-
Posts
-
-
Hello everyone I just purchased a 2013 Trek Marlin and have begun to start riding bikes again. I am 30 years old and I think that I enjoy riding more now than when I was a kid. I have put about 40 miles on my new bike this week and I can’t wait for the opportunity to get back on a trail and do some more riding. So far all I have done is put on a new seat and seat post. I purchased the thud buster seat post and I love it. The only problems so far is that the fork lockout is not working correctly I plan on bringing it back to the trek store I guess to get it replaced or repaired. It is a suntour fork and I guess a lower end one at that. When I bought the bike I could not tell much of a difference between bikes except the price. But I have been reading a lot on forums and watching videos to try and catch up. I hope I made a wise choice with my purchase, Trek was the only real name brand bike that I knew of about a month ago so I got a lot to learn. I do have one question though I would like to upgrade my front fork at some time in the near future and am not sure what is the best way to go. It seems their are a lot of options with forks like dual air, single air, sprung type and so many different models from each brand. I will mainly be riding XC with some technical trails with some small jumps and rocks. I would like to not spend over 500 dollars for the fork but again I don’t want to over spend for a bad fork either. Thanks for any replies.
-
"pkennedy83" wrote
Hello everyone I just purchased a 2013 Trek Marlin and have begun to start riding bikes again. I am 30 years old and I think that I enjoy riding more now than when I was a kid. I have put about 40 miles on my new bike this week and I can’t wait for the opportunity to get back on a trail and do some more riding. So far all I have done is put on a new seat and seat post. I purchased the thud buster seat post and I love it. The only problems so far is that the fork lockout is not working correctly I plan on bringing it back to the trek store I guess to get it replaced or repaired. It is a suntour fork and I guess a lower end one at that. When I bought the bike I could not tell much of a difference between bikes except the price. But I have been reading a lot on forums and watching videos to try and catch up. I hope I made a wise choice with my purchase, Trek was the only real name brand bike that I knew of about a month ago so I got a lot to learn. I do have one question though I would like to upgrade my front fork at some time in the near future and am not sure what is the best way to go. It seems their are a lot of options with forks like dual air, single air, sprung type and so many different models from each brand. I will mainly be riding XC with some technical trails with some small jumps and rocks. I would like to not spend over 500 dollars for the fork but again I don’t want to over spend for a bad fork either. Thanks for any replies.
Welcome to the sport and Singletracks! The Marlin is a solid starter bike, ride the snot out of it.
When you’re ready to look for a fork, check into the Manitou Tower, I think the top of the line Pro model is about $500 +/- and it’s a GREAT fork. It’s a coil spring with air assist, so you get the feel of a coil with some spring rate adjustability thanks to the air assist. It’s just as good as a high end RockShox or Fox but a fraction of the price, and the internals can be modified to custom tune the dampening. That may not be something you want to do yourself, but you could have someone do it for you if you wanted. Just nice to have the option.
-
Welcome to singletracks and back into the world of mountain biking!
Although SUNTOUR doesn’t make the best, lightest, or most expensive forks, they still can get the job done. They do offer a "customer loyalty program," in which you can upgrade the stock fork that came with your Marlin to one of their higher end models for an extreme discount.
-
Hello and welcome to the forums. I also am riding a 2013 Trek Marlin and have had no problem at all from it. What is the problem you are having with the lock out. It is a mechanical lock so you can only switch it while there is no load on the fork, you will have to take all weight off the bike to lockout! Suntour makes some great high end forks you just do not see them on many bike since they have such a reputation for their low end stuff. But they are trying to get their high end stuff out on the market and they are offering a customer loyalty program to anyone that has a bike that came with a Suntour fork from the factory. I am looking into this but need to get a wheel set with 15mm front axle first. But with the program you can upgrade your fork for a significant discount… The fork I am looking at from them has a $750 retail and I can get it for $390. It will be close to three lb lighter then the stock fork that came on my bike! So if you are looking for an upgrade I would contact Suntour about their Loyalty program first!
-
Here is the contact info for Nick from SrSuntour, He is the one to deal with regarding the loyalty program. The 29er upgrades start at around $190 I think.
Nick
360-737-6450
[email protected] -
Here is an email from nick about the progam. You do not need to send them your old fork either!!
Hello,
Thanks for your email in regards to our Customer Loyalty Upgrade program. Attached is documentation of the specifics of the program.
