Mountain Biking - New Fork choice

I'm looking at getting a new fork for my bike. I currently own a 2002 Specialized Bighit Comp with 6.3" rear travel. I do downhill and freeriding (with big drops, I'm currently building up to do a road gap with a 15-20ft drop and 10ft gap). I also sometimes find myself doing dirt jumps as well.

I don't want to spent too much money such as if I got some Boxxers. So I have been looking around and caught sight of the DNM USD 180. I can get it pretty cheap aswell, $1199.95 Aussie Dollars. From the reviews I have read it seems most people love these forks and these people do things like racing and big drops. But then there are a few people who find these forks really bad.

Just wondering what you think about these forks and if you think they'd be ok for my riding style? And also if you could recommend some other good forks for me that aren't to expensive like Marzocchi Jr T's.

How about an 04' Sherman Slider? Here is my 03' BigHit Comp. Its stock except 8" rear rotor, tires and Sherman Slider Plus 04'. And now it has a MRP.

http://www.hcor.net/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/11624/normal_IM000174.jpg

You can even get an 03' Super T for about $650 US. www.jensonusa.com

How long have you been riding the 04 Slider? How does it feel and everything?

Mine is on the way as soon as I sell my 03 ($400 USD + Shipping)

I've been riding it for a few weeks. In that time I have made a couple of trips to Big Bear Ca. I really like this fork. I does not bob (gotta tune/set it up first) very much at all. As soon as you hit a bump it turns plush. It is highly adjustable. It has an actual 20mm through axel, so it’s stiff.

In short awesome!

How about an 04' Sherman Slider? Here is my 03' BigHit Comp. Its stock except 8" rear rotor, tires and Sherman Slider Plus 04'. And now it has a MRP.

http://www.hcor.net/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/11624/normal_IM000174.jpg


dude ur bike is INSANE. i got a rockhopper full but those 8 inch rotors r looking quite nice along with that huge fork. wow i want a downhill 1 day.

One other thing about this fork. It is pretty linear in it's travel. Of course a 16mm socket will take care of this real quick. I gave mine about 1.5 turns and now the travel is much more progressive through it's stroke. With 50lbs of air in the SPV valve it works pretty good. The fork stays semi rigid while mashing on the peddals, but as soon as I hit a bump, it turns plush.

I also slowed down the dampening with the cool blue knobb at the bottom of the right leg. That helped it overall too.

Well the fork performed beyond my expectations. It was very stiff not overly plush or overly harsh. It kept my tire tracking where ever I pointed it. It handled the small bumps (was really rough and dusty at Snow Summit), and the big hits and drops.

I am very happy with this fork. It’s highly adjustable, allows pedaling without bob, is stiff, and handles any type of bump well.

I did however take a pretty good spill; thank god for helmets, pads, and body armor.

P.S. I weigh 180lbs.

Isn't the bottom blue knob the Rebound, and top right knob is compression? That's how it is on my 03.

What do you mean real Thru Axle? Did they change things up, or is it still Hex-Lock? I didn't hear anything about that changing...

BAC after reading my last post.. Yes, you are correct the blue knob is Rebound, and top right knob is compression; well it's actually not a knob any more you need a 16mm wrench to adjust it. Yes it's still a Hex-Lock. But, by through axle I meant that its not like the 20mm QR's found on Marzocchi's. ;)

awesome.

16mm wrench to adjust compression!? I wonder why the change... More importantly, I wonder if Bob can pull some strings and get me a knob instead...

I'm looking at getting a new fork for my bike. I currently own a 2002 Specialized Bighit Comp with 6.3" rear travel. I do downhill and freeriding (with big drops, I'm currently building up to do a road gap with a 15-20ft drop and 10ft gap). I also sometimes find myself doing dirt jumps as well..

Hopper, the road gap isnt THAT big. Jeez, it's like 9 ft gap and 7-8ft drop. Its nowhere as big as you say it is.

I reckon you should keep your current forks. You've had no trouble with them and they're high quality. Andrew did the road gap with like 3 inches of travel so you'd be fine with 5! I'd wait until you get more serious and get better as a rider.

BAC, The reason for the change is you now have your SPV valve there too, so they could not use the knob as that is where the air goes.. It is pretty cool

Hopper, the road gap isnt THAT big. Jeez, it's like 9 ft gap and 7-8ft drop. Its nowhere as big as you say it is.

I reckon you should keep your current forks. You've had no trouble with them and they're high quality. Andrew did the road gap with like 3 inches of travel so you'd be fine with 5! I'd wait until you get more serious and get better as a rider.

A dirt Jumper is not designed for downhill or freeriding, it is purposely built for dirtjumping and urban riding. When you get to a Z1, that fork is freeride oriented, but a fork with 6/7" and up will handle gap jumps and drops much better and won't beat you up as bad as a 5" SC will. If he wants to go to a downhill or freeride specific fork, it's his call. That's why I'm not going to tell him to get such and such of a fork. For Dual Crowns look at what Rock Shox, Manitou or Marzocchi. Boxxers are affordable and fairly easy to take care of, you got a rock sturdy fork in either the Jr.T or the Slider, all three of those forks are affordable, I've tried all three and they were pretty equal in the performance market. Can't just reccomend one, I can suggest a trial run of each fork and see which one you like best.

Yo anthonaut. I'm not talking about that small roadgap, I'm talking about working my way up to the bigger one. By the way if anyone wants to see pics of someone doing this crazy gap go to www.b4extreme.com.au and go to team riders then David Danby and it should be in gallery 3.

Yo anthonaut. I'm not talking about that small roadgap, I'm talking about working my way up to the bigger one. By the way if anyone wants to see pics of someone doing this crazy gap go to www.b4extreme.com.au and go to team riders then David Danby and it should be in gallery 3.

Hopper you'd have to be nuts to do the BIG one. I know you and you arent that crazy. My mouth would hang open in surprise for days if you did the big one.

P.S. Do the small one first before you think about anything else.