|   XC bike questions. (Fork question and pedal question) | Zonic Man
Apr 22, 2002 5:08 PM | | My hardtail bike is going to be for racing/trail riding for long periods of time. It will be a do-it-all trail hardtail trailbike, but I want it suited for racing.
Questions:
1. Going with a fox float fork. 80mm or 100mm for me? The frame designer recommends 80mm.
2. Eggbeater pedals or 959s? Those are the only 2 options, so Times are out, sorry.
Thanks for the advice! |
| My $0.02 | K-Zero
Apr 22, 2002 5:14 PM | | 1. Seeing that you want a race-ready hardtail, go with 80mm.
2. 959s, but this is totally a personal preference. I just love SPD...and seeing that my 747s are working flawlessly, I can only dream of how well 959s work.
K-Zero |
| Here's what I would choose: | Fat-tire
Apr 22, 2002 5:15 PM | | I'd go with the 80mm if that is what the designer recommends. 100mm would change the head angle, and may result is decreased climbing ability.
I'd also go with Egg Beaters. You'll have a difficult time finding anybody to say anything bad about them. I ride Times, with similar step in system, and they are awesome. But with four sides, and about 100 grams lighter, they are twice as nice. In fact, I'm getting a pair for my b-day, if I'm good :-) |
| Egg beaters! | Laura
Apr 22, 2002 5:44 PM | | No pref. on the fork thing, but you can't go wrong with egg beaters, plus they're around $60 cheaper. I went from 858's (what 959's replaced) because I got stuck in them too often, to the egg beaters and haven't looked back since. |
| take a look at Finches leg, as far as the | Jm
Apr 22, 2002 6:08 PM | | eggbeaters are concerned
I think 80mm would work fine, a nice 80mm fork(like when I was riding the Z2) would definatly be enough, something with ajustable travel in between 100 and 80 would be perfect though IMO. 100mm for all around trail riding, 80mm at races. I even went so far as to put stiffer springs in my Z2 just for an XC race or two. With the air fork though that should be fine. |
| If the frame desiner says 80mm, then it's... | Biking Viking
Apr 22, 2002 6:18 PM | | ...80mm.
959's have the most consistent release of any pedal I've ever tried. It's hard to get excited about a pedal, but the 959's really stand out.
BV (No eggbeater experience) |
| You and he are both correct..... | Zonic Man
Apr 22, 2002 8:56 PM | | But I ordered the 100RLC. I am having them adjust the travel down, though.
I'm gonna try the eggbeaters for a while, but likely switch to 959s (knowing me!). |
| The minute I clicked to confirm the post I had the exact same thought... | Biking Viking
Apr 22, 2002 9:14 PM | | ...go with the 100, then you'll have room to experiment.
FP's babbeling about a trick of shaving some material off the cleats to improve release is not a good sign IMO.
But they look cool.
BV
ps. Eggbeater cleats are absolutely incompatible with anything else. That means two pairs of shoes or Eggbeaters on both bikes. |
| It DOES mean that! | Zonic Man
Apr 23, 2002 6:24 AM | | I know, I have thought about that....the other bike has shimano on it as well.
Hmmm. Perhaps 959s are the way to go for now. We'll see. I have the eggbeaters ordered, and I'll play around with em a little. |
| You can experiment either way.... | Ventanarama
Apr 23, 2002 9:48 PM | | With the Fox it doesn't matter what travel you order it with, they can all be adjusted (80/100 for the Float, 80/100/125 for the Vanilla)
Larry Mettler
http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com |
| 80 mm on the fork, can't vouch for the pedals.... | Red Ascent
Apr 22, 2002 6:21 PM | | Both of my hardtails actually have 70mm forks, but 80mm should be fine. With 100mm, your head angle is going to slacken a full degree (or more), and really slow down the bikes handling. Don't do it.
Pedals - I've been using SPD clones for something close to forever on my mountain bikes, they're not the greatest in mud but with 3 bikes and one set of shoes it's the only reasonable option for me.
Phil |
| opinions... | reed
Apr 22, 2002 8:04 PM | | No bad choices here.