Best regards,
Nick Hannah-Moore
Service and Warranty
SR Suntour North America, Inc.
14511 NE 10th Avenue, UNIT E
Vancouver, WA 98685PH: (360) 737-6450
Email: [email protected]
Skype: srsna.nick
Web: SR SUNTOUR Cycling
Warranty claims and support can now be processed more effectively through our new website. Please visit it and let us know what you think!
SR Suntour North America | // SR Suntour North America / Warranty & Service Center
And here the attach file:
SR Suntour Customer Loyalty Upgrade Program Guidelines
SR Suntour North America is excited to launch a new program geared towards its North American customers. The intention of this program will allow the end user to upgrade his/her own suspension fork to something that will align better with their riding style and overall expectations than their current suspension fork.
To participate in this program consumers are encouraged to visit the shop in which they purchased the bicycle from to make sure that the necessary upgrades make sense and that the appropriate fork is ordered to fit the bicycle and its intended use. Dealers should contact SR Suntour North America for product availability and ordering.
For consumers that do not have the ability to work through a local dealer they are welcome to contact us directly to participate in the program and discuss fitment, pricing and product availability.
To be eligible and qualify for the Customer Loyalty Upgrade Program one must provide the following:
• Serial number of current SR Suntour fork
• Receipt of existing fork and or bicycle in which the fork came stock
• Agreement that the fork will not be resold to a 3rd partyForks currently available through this program include the following SR Suntour models
• Raidon LO R Air Disc Blk/white 26” $189.99
• Raidon LO R Air Disc Blk/white 29” $189.99
• Epicon XC 15Qlc RL-RC 120 Blk/White 26” $389.99
• Epicon XC 15QLC RL-RC 120 Blk/White 29" $389.99
SR Suntour North America 14511 NE 10th Ave Unit E Vancouver WA 98685 Phone: 360-737-6450 -
Thanks for all the information on the suntour discount I will look into that. As for the fork lockout not working I removed the weight from the back to try and lock it out but it still does not work. The plastic knob has a clear window on the top and underneath it you can see green for not locked out and red for locked out. It is just not doing it correctly no big deal because I am not going to use the lockout that much anyway.
-
I am also going to check out the manitou forks to. I got to ride today at a local trail. It was enterprise south in Chattanooga Tn. I rode about 15 miles on the three trails at the nature park. I had a blast on all of the trails. The bike held up good over the rough stuff and I was going pretty fast through the trails.
-
okay I was looking at the manitou tower pro 29 with 140 mm of travel on amazon. They also have a lot of other tower forks and this leaves me with some confusion as to the correct fork for my bike. I checked the trek bike description and the suntour website to find some information for the correct fork that would be needed.But I could not find any information that would help me pick the correct fork. Some of them were tapered and some of them had a measurement giving for the diameter of the steerer. Also the fork I was looking at comes with an axle I think it is 20 mm and I am not sure if it will work with my hub on my bontrager rims that I have on now. My current fork is the stock SR Suntour XCM and the rims are the bontrager AT-650 with the formula DC 20 hub. I assume the 20 in DC 20 is for 20 mm but I am not sure. I appreciate any help.
-
"pkennedy83" wrote
okay I was looking at the manitou tower pro 29 with 140 mm of travel on amazon. They also have a lot of other tower forks and this leaves me with some confusion as to the correct fork for my bike. I checked the trek bike description and the suntour website to find some information for the correct fork that would be needed.But I could not find any information that would help me pick the correct fork. Some of them were tapered and some of them had a measurement giving for the diameter of the steerer. Also the fork I was looking at comes with an axle I think it is 20 mm and I am not sure if it will work with my hub on my bontrager rims that I have on now. My current fork is the stock SR Suntour XCM and the rims are the bontrager AT-650 with the formula DC 20 hub. I assume the 20 in DC 20 is for 20 mm but I am not sure. I appreciate any help.
There are two common steerer types: straight, and tapered. Tapered are larger diameter on just above the fork crown, which makes them stiffer. Straight are, well, straight. Strait are 1-1/8" diameter. Your bike has the straight steerer, which is common on older and lower end bikes. So you need a straight steerer fork.
