I own a 1996 KHS Descent MTB. I bought it new a few days ago from my local cycle shop. For whatever reason, it had been sitting around the shop all these years. During it's stay, the original forks were replaced with RST suspension forks. They are old looking, heavy and mushy. I'd like to replace them with something lighter and tighter. I have limited funds to spend (under $200) and am considering a rigid fork as well as suspension. Can anyone recommend something? My usage is mostly commute, quick trips around town and the occasional moderate off road ride (read trail). Please include where I can purchase this.
Mountain Bikes · Public discussion
New Forks
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- Mountain Bikes
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- 12 August 2004
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- 17 August 2004
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- goldfishkeeper
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In 96, front forks generally had 2" of travel. Most forks on the market today are at least 80mm, which will likely serve to bugger up the geometry of the bike significantly.
A older model elastomer sprung Judy or Manitou might be the kind of fork to look for.
Cheers,
Juba -
Juba said:
In 96, front forks generally had 2" of travel. Most forks on the market today are at least 80mm, which will likely serve to bugger up the geometry of the bike significantly.
A older model elastomer sprung Judy or Manitou might be the kind of fork to look for.
Cheers,
JubaThanks for the feedback, Juba. I've decided to go rigid. I'm not sure what's stock and what's not on this bike. The shock and front tire are definitely not stock. I scraped up a photo of the bike (it's a 97 model actually - manufactured in 96) and it had rigid forks and different handlebars and possibly different stem. Not sure if I have a 1 inch or 1/8 inch stem. How can I tell? It's definitely threadless. Any suggestions for a decent rigid fork?
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If it is threadless on a mountain bike, you can be about 95% sure it is 1 1/8". Pop the fork out and measure the diameter of the steerer tube, it should be 1 1/8".
As far as rigid forks go, it is hard to suggest an after market part for mountain bikes. They are becomming a long forgotten option, in an age when even the very lowest-end bikes from the corner hardware store have a cheapo suspension fork.
Anything that is made of chromoly and is a propper fit would do the trick I think. It is not like you are getting a hugely different ride from one rigid fork to the next.
I would hit some local bike shops that have sold Kona over the years, maybe they have an old Kona rigid fork laying around (I believe they were called Project II forks). Possibly hit a store that sells tandem bikes to see if they have anything. Maybe Ebay?
Cheers,
Juba -
Thanks. I'm riding this mostly on a bike path and street for commute right now. The RST just isn't doing it for me. I'll ask the shop where I purchased the bike, also Ebay. I did manage to find this fork (second one down the page). That resembles the original. I'm just not sure about all the specs.
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Better yet, here's IRD's fork page.
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