Heckler

[Mark Larson]

I was going to get my first full suspension bike and was going to get the DHX5 coil on the back and the 32 vanilla on the front with the avid juicy 3 and I’m not going to be doing any serious drops just some downhill and mostly flowing singletrack but just wanted to know if the 32 vanilla is a good front fork and if the juicy 3’s are good front brakes and I’m kind of a chunky kid 200lb’s 6′ 1" but was hoping this setup would be ok.
Any info. helps. Thanks

[cjm]

You’ll have to a better job of defining "some" and "downhill." I rode some downhill at Keystone, Co this year. That was 2-3 times a month. The only thing I would take for that from your list is the DHX5.0 coil and the juicy 3. I would sooner pay weight price with my flowy single track by pedaling a bullit. When I lived back east and finances cut me back to one bike, I kept my Norco Shore. Most of my riding was flat XC and surly single track, but the once or twice a month I went out downhilling and it was worth all the time I spent pedaling that giant hunk metal. If you are going downhilling two or three times a season at the local ski resort, you’d be better tuning your ride for flowy single track and renting a proper DH Sled there.

As far as flowy single track, the DHX 5.0 coil is way to much shock. The Fox Float R will ride equally as well in those situations and allow you to upgrade to the lighter Fox 32 Float on the front. The weight savings will be worth it for flowy single track.

Again a better idea of how often you are riding downhill and what the trails are like will help.

[Syd Patricio]

Well the Fox is a great front fork. I have used Fox on all my personal bikes for 4 years now and never had an issue..Just follow the maintenance guide..
A good alternative would be either the Rockshox Reba(120mm) Revalation (140mm) or Pike(140mm 20mm axle)..All shocks are great and reasonably priced….For brakes I have used Hayes for years I now use on all my bikes Hayes Stroker Trails. Just change the fluid to a DOT 5.1 and you will be rocking…High power with no fade and great control…You can also use Juicy 7’s I have assembled my wife’s bike with juicy 3’s and found them underpowered when i "tested" her bike…. I am 5’10" 200lbs…Her bike will get a set of hayes HFX-9 carbons that i had not used yet….Also a good brake.

As far as components you have 2 camps Sram or Shimano….Don’t look at anything less than the new Shimano SLX or Sram X-9… Those parts are all great quality and will hold up to the Occasional freeride…Just don’t look at carbon bars or stuff…Stick with aluminum. Raceface make a great selection of bars and seatposts. You may want to check them out….

Enjoy the trails.

[Mark Larson]

Thanks for all the info.
CJM I live in Helena, MT and I ride about two to three times a week and I ride or hike a bike up trails that our moderately steep to really steep and we have trails that has everything in between but about 60% of my riding is biking up then going as fast as I can in my limitations to help me with balance and response time for training for motocross.
I dont know if this helps with more description about my riding style but thanks again to all you guys who have posted replys and gave me valuable info.

[cjm]

For the most part, what I saw of trails near Helena on the internet, I would stick with my original statement. Get the float R shock and the Float 32 R fork. Then I found some video of Bitterroot resort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjaXgEa_ … annel_page

If your riding features rock gardens like what i saw in that video, then the 32 won’t be enough fork. You’ll want a longer fork (150+) to create a more slack headtube angle and a 20mm thru axle. The 20mm will steer more true and provide you with access to more durable wheelsets. You will also want the DHX 5.0 coil as you mentioned. In sections like that many air shocks tend to heat up and behave unexpectedly.

So if you are planning to ride trails like what is shown at Bitteroot, 2-3 times a month then get the beefier suspension and perhaps even the bullit frame. Pay the weight and pedal performance penalties on your local trails. If your only going to ride trails like Bitterroot root 2-3 times a year, then go with the lighter build and rent when you want to ride something gnarly.

[Beaker]

I would be a little worried about bombing down hills that you have to hike up with only Juicy 3’s to slow you down – especially at 200#. If it was me, I would upgrade the brakes first – then the fork.

[Mark Larson]

Thanks for all the replys its really helped me out still dont know what set up I’m going to get but have all winter to think about it.

[cjm]

I have juicy 3s on my Preston and they are every bit the quality brake that the Hayes Mags I rode on my Norc for 3 years. Juicy 3 win in the long run because I don’t have to bleed them every month. I did burn through the organic pads that came with them in about one month, but replaced them with sinistered pads and they have spot on since.

[Leppah]

I’m a big boy that weighs 210. I had to upgrade forks a few times because i hated feeling them flex underneath me when i slammed on the brakes before turns or when i was railing turns. I went through a couple of standard xc/trail forks before i finally just got a marzocchi 66. It’s heavy, but it doesn’t flex. I don’t like to second guess my equipment while i’m riding. The last thing i want is equipment failure resulting in injury. If it’s injury due to my own stupid actions it’s different. 😉

That being said, i would actually go with better brakes if you only have the money to do one of those. You can’t really be controlling your bike as much without a good brake setup. The fork won’t really help you slow down to make those corners.

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