Tigerstu

Hi all. Apologies for the novice question... I have a Gary Fisher Mendota https://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.