willallen88

Hello,

I have a specialized rockhopper with solid front forks, i thinks its a 98' model.
I desperately need a bike with front suspension as i have started to ride some pretty long and rough tracks quite frequently now.

I am unsure on the size of the steerer that will fit this bike (unfortunetly, i wont see the bike for another 3 months), so i am ulitmately trying to find out if i can just go and buy some susp. forks for it in the standard size, i think this is 1 1/8?.

Just to let you know i already tryed fitting some really poor suspension but the steerer was too narrow... so which is outdated, the bike or that suspension fork? also, how many different sizes of steerers on forks exist?

last question... what suspension should i buy considering the setup of the frame?

thanks, any help would be really grateful.

email is willallen88@googlemail.com.

Cyclist30907654

Most suspension forks nowadays come with 1 1/8 steerers.

paul emick

Yes, but the OP is referring to a 10 year old bike.

If I had to guess, I'd say 1 1/8".

Edit:

https://www.airfreetires.com/Specs/St...nd=Specialized

Check here. I couldn't pinpoint your model, but chances are, yours is 1 1/8".

willallen88

ok so take note that i tried a set of forks before which were too narrow - these forks would be from a bike which is around...maybe 6-8 years old. Are there two common sizes of steerers? if so then i could be sure that my bike at home would fit the larger size, which is hopefully the 1 1/8".

i'll try and find a picture of the bike.
thanks for your posts.

paul emick

The other common size is (was) 1".

ProFail

Those airless tires are neat.

willallen88

https://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DG

im pretty certain that is the bike. i also think that it was more bought between 90' and 95'

kramnnim

If you tried one that was too narrow, yours is most likely 1 1/8". Unless it's 1 1/4", which seems unlikely... 1" forks that arent 10-15+ years old are rare, unless it was from a cheap walmart type bike...

Do you know if your bike has a threaded, or threadless headset? Another thing you need to keep in mind when considering a used fork is the steerer tube length...make sure the new fork has a long enough steerer...

Oh, and as far as which fork to get...your frame wasn't designed for a suspension fork, so any fork you get will make the steering more "relaxed" and less responsive...this will be more apparent with a longer travel fork. You'll probably want to go with a fork with under 80mm of travel.

willallen88

thanks that is very helpful.

i am definite that the existing rigid fork is threaded, but im confused about the headset, how can that be threaded?

im a novice with bike parts still but im learning...

so i suppose i just need to get the right length and i'll be sorted.

how about an RST Gila T6 w/ threaded steerer, they come in either 160/265/200mm lengths. are these three lengths common - meaning that one of them will definitely fit right?

thanks again.

kramnnim

I'm not sure what you're confused about concerning the threaded headset... If you're planning to stick with threaded, you'll just need to replace the fork. You could switch to threadless, but you'd need to replace the stem and the headset at the same time. Threadless headsets are easier to adjust, and any fork with a long enough steerer could be cut to fit your frame.

Yes, you just need the right length steerer... One of those three should work, you just need to measure your old one.

Svr

The bike in the picture looks to be a '91 or '92 model.

You need access to the bike to measure the steerer size. The 1 1/8" standard was introduced in 1990. Some manufacturers embraced this size, others did not until several years later.

Also, anything that old won't have the correct geometry to handle an 80mm travel fork, and you'll need to replace the center pull cantilever brakes with linear pull cantilevers (V-brakes) since cable housing stops on suspension forks are long gone.

A bike that old isn't really worth upgrading - too many incompatible parts.