Buying suspension forks for Mendota hybrid... suggestions?

[Tigerstu]

Hi all. Apologies for the novice question... I have a Gary Fisher Mendota http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/B...dota&Type=bike and am wanting to change to suspension forks. Can anyone help suggest what mid-range quality forks I could but on wiggle or chain reaction? I'm not sure of what specs or size I need.

[zerogravity]

Questions:
WHat will you mostly ride on(Surface)?
WHat is your budget?

Things to look for:
You want a 29er fork for your mendota
Depending on your budget, you want to get "Dual Air" suspension fork

Hope this helps a bit.

[Tigerstu]

A real variety of surfaces... I live in a small rural town in Southern China. I bought my hybrid from Oz where I was mainly on streets and paths, plus for bike trips that I go on. But where I live there are some great trails that are a mix of sealed and unsealed... dirt, rocky and even some more single trail type rides. I know my bike is not entirely suited to all this, but my thinking is it will be a bit better for me to do the occasional off road section with suspension.

I know I should just invest in a new bike... I will, but in 12 months or so.

Thanks for the advice. At least I know to look for a 29er fork.

Budget... not set, I have enough cash to get anything. But if it gets too expensive I may as well look at getting a mountain bike instead.

[zerogravity]

OK..so it seems like you will not be doing any high drops or 30+mph downhills. If you will be doing mostly flat dirt, then i recommend the following.

Lower Budget Choice:Single Air Fork
Rockshox Recon "Silver" 29-Plush and dampening is controlled via air pump. You can add an optional "Remote Switch" so you can lock out the fork from your handlebars.
Rockshox Recon "GOld" 29-Same as above, but lighter.

Upper Budget Choiceual Air Fork
ROckshox Reba 29-More plush than Recon, Dual Air making it adjustable for both external rebound and low speed compression. Basically it is a more adjustable/tunable fork.

I do not have experience with any other brands, but im sure others can chime in. WIth the surface you mention, i do not think you will need a Reba. A Recom will work just fine. You will not need anything longer than 80mm of travel. ANything more will raise your bottom bracket and will make your bike handle considerably different.

[Tom Bombadil]

Can understand your desire given you will be riding off-road. I've ridden the Mendota several times and I love that carbon fork. One of the smoothest riding hybrids I've ever ridden. I think that fork sells for around $300. Same one that Trek used on much more expensive Cross bikes. I thought it was single best feature of the Mendota.