The axle on your front wheel is the standard 9mm quick release. Thru-axles are either 15mm or 20mm diameter, and are much stiffer than the old school quick release. I HIGHLY recommend you get a thru-axle fork if you can also afford to spend a little more on a new front wheel with a 15mm hub. The improved steering is really nice with thru-axles. Many aftermarket hubs can be converted between quick release and both thru-axle types, but your stock hubs cannot, so if you get a thru-axle fork you’ll need a new wheel as well. I know it’s not surprising to hear that from a guy with a wheel building business right 😆 but the thru-axle really is a noticeable improvement, after I rode one for a while and then switched back to a QR fork I stopped several times on the first ride to make sure the lever was tight!! It felt like the front wheel was folding over sideways when pushing thru a turn hard.
Travel – your bike has a 100mm travel fork, I’d recommend you stick to that, for two reasons. One, going to a longer travel fork (like the 140mm you were looking at) will change the geometry of the bike, it’ll jack the front end and bottom bracket up and slacken the head tube angle slowing the steering feel. Two, it will likely void the warranty on the frame. If the frame broke, Trek could say it was because the longer fork applied more leverage to the headtube than it was designed for, and that’s why it broke, and they don’t owe you a replacement.
Hopefully that helps, if you have further questions feel free to ask!
-
Thanks for the information I will take your advice and look at some of the 100 mm forks instead. As for the thru axles I will look into some rims. I know I need the double wall rims and I would prefer to keep tubes. Any suggestion for a front rim and hub? I do a lot of my shopping on amazon. I no less about rims then probably anything on the bike lol. I have been studying more on the gear set and brakes so i am really green in the rim area. But I will search the forum for some info on rims. Again thanks for the replies
-
They rims on your bike are double wall from the factory. As for upgrades, check out pricepoint.com. They have some good prices and do a lot of sales. You can pick up a nice set of hydraulic brakes or some bb7 mechanical calipers if you just want to upgrade to better cable brakes. As for gear sets and wheels. depends on your budget. You can go on crankbrothers.com and check out their upgrade program. I am thinking about going for this one myself!
-
My brother told me that Pricepoint’s got a sale going on Deore hydraulic brakes, for $50 each. I spent more on levers and bb7 mechanical setups.
-
I was just about to buy bb7s from pricepoint and use my levers when the mechanic at my LBS offered me his take off elixer3s, $75 for the pair! I jumped all over that…
-
Maybe I kind of worded my post wrong, my intention was not to buy new brakes or a gear set. I was saying that I no less about rims then the gear set and brake system. That is the area I have been trying to learn the most about. I was not going to upgrade rims to a later date until I found out I would need a new hub for the through shaft for the fork. I appreciate the post and will check out the sites you both were talking about though. Thanks for the replies you guys are helping me out a lot.
-
greaser and tuna thanks for the info about the suntour loyalty program. After looking into that option some more it seems it will benefit me more than going with the manitou tower. I was checking some reviews on some of the better suntour forks and it seems it will be a good move.
-
Which fork did you end up buying.
I am about to accept the SRSuntour upgrade program and just wanted some feedback. -
"schwim" wrote
My brother told me that Pricepoint’s got a sale going on Deore hydraulic brakes, for $50 each. I spent more on levers and bb7 mechanical setups.
Wow, I need to look that up, that’s a smokin deal!
-
"gar29" wrote
[quote="schwim":ue3ve89n]My brother told me that Pricepoint’s got a sale going on Deore hydraulic brakes, for $50 each. I spent more on levers and bb7 mechanical setups.
Wow, I need to look that up, that’s a smokin deal![/quote:ue3ve89n]
That smoking deal might be over since his post was from almost a year ago.. 😉
-
"slipfinger" wrote
[quote="gar29":2grrnbwx][quote="schwim":2grrnbwx]My brother told me that Pricepoint’s got a sale going on Deore hydraulic brakes, for $50 each. I spent more on levers and bb7 mechanical setups.
Wow, I need to look that up, that’s a smokin deal![/quote:2grrnbwx]
That smoking deal might be over since his post was from almost a year ago.. 😉[/quote:2grrnbwx]
Yeah, stupid me! I noticed that after I popped right over to Pricepoint! Had my hopes up. I’m in the market for new brakes and got excited! They’re $119 now. What can I say, wasn’t it Throwback Thursday?! -
Have a look here [url:2kmxzlkj]http://www.tbsbikeparts.com/shimano-xt-m785-brakes/[/url:2kmxzlkj]
Canadian funds so even cheaper for you Americans
-
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.