Newbie needs help w/ suspension forks

[yzfrider2001]

Hi all, my name is Eric and would like to say that I love this forum! I guess I am considered a newbie (that is to suspension bikes, anyway) even though I have ridden pretty much my entire life (have had a Miyata Elevation for almost 20 years – still have it…). So here is my problem/question – my loving wife gave me MTB (well, maybe a MTB wanna-be anyway – it is a Victory Vegas Jackpot) w/ full suspension. While I realize this bike is no where near the better ones, I am hoping that it can be made into a decent bike for trail riding. The forks seem really soft (as in a lot of movement when standing up) – they are non-adjustable (I believe) – is there any way to make them stiffer, or should I go to an after-market brand? I am a former motocrosser who raced and did all the maintenance on my bikes (Yamaha YZ250F and 450F), so this kind of work is no problem for me. The rear shock is the adjustable spring type and seems ok but haven’t done any trail riding yet.
I don’t want to tell my wife that the bike it junk because she was so happy about it. Can this bike be made into a decent bike? There are no really steep hills/good downhills where we are stationed (U.S. Navy), but there are some really good trails.
Thanks in advance for your help!

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

None of the online retailers say, but it appears to have a 100mm fork and a standard 1 1/8th" steerer.

I’d go with something like this:
http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp? … +Fork+2009

Also look at some better pedals and tires, and then call it good and ride it until you wear it out.

[Luli79]

That bike most likely has an 1 1/8th" headtube, but you are going to need a fork with a relatively long steerer tube. I would also take an eye to eye measurement for the rear shock as well, from the looks of it once you got going it would crap out in a heart beat. Just measure from the middle of the top bolt holding the shock to past the bolt holding the bottom of the shock. I would suggest looking at some RockShox products since they are fairly inexpensive compared to other brands. Just remember that price goes up with the more options or better technology!

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

yeah, I forgot to mention that the rear ‘shock’ on that is probably just a spring.

So that is another good upgrade, but stop there…anything else would be just putting lipstick on a pig. 😉

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