UKC

Cheap front forks on eBay worth it ?

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 mike123 09 Mar 2019

Furthur to my isla bike thread I'm looking for some 26 inch front forks that are reasonably priced but lite for a build for my son . I've bid on few rocckshox s and fox s on  ebay , but no joy  . I keep looking  at these :  item number 223194867851 . As I want to get on and build the bike I'm tempted , But can't help thinking they may be cheap and nasty ( buy cheap , buy twice ) .They look like a fox copy and the ad Says they are made by " a major manufacturer " . Any thoughts ?

Post edited at 09:55
 gethin_allen 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

No idea about the forks in general but, there's something odd going on with the the disc brake mount on the fork in the photo which doesn't appear to be drilled out.

 summo 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

Depending on the age and weight of your son, front forks are just for show. Their body weight is too low and they riding puts insufficient force on the forks to compress them to any degree that benefits their riding, let alone 120mm of travel. 

A young teen of sturdy build, riding downhill relatively hard yeah sure. There are forks with lower compression weights for young adults and of course the more expensive buys where they are set to body weight. 

Post edited at 10:31
1
 ChrisJD 09 Mar 2019
In reply to summo:

You are spouting complete nonsense.

Ours have been on front susp forks with great success (Alps, N Spain, UK red trail centres, Peak and elsewhere UK off road) since aged 7. They did their time on fully rigid, they were so so happy going suspended. Proof-pudding-eating.

The oldest, now 11, went full-sus last year at 10.  Try telling him suspension isn't worth it!

Just run the fork/shock air pressure real low.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yx1i0j8ha8pcp9w/bikes.jpg?dl=0

Post edited at 11:47
 Wry Spudding 09 Mar 2019
In reply to gethin_allen:

Re: "disc brake mount on the fork in the photo which doesn't appear to be drilled out."

It just looks like the holes are covered with a plastic sticker to keep the holes clean.

Mike123: Personally I would shy away from an unknown manufacturer; at least with more 'reputable names' I have more confidence in the material and manufacturing quality control

A few years back I did similar and put some fairly basic Rockshox XC30 forks on my daughter's Beinn 26. For everything you'd expect to be doing on a Beinn 26 (ie not jumping), these were perfectly suitable

Post edited at 11:48
 ChrisJD 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

You just have to be patient I reckon.

There are a few FB MTB spare parts groups, lol.

1
OP mike123 09 Mar 2019
In reply to summo: of course you are entitled to your opinion , but I'm with chris on this. My 11 year old has been riding with forks since he was 9 , but he was bigger and much more chunky than boy 2 so he just rode a really  small adults trek something or other . Boy 2 is smaller and slighter but rides  , well for want of a better word ... " aggressively " on a stiff 24 inch bike . He has, done his time  , he also wants forks to be be like his brother and mate , which , when your 9 , is important.  . 

OP mike123 09 Mar 2019
In reply to ChrisJD: hi chris, I didn't want to keep bothering you on the previous thread so thought I would start another . Any thoughts on those cheap ish forks ? 

In reply to wry : did your daughter find the xc30 s heavy ? 

 ChrisJD 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

Make offer on these?: 

303075189853

264222905054 

163587106776

These Revs look all right:

153403397990

OP mike123 09 Mar 2019
In reply to ChrisJD: yep , patience is not a strong point . But , as you have said , they keep coming up . Posts crossed . I'll take a look .

Post edited at 12:11
 ChrisJD 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

lol, two sons...

Its no probs - pleased to help fellow modder

XC30 will be heavy I reckon compared with Sids etc.  

No-1 son has got RS RL Gold 130mm on his 650B full suss. They seem to work great and fairly light. But no 26"on Ebay at reasonable price.

OP mike123 09 Mar 2019
In reply to ChrisJD:

> lol, two sons...

two ? 

luckily boy 3 still fits his beinn 20 , but the start of all this was that even though it fits I had to replace most of the bits due to his "enthusiasm" . I'm sort of proud that my boys wore an isla bike  out.  Next project will be to flog the wiggins 24 ( mistake but it was cheap ) when boy 2 fits the 26 and get a beinn 24 , might even get some 24 forks for it ! 

Post edited at 12:34
 summo 09 Mar 2019
In reply to ChrisJD:

> Just run the fork/shock air pressure really low 

If you read my post again I said you need to buy forks for young adults or decent ones that are set to their weight.

Budget entry level suntours off eBay etc are a waste of money for a kids bike. 

 summo 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

My point is more the average kid, mine are 9 and 11 won't benefit from cheap forks.. It's not that they can't ride well, go down x or y runs..  It's the fact the fork isn't helping them. They don't weigh enough to compress it. It is just added weight to the bike without improving performance. 

Buy then some forks made for kids, set to their weight. That is totally different. (As i said in my first post).

The problem is a lack of decent kids size bike parts to pick from. The market is so small and most parents seem happy to buy bikes for their youngish kids weighing 13-15kgs.  

 ChrisJD 09 Mar 2019
In reply to summo:

You dont need to buy kid specific forks on 26 inch wheels. Any decent air sprung fork will work at low pressures.

Cheap forks are just useless, doesn't matter if kid or adult.

 summo 09 Mar 2019
In reply to ChrisJD:.

> Cheap forks are just useless, doesn't matter if kid or adult.

Of course. I swapped the forks our 9 yr olds hot rock.. dreadful spec for the price. But that's specialized for you. 

I had been looking at the superior bikes but there seems a bit of shortage of them. 

 Wry Spudding 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123: "Did your daughter find the xc30 s heavy ? "

No, they were fine and certainly a good move from the previous rigid forks. I've just checked (still in a box in the garage) and they are actually XC32, I've weighed them at 2.4kgs including the poploc remote lever and cable and 210mm steerer- so they're a little heavier than SIDs etc.

They're not being used and don't owe us anything - you're welcome to have them if you want

OP mike123 09 Mar 2019
In reply to Wry Spudding: very  kind of you, yes please . I've sent you a pm . 

 Dax H 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

They might be fine but having had quality branded forks fail and injure me I Deffinatly wouldn't touch cheap rip offs. Is saving a few quid worth risking your kid going over the front because the stations came out of the crown . 

 Oli 09 Mar 2019
In reply to mike123:

Try having a look in the for sale section of pinkbike.com

In reply to summo:

Surely you just set the sag to the weight?

 summo 10 Mar 2019
In reply to harold walmsley:

> Surely you just set the sag to the weight?

Cheap forks aren't air sprung so you can't adjust. You can get some which are coil and air that you can adjust, but not usually on entry level youth/kids mtbs at around £300-500. 

OP mike123 10 Mar 2019
In reply to summo: re reading my original post I think I owe you an apology and need to clarify a bit. I recently posted about getting a secondhand isla  bike ( my kids have had 6 different isla bikes already and for their needs they are the best option, several other good brands of kids bike are available but they don't suit their needs . I then chatted with chris above about modifying a standard isla  bike , again lots of options for kids mtb s are available but for boy 2 this is the best one . I m going to put good quality forks on it ( 26 inch wheels so straight forward ) that need to be lite. I m fairly sure chris knew this from a previous discussion however to others this would not have been at all clear. However my budget doesn't run to Buying new so I m looking for some good quality ( fox or rockshox ) forks for not much money . Yesterday I did not win some fox floats so I looked again at the forks mentionined in my op above, they are within budget and "might " be made by fox , the ad seems to hint that they are, however they may not and may well be sh1t. So my search continued . However it looks like I ve got some "well " within budget via ukc !  Thanks everybody for your input and a lesson for me in making what one puts on the Internet clear.

Post edited at 08:50

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