Forks for a '97 Bontrager Privateer Comp - 1"

Looking for a new or used front suspension fork for a 1997 Bontrager Priv Comp. Been told by the
bike shop that they no longer make forks to fit this head tube/frame type. Currently fits 1", where
the standard now days in 1 1/8"????

My Rock Shox Judy XCs are toast.....

Osc Toronto, Ontario, Canada

 

Wendy and Oscar <[email protected]> wrote:
> Looking for a new or used front suspension fork for a 1997 Bontrager Priv Comp. Been told by the
> bike shop that they no longer make forks to fit this head tube/frame type. Currently fits 1",
> where the standard now days in 1 1/8"????

Bontragers have two 'oddities' regarding forks:

They use the 1" steerer (unless it's the very last year that the privateer was built, either
98 or 99).

The rake is 1.25" rather than the "standard" 1.667" rake.

I never had a 1.25" fork for my Bontrager, but I'm told the steering is a little quicker with the
less raked fork.

> My Rock Shox Judy XCs are toast.....

I'd say you have three options:

-go looking for a good suspension fork with a 1" steerer. Hard to find, but not impossible. The
older Marzocchis that had replaceable steerers came with an option for 1". I ran a '97 Z2 Bomber on
my Race. It was a nice setup. -re-furbish your Judy. I had one of those things for a while. They,
um, aren't that great. But there are things that can be done to make them better, like the Englund
air cartridge setup that replaces internals If you could get it worked out, you'd still have a
properly raked fork. -go rigid. Call somebody like Steelman or Strong and tell them you need a
suspension-corrected, 1.25" raked fork for a Bontrager. I was considering going that route before I
sold my Bonty. That would give you the most sophisticated ride you'd ever get out of a Bontrager.
--
Tom "still likes those Bontrager bikes" Purvis Salida, CO ...and check out my Bonty Lore page:
http://www.arkansasvalley.net/bontrager/

 

>Tom "still likes those Bontrager bikes" Purvis

and i'm taking good care of it, tom, love that bike jc

 

Thanks Tom

Is there way to tell what size rake I have 1.25" or 1.667" Does it matter? or will a1" steerers
fit either?

Osc

Tom Purvis wrote:

> Wendy and Oscar <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Looking for a new or used front suspension fork for a 1997 Bontrager Priv Comp. Been told by the
> > bike shop that they no longer make forks to fit this head tube/frame type. Currently fits 1",
> > where the standard now days in 1 1/8"????
>
> Bontragers have two 'oddities' regarding forks:
>
> They use the 1" steerer (unless it's the very last year that the privateer was built, either
> 98 or 99).
>
> The rake is 1.25" rather than the "standard" 1.667" rake.
>
> I never had a 1.25" fork for my Bontrager, but I'm told the steering is a little quicker with the
> less raked fork.
>
> > My Rock Shox Judy XCs are toast.....
>
> I'd say you have three options:
>
> -go looking for a good suspension fork with a 1" steerer. Hard to find, but not impossible. The
> older Marzocchis that had replaceable steerers came with an option for 1". I ran a '97 Z2 Bomber
> on my Race. It was a nice setup. -re-furbish your Judy. I had one of those things for a while.
> They, um, aren't that great. But there are things that can be done to make them better, like the
> Englund air cartridge setup that replaces internals If you could get it worked out, you'd still
> have a properly raked fork. -go rigid. Call somebody like Steelman or Strong and tell them you
> need a suspension-corrected, 1.25" raked fork for a Bontrager. I was considering going that route
> before I sold my Bonty. That would give you the most sophisticated ride you'd ever get out of a
> Bontrager.
> --
> Tom "still likes those Bontrager bikes" Purvis Salida, CO ...and check out my Bonty Lore page:
> http://www.arkansasvalley.net/bontrager/

 

Osc <[email protected]> wrote:
> Is there way to tell what size rake I have 1.25" or 1.667" Does it matter? or will a1" steerers
> fit either?

IIRC, the special-for-Bontrager Judys had a black crown, where other Judys of the day had
silver crowns.

