Mountain Biking - Want to replace SunTour fork on my 2011 Giant, Talon 29er 1.

There are two things about the SunTour fork on my bike (2011 TALON 29ER 1) I don't like. I would think that most people would think these issues are minor, and they probably are, I just don't like them. One of things I don't like is the slight bit of play in the fork. The slight bit of movement in the fork I'm talking about is when you straddle the bike and you lock the front brakes and slightly moving it forward and back there's some play, it feels like the headset is loose but I know it’s not. The research that I have done mentions this is common in mid to low grade coil spring forks. The second, when going over little bumps there's a very subtle rattling sound, when putting more force on the front forks there is no sound, I would think it to be the opposite.

Knowing what I dislike, I would like to put a different suspension fork on my bike (not SunTour). Can this be done without replacing any other components on my bike, such is front wheel, Hub, brakes, Etc? Just want a bolt on replacement and I'm going to have a local bike shop do the labor.

And what is a good fork? I don't need anything high-end, something mid-level. Can I get a decent fork for under $500? The specs on my biker below.

SR Raidon 29" (Custom for Giant), Alloy Steerer, 15QR w/ Lockout, 100mm Travel
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/talon.29er/7377/44105/

Look at blueskycycling.com or jensonusa.com. There are tons of good mid level forks for way under $500.

About the only thing I've found that will be "turnkey" is at Pricepoint:

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/21431-315_MAR121-3-Parts-429-29er-Parts/Marzocchi-44-TST2-29er-Fork-2011-offer.htm?utm_source=SLI&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_campaign=FTP&zmam=3075515&zmas=1&zmac=43&zmap=315%20MAR121


Your problem is that your front wheel is a QR15. If it were a 9mm QR, it would be much easier. Recon and Tora at jensonusa.com are excellent choices, but you either need a convertible hub or a new front wheel.

The Marz 44 listed above is a 100 percent better fork than the crap that you're suffering through now though.

I was considering buying the Talon 1, but I've read about similar complaints on other MTB forums. Anyone else had problems with the Talon 1?

@ Ed, I ordered the fork, from the website you recommended, “pricepoint”

I think I'm technical enough to install a new fork, but to be on the safe side I'm going to have a local bike shop install it. To my understanding there shouldn't be any major modifications outside of cutting the stem, everything else should just bolt on, brakes, wheel. Would you say this is correct?

My current shock travel is 100mm, and the Marzocchi comes stock out-of-the-box with 120mm travel, it comes with spacers to adjust the travel to put it at 100mm. I assume if I leave it at 120mm it's just going to bring the front end up a little. But would it damage anything since I'm changing the geometry, maybe wearing out the front bearings? Again I don't know I’m new to this whole thing.

Just make sure you get the tube cut the right size (or at least just not too short). The best is probably the length of your current fork. The crown race can be a pain to swap, and you will need a star/claw nut(?) wedged down into the tube. You should go to park tools or other places online they will tell you exactly how to take out and reinstall the fork.

If you leave it at 120mm it will feel more stable at speed, more confident on the DH sections. You will notice that it wanders more on slow climbs. It will be a little less nimble on winding singletrack. I'd leave it at 120mm myself and see if you like it...if you don't, you can always have it lowered or follow instructions and DIY. I was running 160mm fork on my Komodo for a while and really liked it for the most part. I've got PIKE on there now with a U-Turn 95-140mm. I rarely crank it down to 95mm. I prefer 140 for pretty-much everything except maybe trials'y type stuff.

As far as your steerer tube...if the shop's gonna do it, they'll know what to do. I don't have a C-race puller, so I usually just use a small Craftsman flat bladed screwdriver and go very slow with a small wooden hammer working my way around the tube. Go in small incriments and be patient. As far as setting the new race...I use a piece of PVC.

Just make sure you get the tube cut the right size (or at least just not too short).Rule of thumb: if you've cut it three times and it's still too short, you're in trouble.