Mountain Biking - Fork Travel??

Right now I am trying to save up some money for a new fork, so I can get rid of this stock InSync 323 on my bike. I have looked at many forks,and one that looks as it will perform well and be within my price range is the Marzocchi MX Comp. Only problem is that I have no idea what travel size I should buy. It is available in 120mm and 105mm. Reduceable to 85mm using the ETA. This fork will be going on an '04 Trek 4300.

Thanks in advance!

-Garrett

gwhunt23,

How much travel does your current fork have? I ask this because it is possible that the 120mm version will have too big an effect on the geometry of the bike.

the 105mm should be fine on your bike unless you do extreme things that require more travel.

hey i got a couple of forks that would be great on that trek

2002 Mx comp air 80mm of travel.............$215

2003 Mx pro with eta 105mm of travel.......$325

the comp was used for a season and a half with minnor scatches
the pro was use for the summer and in near mint condition

thecomp was tkaen off a kona hardtail and was replaced by a ridged for
the pro will be replaced with a 5in travel fork soon

The fork I have on my bike has 65mm of travel. A friend who has the same bike has a Marzocchi EXR fork with 100mm of travel and it's doing fine.

I sent an email to Trek asking if they thought the bike would support a 120mm XC or a 105mm fork, and the form says they should reply within 4-5 days.

-Garrett

I would say the 105 mm is what you should use. The 120 mm will slacken your head angle too much, making your bike ride like a chopper. Furthermore, it will most likely put stress in the head-tube area that the frame was not designed for.

Trek might confirm the latter statement with their reply ..

105, 2" is a major jump for a bike designed around 3" of travel.

Trek replied and they said that the bike was not designed for a fork with over 100mm of travel. I don't think that 5mm will hurt. :D

-Garrett