The subject of the different rake is complex, (I assume that's what you mean by "Does it matter?").
Here's a post that Keith Bontrager wrote back in '97 about the subject of the special fork crown:

http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=856807356.4680%40dejanews.com&rnum=7

I rode and raced a Bontrager Race for years, and I never had a 1.25" fork. I thought it was a
fast-yet-stable hardtail. I got a '97 Z2 Bomber when I bought the frame. And at the time, I was
under the impression that the Bomber had a 1.33" rake. I no longer think that's true. Does anybody
know about that fork's rake?

The Race with a Z2 was a great. It had a stability through deep sand and other loose material that
my Moots (also with a Z2 Marzochhi) does not have. And yet it was a responsive, quick-handling bike.

Point is, I don't really know how important the less-raked fork is. But I do know that it was a
design assumption of the frame's geometry that there would be a 1.25" fork. The early ones came with
a (now rare) Bontrager rigid fork, raked 1.25".

When the day of the suspension fork came (mid-90's) Rock Shox was the vendor that got the contract
to make forks for Bontrager. As I remember at the time, everybody assumed the Judy was a good fork
(ahem). So AFAIK, the Judy was the only mass-produced front suspension ever with a 1.25" rake.
Spec'd Bontragers came with Judys, with black crowns (and mostly threaded steerers).

If anybody knows of aftermarket suspension forks that are raked less than 1.667" (and that can be
had with 1" steerer), let me know. I'll put that info onto my Bontrager Lore page.
--
Tom Purvis - http://www.arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/ Salida, CO

 

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Tom, thanks for the info, very much appreciated. Osc

Tom Purvis wrote:

> Osc <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Is there way to tell what size rake I have 1.25" or 1.667" Does it matter? or will a1" steerers
> > fit either?
>
> IIRC, the special-for-Bontrager Judys had a black crown, where other Judys of the day had
> silver crowns.
>
> The subject of the different rake is complex, (I assume that's what you mean by "Does it
> matter?"). Here's a post that Keith Bontrager wrote back in '97 about the subject of the special
> fork crown:
>
> http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=856807356.4680%40dejanews.com&rnum=7
>
> I rode and raced a Bontrager Race for years, and I never had a 1.25" fork. I thought it was a
> fast-yet-stable hardtail. I got a '97 Z2 Bomber when I bought the frame. And at the time, I was
> under the impression that the Bomber had a 1.33" rake. I no longer think that's true. Does anybody
> know about that fork's rake?
>
> The Race with a Z2 was a great. It had a stability through deep sand and other loose material
> that my Moots (also with a Z2 Marzochhi) does not have. And yet it was a responsive,
> quick-handling bike.
>
> Point is, I don't really know how important the less-raked fork is. But I do know that it was a
> design assumption of the frame's geometry that there would be a 1.25" fork. The early ones came
> with a (now rare) Bontrager rigid fork, raked 1.25".
>
> When the day of the suspension fork came (mid-90's) Rock Shox was the vendor that got the contract
> to make forks for Bontrager. As I remember at the time, everybody assumed the Judy was a good fork
> (ahem). So AFAIK, the Judy was the only mass-produced front suspension ever with a 1.25" rake.
> Spec'd Bontragers came with Judys, with black crowns (and mostly threaded steerers).
>
> If anybody knows of aftermarket suspension forks that are raked less than 1.667" (and that can be
> had with 1" steerer), let me know. I'll put that info onto my Bontrager Lore page.
> --
> Tom Purvis - http://www.arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/ Salida, CO

