knobbymojo

What is your favorite suspension fork and why? Im curious because I am looking at replacing my old one.

Joe Gardner

Depends on the type of riding. What do you currently have, that will give us a clue on what advice to offer.

knobbymojo

Im looking for something with 100mm of travel. I currently have a rock shox sid 100. Weight is a concern, but wont make or break the deal. I do mostly xc racing/riding, but I want to stay away from the 60-80mm travel forks for concerns about how it will affect my steering geometry.

Maelstrom 

I think rock shox is best for xc. But what do I know I am just a heavy freerider who loves marz.

dirtbikedude

Dito that. If you are concerned with weight then SID is the way to go. If you want some thing a bit stronger with more travel then definitly go with a Marzocchi. There xc race forks work well and will hold up better then a SID but they will ad a bit of weight. You can check their forks out at:

https://www.marzocchi.com

Slainte

PeterG1185

Dont forget fox. They make the beefiest xc forks out there with the 32mm stanchions. I'd personally take a fox with your given circumstances, but you could also check out the marathon S with 100 mm of travel

CycleMON

I had a Rock Shox SID 100 on my old bike and now I use a Marzocchi Marathon 80 on my current bike. The Marzocchi fork is about the same weight if not lighter than the SID 100, and stiffer. The SID Race and SL weigh 2.8 and 3 lbs respectively, the SID 100 weighs 3.4 lbs.

The Marathon 80 weighs 3.2 lbs, and the Marathon 100 weighs 3.3 lbs. The Marzocchi forks are so much more structurally stiffer and feel better (re: plusher) than the SIDs.

redfox

I love the manitou black.Mine is adjustable 80-100mm by a switch.Fast and easy.It's a great performer.They also have a 100-120mm i think.

knobbymojo

I am also curious about the durability or lack thereof with each fork brand. I have heard rockshox are difficult to rebuild and that marzocchi is the best for durability. I think manitou has some good forks, but I havent heard much about durability/ease of mainenance. I know from personal experience that my sid 100 is a pain in the butt to work on, and now it is developing bushing play with about 100-120 hours on it. Can anyone weigh in on any of this? I am leaning towards the marzocchi marathon right now, but I dont know much about manitou so any comments on their forks would be great.

PeterG1185

I have a fox and the thing works flawlessly. Durability wise it'd be better than the manitou and from a friend of mine that has a marathon it is beter than the marathon. Rebuildability they're about the same

CycleMON

If it wasn't for the Marathon's light weight I would be using a Fox Fork.

Richard D

Manitou don't have a great reputation in the UK - the seals don't seem to cope with our weather. Marzocchi's have a good reputation over here, as do Fox and our local Pace forks.

Richard

fubar5

If you've got the greenbacks, Fox is definetly the way to go. However, they do cost an arm and a leg. Next in line is Marz, yeah RS might be lighter or whatever, but the Marz Marathon S has a better lockout system, is more durable, and is better for bigger riders. After Fox and Marz I'd say Manitou Black. They are stiff, low maintenance, and smooth, some say under sprung but I don't think so. I haven't ridden these forks extensivley, but I've messed around with them on bikes at shops.