Air spring or coil fork for a mammoth?
 

I purchased a 29er bike with a coil fork, and am interested in converting it to air. Which one of these types would be better for a 280 pound heffer (coil or fork)? The fork is a RockShox XC32 (coil or air). I know this forum is a wealth of knowledge. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this.

4 things we need to know

Budget
Front wheel hub 9mm QR/15QR/20mmTA
Does the frame take tapered forks?
Head tube length (if diving into the used market)


If you go coil & air aka solo air, then you will need a stiffer spring and maybe thicker weight oil. If you go dual air, you will need just thicker oil. You can fine tune the ride feel better w/ dual air. A good shock pump would be something worthy to invest the $30 in.

I'd hunt for a used Manitou Minute, RS REBA, RECON, FOX RL/RLC/FLOAT/TALAS and 32 or 34mm stanchions

Either of these will near top tear, common to find, easy to rebuild and will last a long time. That last phrase makes it worth the extra $$....buy once cry once. And if you have a hardtail, you will rely on that fork ALLOT

Hey, so I have a Rox Shox XC32 fork I can convert to air, so I am questioning whether or not I would like to use the spring, or the air springs. The fork has never been used, so I can freely do the conversion without worry. The bike is a Trek X-Caliber 8.

looks like a $75ish upgrade + time for the install. RockShox XC32 Spring Internals Left 26/29 100 Solo Air @ eBikeStop.com

Seeing how if you kept it coil, you would have to swap the spring out to support your weight and have proper rebound qualities. Most spring are $20-40 plus seals and oil. That $75 is becoming a pretty nice upgrade.

https://www.sram.com/sites/default/f...art_2014_0.pdf

In the end, I think its worth the hassle to do the $100 upgrade and save some coin for a nice $500-700 fork down the road, but that $500 can buy a nice wheelset :thumb: Have you talked with your LBS about the conversion?

A guy I work with gave me good insight to this when talking snowmobiles....

An air-sprung, while the new rage and really good, blow a seal and your STUCK with a blown shock. Either impossible to ride or not very comfy.

Coil spring if the shock blows, you still have something there to limp back on.


Makes sense to me... How often does a seal blow? I don't know. Just some insight is all! I'm still with Coil/MCU/Oil dampening on my OLD Manitou fork ;)

either one won't fail until you start jumping more then a couple feet to flat ground. Keep it XC style of riding and you should be ok. If you want to be jumper, then look into 34mm stanchion forks (600+) and maybe a new frame, wheels, cranks, bars, brakes LOL

Have you tried it yet? --- I would try it first before making big decisions --- a coil spring delivers a superior ride that doesn't "stack" like an air fork does when it starts getting hot

Downside -- at 280 #'s, you may not be able to find an appropriate spring to hold you up -- the stock spring is likely geared towards a 150-180# rider , but you can get heavier springs