|   Front Shocks w/Lockout | Thumper311
Jan 3, 2004 10:30 AM | | Got myself a nice fat gift certificate from the LBS for Christmas this year!
Anyways, I was contemplating upgrading my front shocks to something with a lockout. Its pretty hilly around here, and there's a lot of uphill on fireroads and other fairly flat surfaces as you move from trail to trail.
Just looking for some opinions - are they worth getting? do they help that much on the climbs? what brands would anyone recommend?
(right now I'm riding a 2002 Kona Bear - with a few upgrades)
Thanks! |
| re: Front Shocks w/Lockout | dr.matt
Jan 3, 2004 3:35 PM | | personally I think for the average rider who is not racing, lock-outs are a lot of hype. I have a SID team in the front and a fox rl in the rear. both have lock-outs, and I don't use either one very much at all. Sometimes I lock out the rear, but about half-way up the hill I usually unlock it. However, most higher end forks will have the lock-out anyway-(its not like buying a car without power windows and heated seats). I like the sid I have. I have another bike with a sid xc and I like that one too. The black forks by manitou are also nice.
Ask yourself, do you want a lighter fork? then get an air, like a sid or mars or black super air. Do you want alot of travel? Then a pcsylo or black will do it. Either way, the better the fork, the more the toys, and a lock out will come as standard equipment. You don't have to use it. |
| re: Front Shocks that reduce there lenght | Jrm
Jan 5, 2004 12:10 PM | | marzoochi offers 100mm forks that have a feature that reduces the lenght of the fork with the twist of a knob. Given the hilly area you live in this would be far more effective when climbing instead of a fork that locks out only when its fully extended. |
| What JRM said plus | wg
Jan 7, 2004 2:10 PM | | I've found that I rarely use my lockout on my Fox RLC. It was kinda cool at first as a new feature but found that 95% of the time I don't need it, even on long climbs. I lock out the rear shock quite a bit though on climbs.
If you're looking at a new front shock, think about one that reduces the fork travel vs locks out. Might be more useful to you.
wg |
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