, did you see those fork?" You need to keep tenses constant. "Wow, did you see that fork?" And you DO say "I really like my fork." I don't know how things are in Australia, but over here, that's how it's done.

#2 For the price, you can buy a new fork, 1 year older and much better quality. I'm not saying you HAVE to upgrade your fork, but if you are going bigger, your fork is going to hinder what you are capable of. Why? Quality of dampening control. Take a look at todays forks. Marzocchi has HSCV valving (High Speed Compression Valving). Manitou has TPC+ and SPV (Stable Platform Valving). The way they handle high load (big drops and high speed) will allow you to progress further than a fork that has an open bath (spring sitting in oil) with no real controls besides pre-load. I am not telling you they suck, I am telling you that if you want to go bigger, you need the equipment that can handle it. It is simply not safe to be doing drops and downhill on a fork like that. It might hold up to it, but over time, you are asking for trouble.

Just my $.02 however, it's your money, and your life on the line.

I understand what you're saying. But i have a motto when riding bikes, "if it ain't broke, dont fix it"

P.S. We do talk differently about our front suspension (!) differently in Australia

Why ride stuff that doesn't work as well as it could? A Wal-Mart bike works, but it's not going to make you a better rider. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, but if it's hindering your performance, upgrade.

Ok, this thread is starting to lose control. Please cut the attitudes now.

A Wal-Mart bike works, but it's not going to make you a better rider.

80% rider 20% bike ;)

80% rider 20% bike ;)

I agree 100%. But when it comes down to it, your bike performing at 100% is going to allow you to perform much better than a bike that hardly works. When you are 30 feet up on a skinny, do you wan't a bike you have confidence in, or a bike you got for $99.99 on a blue light special? I would rather have confidence in my bike and spend a few extra bucks, than ride a shaky bike and never know when it would give out.

Yeah ok. We've got different opinions. Of course i would like a new fork but at the moment i am happy. (Everyone always wants something BETTER)

Lets just let it go now. It really isnt worth the typing.