newguyonabike

Hello all. I am relatively new to biking and I have a Giant Roam 2 disc bike from 2014-2015. I have had trouble with the lockout lever disappearing. I have replaced it but the replacement has fallen out also. At this point, I am wondering if instead of spending $30 for a replacement that will disappear on a 9 year old set of forks, should I consider a new set of forks? I'd prefer to not debate the fixed vs suspension here as i like the bit of shock absorption and I don't rely on the bike for commuting etc. It looks like the replacement from suntour can be had for a pretty reasonable cost and I found a great deal on a Paragon Gold. Is the Paragon worth the money or is there a better value to be had?? We don't ride a ton so far since we're just getting in to it but I'm buy once cry once sort of guy if there is a good reason to. Thanks for any advice

Trav1s

I just replaced an older Specialized Future Shock for a new Rock Shox Recon on a 90's Specialized mountain bike. Great project and not terribly difficult but there are more things to consider than I initially expected.

Here are some things I learned in the process:

1. What are the specs of the current fork? Steerer tube diameter, fork travel, and possibly trail mattter. Change any of those and it will impact the steering geometry. That will them impact load on the frame.
2. Axle type
3. Rider weight matters - coil springs need replaced to help manage weight
4. A low level air fork is worth the upgrade (not sure if this applies to your situation)
5. Make sure the replacement supports the same brakes as the current fork - Converting to another brake setup is opening a HUGE can of worms. Being you already have discs, this should be a straight forward swap

Trav1s

Suntour NEX fork
https://www.srsuntour.com/products/fork/NEX-5909.html

Trav1s

https://99spokes.com/bikes/giant/2014/roam-2

Cached webpage from Giant: https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Trav1s

Specs look similar

https://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/models/fs-parg-rl-a1

poiuyt

I recently upgraded a NEX-25 to a Paragon (as many users on this forum in fact), it's indeed almost a 1-to-1 replacement. The only issue I had was with the bearing race (the conical part that makes the interface between the fork and the bearing itself), that I couldn't remove from the fork, so if you such upgrade, I recommend you to order new headset bearings at the same time.

The improvement is really impressing, I would say it's worth the upgrade. But there's one "but" for me: it's an air-sprung fork, that requires maintenance than a coil one (joints, oil changes). It is stated in the question that the bike is not used often, so it might be worth asking how this kind of fork behave when not used often. In the best case, just need to pump some air in, in the worst case, joints dry up.

On the suspension vs not-suspension, just my 2 cents: front-suspensions are over-rated for comfort. The cheap ones (especially the ones that have not been not serviced for a while) are not reactive enough to handle small fast changes that you encounter on rough surfaces (but help in case of kerbs, roots or rocks). If the goal is to improve comfort and you are ready to throw Paragon level amount of money into a suspension, another sensible upgrade is a suspended seat post (not a basic telescopic one, but more something like a CaneCreek Thudbuster).

bald1der

I’ve been looking at the Paragon, thinking about upgrading from y current NEX-25. It seems to be the go to shock for most hybrid bikes.

t2p

the much maligned (and deservedly so) Headshok can provide great comfort on the rough stuff

would not recommend one due to the many discussed / documented reasons - but they do work well