Teon

Hey all.....I am a 250lb road rider(vintage...1980s bikes), and am wanting to build up a 29er for myself, as I love the ride/feel of the bikes, and would make a nice change of pace from my road bikes. Was wanting to know if there is anything I should keep in mind when getting shocks for the bike, due to my weight? Will be building a hardtail with front shocks. Anything I should be aware of due to my weight......not wanting to get a front fork that will be pegged out most of the time due to my weight.

Thanks for any tips/suggestions!

jsigone

nope most modern suspension forks shouldn't be a problem and the better ones are more tuneable.

what's your budget on the fork and what type of front wheel. QR, 15mm or 20mm?

Dual air chamber, harder to fine tune, but nice when you get it right.
https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/216...-Fork-2011.htm


this can run a stiffer spring as well. Highly tuneable
https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/243...FcaDQgodUhcAvQ

Currently I have 120mm Reba, had a 100mm Minute and 120mm minute. The Tower pro is pretty much the same as a minute w/ fine tuning on the small parts inside. To this date the Mani is easier to adjust and more plush then the REBA through small bump & bit softer mid stroke. But the REBA is stiffer and has nice rebound control through the mid section to top end of the stroke. But I find it harder to bottom out, meaning I feel robbed of some travel.

Teon

Thanks for the reply! Was going to try and get a frame for under 200, and then slowly build from there.....I have heard the newer air shocks are very good......going to try and keep it under 200 for the front shock, if I can find a good used one, altho I may go with a frameset from bikeisland.com, as they have some very reasonable prices on cosmetically blemished frames, which i could care less about.

What are the Suntour xct v4 and Rock Shox Tora tk shocks like? Any good?....figured I should look for something in the 80-100mm travel. Have heard very good things about Reba.

Both those links you posted look very good......wonder if I could find them used for less......or something similar.

Think I would probably like to go with a QR style, but that's not a must.

I am not new to bike building, but am new to the 29er scene, so I know very little about the frames and shocks.

And just to pick your brain some more, have read that one needs to be a bit careful in matching the shock, and it's travel to the frame, as if you get a badly mismatched frame and shock, you can put undue stress on the head, and I don't want to do that.

jsigone

Sorry, I don't have experience with those forks. Ebay would be a good place to find a used REBA 29er, i've seen them go from $150-300.

Not sure what part of Oregon your at but these might be worth the drive id trying to stay on a tight budget. Also another option is a entry level 29er then swap parts as they wear out.

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/3484565754.html

Origin for had a weight limit of 220 if I can remember, it came out a while ago and can't really remember
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/3462396243.html

new bike option, this has a nice frame design.
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...04_-1___202616

Also if your doing a build, another GOOD option oppose to BikeIsland/Bike Direct is the On One Steel frames. Great reviews out there on MTBR and other sites. I wouldn't mind building up there SS frame
https://shop.titusti.com/On-One-Inbre...p/froo29vd.htm

https://forums.mtbr.com/one/one-inbre...st6527065.html

Teon

Great links, thank so much!!!! yea, anything steel would be good, too(my vintage building prejudice coming thru...lol).......and I really have my heart set on building one.....a reba for 150-300 used would be ideal.

Am around the Salem area, about 50 miles south of Portland.....have been watching the Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, and Portland cl like a hawk......things are way overpriced right now due to just before Christmas.....after Christmas the prices will drop bigtime. There is a guy in Salem who is wanting 75 bucks for an Access 29er frame(performance bike frame).....which is a good deal....it's the silver one....

https://salem.craigslist.org/bik/3479069384.html

The one I have been eyeing on bikeisland has been this.....

https://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=2125

But yea.....am in no rush, and just trying to collect some info on it all......you've been a huge help....ty so much!!!! I am thinking now that I really want to look for Reba shocks.....something not too horribly used. That's the nice thing about building, as I can just take my time and get the more expensive parts as I go.....plus, I might be able to work a trade for a 29er with someone who wants a nice vintage road bike, as I have several of those....lol

Again, thanks so much, as you have been a great resource!

jsigone

do you need suspension? Why not rock a steel rigid fork from Salsa or similar for $70-100 until you find a REBA on a good deal. Wait I just found a Voodoo for $52 plus that On One Inbred and your about the same price point as that bikeisland frameset...but IMO the steel rigid will ride better then alum frame and spring fork. Just run a fat tire up front like a Kenda Nev 2.35 up at 25-29psi

https://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-5...FWlxQgodCCYAuA

but I'd take a raked out version instead for bit more. Salsa & Surly also make a nice fork at the about same price point.
https://www.outsideoutfitters.com/ps-...9-34-fork.aspx


BTW those Access 29er frames went on blow out a couple yrs ago for $65 and the geo is FUNKY that's why I didn't by one. I bought a Sette Razzo back then. That was a $200 light weight alum frame from pricepoint.com but the geo was exactly the same as the Niner EMD (eat my dust) and YES it was a fast bike I had it setup as a rigid 1x9 and also had a rigid singlespeeder I used for races. I had suspension forks as well but running rigid was fun POV to hit the trails I already new. Forced me how to ride the lines and pick the nice ones oppose to plowing the rock garden....opps sorry to be rambling...I tend to do that LOL

jsigone

saw a number of Reba forks on ebay, some have a tapered headtube so beware. This would be a good one to watch and see what it sales for. I don't know how tall of a frame you're looking at but do some HW on the head tube length plus headset, stem stack up so you know how long the steer tube needs to be.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/29er-rock-sh...item3ccd60a65b

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockshox-REB...item19d792934e

Teon

That's a good idea on the steel frame w/steel rigid fork, as I could always go shocked later. I enjoyed my old cheap steel ironhorse mtb and it was rigid.(am wishing now that I hadn't sold it a couple years back) And thanks for the info on the weird geometry of the access frames.....good to know. Am probably going to be looking in the range of a 20-22 frame, as I am 6'1". And no worries on rambling....lol.....I do the same when I start talking about vintage bikes....lol.