Mountain Biking - Fork options for Jamis Dragon

Hi. I just bought a 2004 Jamis Dragon frame (blue :D ) with the intention of building my first bike. My wife will kill me once she finds out!
I now need to get a fork and am looking at spending around $300. I could go higher than that, maybe $500, but in all honesty it would not bother me much to use a rigid fork and I still need to pay for the remaining parts so would like to get a good value on the fork. I weight 195 lbs now but my usual weight is 190 lbs, the use is XC and know that the travel must be between 85 and 105mm. Not sure if I want to go the air route but it seems that air is predominant in this category.
Some forks I am looking at:

1. Answer
1.2 Skareb
1.3 Black (doing research on this one and it seems to be a good deal)
2. Marzocchi
2.1 Marathon
2.2 MX (another one that seems to be going strong)
What do you guys think of these? Should I consider RS' SID or Pilot, or may be the Fox Vanilla or Float? I would appreciate your comments. Thanks.

What do you guys think of these? Should I consider RS' SID or Pilot

Thats quite a jump for a sid to a pilot. I am definetly going to go with a black on this. The TPC dampening feels great and right now i see them on sale everywhere. Careful when you buy. Ive seen many different and all have different adjustments.

There are ones wiht Fluid Flow or TPC Dampening. There are ones with on the fly travel adjustment and there are ones with lock out. Take tiem in picking up the right one

Yo jz19, Check your PM's

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=FK703A08

manipoo..eww!

Yo jz19, Check your PM's

Wilson10,
Thanks for the PM. It may be more than what I plan to spend though but will think about it.

Thats quite a jump for a sid to a pilot. I am definetly going to go with a black on this. The TPC dampening feels great and right now i see them on sale everywhere. Careful when you buy. Ive seen many different and all have different adjustments.

There are ones wiht Fluid Flow or TPC Dampening. There are ones with on the fly travel adjustment and there are ones with lock out. Take tiem in picking up the right one

Mindbogger,
Thanks for the reply.

The Black I am looking at is this one:
Manitou® Black Elite 80/100 Fork – Disc Only
The Black Elite is the ultimate XC fork with on-the-fly travel adjustments. Reverse Arch technology improves lateral stiffness and tire clearance. TPC+ damping with external rebound and preload adjustments.
Weight: 4.1 lbs
Travel: 80-100mm
Spring: Coil
Steerer material: aluminum
Steerer dia.: 1 1/8” threadless
Steerer length: 265mm
74mm post disc brake compatible only

The MX would be this one:
MX Comp 04
The 2004 MX Comp model features increased tire clearance thanks to a new monolite magnesium casting. It utilizes a dual coil spring design with air assist, and an external preload and internal rebound adjuster. Marzocchi's Open Bath SSV damping damping is standard.

This fork features a 1 1/8" threadless steerer tube (fits most modern mountain bikes) and 51mm International Standard disc brake mount.

Travel: 85mm
Weight: 4.3 lbs
Spring: Dual coil with air assist
Adjustments: External preload, internal rebound adjuster
Stanchion Tubes: 30mm alloy

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=FK703A08

Thanks. I see it has lockout :)

your welcome.

FYI if your REALLY concerned about weight then I would go with the SID. It's one of the lightest forks out there.

your welcome.

FYI if your REALLY concerned about weight then I would go with the SID. It's one of the lightest forks out there.

but if your conerned strength wise. Look else where. I have used an Manitou X vert which is essientally a black and it has done wonderful things for me.

I also have a Mx comp which isn't bad at all. Very strong and ive experience little or close to no flex at all.

Hi. I just bought a 2004 Jamis Dragon frame (blue :D ) with the intention of building my first bike. My wife will kill me once she finds out!
I now need to get a fork and am looking at spending around $300. I could go higher than that, maybe $500, but in all honesty it would not bother me much to use a rigid fork and I still need to pay for the remaining parts so would like to get a good value on the fork. I weight 195 lbs now but my usual weight is 190 lbs, the use is XC and know that the travel must be between 85 and 105mm. Not sure if I want to go the air route but it seems that air is predominant in this category.
Some forks I am looking at:

1. Answer
1.2 Skareb
1.3 Black (doing research on this one and it seems to be a good deal)
2. Marzocchi
2.1 Marathon
2.2 MX (another one that seems to be going strong)
What do you guys think of these? Should I consider RS' SID or Pilot, or may be the Fox Vanilla or Float? I would appreciate your comments. Thanks.
I'f you can spare the moola$$ get the Answer Skareb platinum spv it runs for $500 it's the best!

I would take a Fox Float80 over any of those forks any day. Extremely stiff and light (not as light as a SID, but much stiffer) and it will be the best ride you've ever had. If you don't have the cash for a Fox, I agree with the previous posters in that the Manitou Black's are a nice fork as well. Just be careful, they've had a lot of problems with them, especially the 2002 models. The stock springs in them were extremely weak (my friend could bottom his fork just by jumping on his bike at a standstill and he weighs 160lbs!) and they were notorious for leaks. Aside from that, once he put some new springs in they were really very plush and a nice XC fork. Another cheap option you might want to consider is a rockshox Duke, you can usually find them dirt cheap online. The higher end models are quite light.

I ride a Manitou Black Elite. After Numeorus Rock Shox, Marzocchi's, and test rides on RST's I find I like the Black Elite just fine. I have yet to ride a 04 marzocchi but at my current weight of 205 I find air forks to be lacking thus I opt for coil. So I reccomend coil for you unless you can loose weight.

if the black is as good as the x-vert air, then i'd go for that. otherwise i'd try and get the marathon or the fox.

Hi. I just bought a 2004 Jamis Dragon frame (blue :D ) with the intention of building my first bike. My wife will kill me once she finds out!


I bought a Dragon 2003 (d red one) myself, still sifting thru also which fork to use in order not to ruin the bike's geometry... I'm still deciding which to use Vanilla 125RL (reduced to 80) or Black Elite 80-100.

Might try Vanilla for I might be able to use it with my other frames in case i got tired of HT.

Would the Marzocchi MX Pro work on this frame? Wondering b/c I have one and am considering a used '04 Dragon frame, 19".