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<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Tom, thanks for the info, very
much appreciated. <br>Osc
<p>Tom Purvis wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Osc <[email protected]> wrote: <br>> Is there
way to tell what size rake I have 1.25" or 1.667" <br>> Does it matter? or will a1" steerers
fit either?
<q>IIRC, the special-for-Bontrager Judys had a black crown, <br>where other Judys of the day had
silver crowns.
<r>The subject of the different rake is complex, (I assume <br>that's what you mean by "Does it
matter?"). Here's a post <br>that Keith Bontrager wrote back in '97 about the subject <br>of the
special fork crown:
<s><a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=856807356.4680%40dejanews.com&rnum=7">http://gr-
oups.google.com/groups?threadm=856807356.4680%40dejanews.com&rnum=7</a>
<t>I rode and raced a Bontrager Race for years, and I never had <br>a 1.25" fork. I thought it was a
fast-yet-stable hardtail. <br>I got a '97 Z2 Bomber when I bought the frame. And at the time,
<br>I was under the impression that the Bomber had a 1.33" rake. <br>I no longer think that's
true. Does anybody know about that <br>fork's rake?
<u>The Race with a Z2 was a great. It had a stability through <br>deep sand and other loose material
that my Moots (also with a <br>Z2 Marzochhi) does not have. And yet it was a responsive,
<br>quick-handling bike.
<v>Point is, I don't really know how important the less-raked <br>fork is. But I do know that it was
a design assumption of <br>the frame's geometry that there would be a 1.25" fork. <br>The early
ones came with a (now rare) Bontrager rigid fork, <br>raked 1.25".
<w>When the day of the suspension fork came (mid-90's) Rock Shox <br>was the vendor that got the
contract to make forks for Bontrager. <br>As I remember at the time, everybody assumed the Judy
was a <br>good fork (ahem). So AFAIK, the Judy was the only mass-produced <br>front suspension
ever with a 1.25" rake. Spec'd Bontragers <br>came with Judys, with black crowns (and mostly
threaded steerers).
<x>If anybody knows of aftermarket suspension forks that <br>are raked less than 1.667" (and that
can be had with <br>1" steerer), let me know. I'll put that info onto my <br>Bontrager Lore page.
<br>-- <br>Tom Purvis - <a
href="http://www.arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/">http://www.arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/</a>
<br>Salida, CO</blockquote> </html>

--------------D76A9AB9232401DE0355D21C--

 

Tom Purvis wrote:

> Osc <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Is there way to tell what size rake I have 1.25" or 1.667" Does it matter? or will a1" steerers
> > fit either?
>
> IIRC, the special-for-Bontrager Judys had a black crown, where other Judys of the day had
> silver crowns.
>
> The subject of the different rake is complex, (I assume that's what you mean by "Does it
> matter?"). Here's a post that Keith Bontrager wrote back in '97 about the subject of the special
> fork crown:
>
> http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=856807356.4680%40dejanews.com&rnum=7
>
> I rode and raced a Bontrager Race for years, and I never had a 1.25" fork. I thought it was a
> fast-yet-stable hardtail. I got a '97 Z2 Bomber when I bought the frame. And at the time, I was
> under the impression that the Bomber had a 1.33" rake. I no longer think that's true. Does anybody
> know about that fork's rake?
>
> The Race with a Z2 was a great. It had a stability through deep sand and other loose material
> that my Moots (also with a Z2 Marzochhi) does not have. And yet it was a responsive,
> quick-handling bike.
>
> Point is, I don't really know how important the less-raked fork is. But I do know that it was a
> design assumption of the frame's geometry that there would be a 1.25" fork. The early ones came
> with a (now rare) Bontrager rigid fork, raked 1.25".
>
> When the day of the suspension fork came (mid-90's) Rock Shox was the vendor that got the contract
> to make forks for Bontrager. As I remember at the time, everybody assumed the Judy was a good fork
> (ahem). So AFAIK, the Judy was the only mass-produced front suspension ever with a 1.25" rake.
> Spec'd Bontragers came with Judys, with black crowns (and mostly threaded steerers).
>
> If anybody knows of aftermarket suspension forks that are raked less than 1.667" (and that can be
> had with 1" steerer), let me know. I'll put that info onto my Bontrager Lore page.
> --
> Tom Purvis - http://www.arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/ Salida, CO

I agree with Tom. I rode my Bontrager for years with a Bontrager specific Judy. I eventually
switched it to a Marzocchi Atom Race and I prefer the bike after the switch. The Judy was a good
fork when it came out, but compared to a more modern fork, it does not perform that well. If you
have have the money to buy a new Marzocchi (they still can be ordered with a 1" steerer) go that
way. If you want to keep it cheap, look for an older fork.

 

Wendy and Oscar <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Looking for a new or used front suspension fork for a 1997 Bontrager Priv Comp. Been told by the
> bike shop that they no longer make forks to fit this head tube/frame type. Currently fits 1",
> where the standard now days in 1 1/8"????
>
> My Rock Shox Judy XCs are toast.....
>
> Osc Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Manitou made a batch of SX R forks with 1" steerer bout 18 months ago might still be some about and
these forks are bombproof and you can repair them yourself.