1) go 100mm on the forx- you can always swap it to 80mm with little effort. My guess is you'll like the extra travel once you get used to the slightly slower steering (you can always drop headset spacers). I started at 80mm for mine as recommended, once I swapped to 100mm I'll never go back. This is on a f/s race bike.
2) Go 959's. I ran the 'beaters for a few hundred miles and loved them at first, then slowly slipped to not liking them very much at all. I know people who do like them- they aren't me- I have not been able to get out of them predictably and swapped them for 959's. After 50+ miles (20 of that being a race) on the 959's I am in love- they are better than the 747's and weigh a tiny bit more than the 'beaters.
you'll be stoked- that's some good stuff.
Reed |
| It doesn't matter on the fork | kristian
Apr 23, 2002 5:48 AM | | You can switch back and forth fairly easy with the Foxes. After I got into downhilling, it felt really strange for me to ride a short travel fork in XC races. I started using only 100mm forks and I really liked the ride. Since you come from a DH background, I'd suggest you start out on the 100mm and then crank it back if you feel the need. You already are used to climbing with long travel forks and the longer fork is going to feel better as a trail rider. |
| any warranty concerns | hackwriter
Apr 23, 2002 6:50 AM | | I have a quick point - while I am a firm believer that unless racing under full sponsorship, or maybe for your country, more suspension is always better you may void your frame's waranty by going with a longer fork then they recommend. Also if your frame is aluminum I would be careful with the longer fork. Out here in the far north-east the whole freeride thing is huge. I've seen a lot of catastofic failures of headtubes after guys went with longer forks on their hardtails. (Aluminum snaps causing immediate deceleration and offering the rider all kinds of pointy injury possibilities - while steal will quietly pull out and not try to stick itself through your chest.) If your not concerned with warrantee issues and aren't planning on hucking the thing go with the longer fork. As for the pedals I've gone back to flats so I'm not much help - but always loved the SPuD's and the 959's are beauuuutiful looking.
JMTCW
peace |
| any warranty concerns--nope. | Zonic Man
Apr 23, 2002 7:01 AM | | I told the builder what fork I am going with. He added extra gussets to the frame to cure worries about that.
The frame is Columbus Zona as well, traditionally pretty strong stuff when welded right. |
| execellent | hackwriter
Apr 23, 2002 8:07 AM | | That's great. I had a steal hardtail trail bike - with Hayes hydros, 100 ml up front, and beefy wheels - and it was a blast. Even raced it a couple of times with much lighter tires and tubes. It was stolen and I went with a nut busting Aluminum, freeridish hardtail. Massive mistake. I'm jealous - post pics when its ready.
peace |
| Eggbeaters vs. | DHMtbr
Apr 23, 2002 7:35 AM | | Eggbeaters are killer pedals and super light...the only problem Jed is that there is no tension adjustment. That may or may not be a problem. The four sided entry has got me sold not to mention the good price. 80mm is perfect for racing/riding.
later |
| See ya Wed. night! (nm) | Zonic Man
Apr 23, 2002 7:44 AM | | |
| Jed, | Roger
Apr 23, 2002 8:13 AM | | go with the 80mm (Like everyone else said), the bike will handle better, and if the new Fox fork is da bomb as the hype says, it'll probably be plenty of suspension for xc.
In regard to the pedals, I just picked up the 959s a couple months ago. Best shimano pedal I've used, even better than the old 747s. If you have SPDs on your Bullet, I'd stick with SPDs on your XC bike, plus I think you'll like the 959s. |
| 80 mm and Eggbeaters | Rev Bubba
Apr 23, 2002 9:58 AM | | I've always used 80 or 63 mm forks on my hardtails and find that to be plenty. I think that changing the geometry with 100 mm is not the best thing to do for xc trail riding. At some point, the extra front suspension is going to adversely effect your bikes ability to climb.
As for pedals, haven't used either but I probably go with the Eggbeaters to save weight since they apparently work as well as the 959's. |
| 80mm and eggbeaters! | KMan
Apr 23, 2002 10:11 AM | | Stick with the amount of travel you frame is designed for. changing the fork travel will ultimately change your bikes handeling char. usually for the worse.
Pedals I recommend he Eggs, no experience on the new Shimano, but the eggs are excellent pedals.
KMan |
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