As I look at my bike to see what I can upgrade next, I stop at my fork. It's an 80mm travel Rock Shox Long Travel Judy XC with HydraCoil. Oh, and I run V-Brakes, and my hubs aren't disc compatible. How does the ride of a coil fork compare to that of a newer air sprung fork. Would an increase to 100mm bring about a dramatic change in handling?

What's available? I'm only familiar with Rock Shox, but I know there are many other brands out there.

I dont know anything about the ride difference between air or coil or how 20mm would affect travel. I have a 100mm dart 3 on one bike and its crap. I have a tora 302 on my other bike and I love it. the adjustable travel is sweet. but again, I dont know if your bike can handle up to 130mm. Other brands are Fox, Marzocchi, and Manitou. Ive heard bad things about manitou. Ive ridden a bike with Marzoucchi bomber 55 and it was sweet but its 140mm travel. As for a change in handling, I noticed when I had my fork out to 130mm, it got more traction on steep hils but most of my pedal power went to compressing the fork if I stood up. the bike definatly was more nimble at 80mm but I dont think 20mm would be too noticable.