Another "Which fork" thread
 

My plans to build my girlfriend a quality MTB for Christmas are growing ever more expensive.

I'm down to needing a new fork. I had planned to scrape by using the MZ Comp from my Kona but of course the steerer is a skosh too short for safety.

This will be her first mountain bike. She's very comfortable on her touring rig but the idea of riding singletrack is foreign and therefore scary to her.

I come from a bmx / mtb background so of course I want her to know the joys of offroading.

I'm also a vintage fetishist so older/steel/quality stuff appeals to me.

But for her, I want user friendly and comfortable, and as lightweight as is feasible.

The frame is a new Sette Reken, size 14"

The forks I've narrowed it down to are:

A vintage Sid Hydra XC 80mm with new seals and oil

or

A 2011 RS Recon Silver TK coil 100mm

I can get either for about $150.

If it were for my bike, I'd go the SID route. I like the lightweight and don't mind the shorter travel. The hunt for repair / upgrade / replacement parts (if and when needed) would be okay for me.

For her, I'm not sure. I want it to be reliable and dependable but to do its job of soaking up the bumps. I'm not too worried about drops. By the time she's comfortable enough to take two or three foot drops, I'll be able to afford a better fork.

Most of the parts are coming off my 2005 Cinder Cone.

So, Hayes hydraulic discs ... 9 speed deore drivetrain. Sun Black Eye disc rims on Shimano Tiagra-level hubs.

Any input is appreciated.

Cheers,
Phil

Famous last words. Hahahahahahahahahaha!

FTFY



But seriously, I'd go with the Recon. Vintage only says 'old' to a neophyte and you want her to know you care enough to put decent, modern hardware under her. Besides, SIDs were suspect noodles anyway; better to save that idea for your own cudged-together project.

For wheels, you owe yourself at least look at this setup:
http://www.bicyclewarehouse.com/prod...m_medium=email

Wow. Good eye on those wheels. Maybe after Christmas...

As for the baggy jeaned downhiller ... why would she do that when she's got a baggy-jeaned up OR downhiller!?

Thanks for the input. That's kind of the direction I'm leaning. I hate the weight penalty but it's probably the right move.

Good luck with this. My wife won't think of technical singletrack, and she managed to biff over a minor root on a very tame doubletrack trail. She also won't get near a dirtbike. She's very athletic, but only in sports where you are very unlikely to fall and get injured.

Old SID's are notoriously flexy, unless it has 32mm stachions (from 2011 onwards), wouldn't even consider fitting them to a retro MTB, and definitely not a modern one if you intend to ride the bike off road.

It would help to know the exact features/materials on both of the forks. If the Recon has the steel stanchions and steel steerer, there may be a significant weight difference. Also, you'll have to consider her weight because you may need to swap to a lighter spring.

From some quick searching, it doesn't look like the SID hydra XC(2000 - 2001) had a compression adjustment. If it had that feature, that would definitely be a plus in the SID column. If you do consider the SID, ask what seals were replaced. If that just means the oil seals/wipers, then you may need to consider having to replace the air spring seals at some point.

For me, it would come down to the weight difference. Assuming she is lighter/smaller, she would definitely benefit from a front end that could be 2lbs lighter. Again, assuming that she is light and since she is just getting into it, she's not going to complain about the Sid being a noodle. Heck, I rode a '05 SID world cup(carbon steer/crown, 2.75lbs) for a couple years and that wasn't too bad. That fork still brought $400 less than a year ago, so there's still plenty of people out there that like them.

The SID went to 32mm stanchions in 2009.

EDIT: I wouldn't pay $150 for a 12-13 year old fork though. Maybe $100 tops.

Well, I hope you're happy with yourself. I bought a set of those wheels!

How hard is it to swap rotors over? They are regular hex rather than star hex, fortunately.

The hubs from my Kona are Shimano M475. I went to overhaul them (which had apparently never been done before) and the rear disc side dust cover was mangled, and and split apart. I couldn't get a friction-less spin without the cones very loose. So, she'll have new wheels along with the fork.

The real upset is the crankset. The bolt on the drive side (from the canibalized Kona) is seized. I wrestled with it too long almost totally stripped the allen head. Today I went after it with a screw extractor, which promptly broke off in the bolt. So may end up having to find a crankset too ... or borrow from another bike. I'm taking it to the LBS tomorrow to see if they have a magic recipe.

Anyway ... thanks for the insight about the wheelset ... i'll post pictures of them attached to the final product.

Cheers,
Phil

Wheelset was a deal I couldn't resist sharing. Was wishing for an excuse to buy a set myself. . . just because. Will be interested to know more when you get them.

As for the fork ... I ended up getting a basically new 2011 Tora TK for the same price. It's not the greatest fork, but it will work well enough and it has the white lowers, which I think she'll consider the most important thing. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

Cheers,
Phil

Back to your rotor question: swap is easy; unbolt old/bolt on new. Yeah, I hate Torx-head bolts. Hint: put a dot of fresh Loctite on each bolt before you button 'er up. Oh, and on many rotors, the veining is directional, so be sure you're putting them on right-side-out.