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1. stompy - Member 

   So, disregarding all the marketing bs that seemingly swamps the bike industry.....

   Is there a tangable difference in performance between a brand new fork and, say, one from 8 years ago? I appreciate it depends on the model and how high up the range the fork may be but has technology moved so far that the bog standard, non pro, rider can ultimately tell much of a difference?

   90% of riders (completely made up stat) will never use any given fork to it's full potential so can we really pretend to compare...

   I have some old 9 year old air Pikes and still really rate them, even compared to newer forks.

   Am looking at some 2010 Wotans and wondering if there is any real world difference?

   Posted 16 hours ago #
2. tomhoward - Member 

   Stiffer, thanks to tapered steerers/thruaxles
   Lighter?
   Better damping?
   More adjustable?

   Posted 16 hours ago #
3. stompy - Member 

   Are they though?

   Surely a tapered steerer is heavier?

   Lighter materials but less 'stiffness' and more prone to damage?

   Better damping maybe.... I have no real knowledge, just reasoning.

   I looked at some new Reba's the other week and thought they looked flimsey.... I Would be scared to hammer them whereas my 2008 ones are seemingly indestructible...

   Posted 16 hours ago #
4. joebristol - Member 

   I remember '98 Bomber Z1's being smooth and silky, long travel and very overbuilt. I got some in the last year for a cheapie hardtail build I've done with some modern stuff and some retro stuff.

   Next to my Yari's the bombers look ever so short travel and flimsy! Appreciate they are 20 years old now - so they are doing well to still be here and functional.

   I think they need the oil changing and oil level looked at for my weight - ideally they could do with stiffer springs but thats a futile search these days.

   They are still pretty smooth though - I've not used them in anger yet.

   Posted 16 hours ago #
5. Northwind - Member 

   stompy - Member

   Surely a tapered steerer is heavier?

   For equivalent strength and stiffness tapered is lighter. But sometimes straight is still lighter if they've just made it less stiff or strong, which is an option...

   Some forks really stand up well. Weight aside, the classic coil Lyrik DH still beats almost every new fork you can buy today, I was never happy with the new Pikes that I replaced them with so eventually I went back. Now I have some gucci 36s and they're a little better, and a lot lighter, but then even used they cost me as much as a brand new Lyrik did so they'd ****ing well better be better.

   Dual flow rebound in the rockshox range is probably the biggest difference over your old Pike 426 and that's genuinely something many people would notice I think... But then you can retrofit it into an old Pike too.

   Reba is a fairly different fork now, it's the Sid chassis so it's very light, it doesn't really do the same job. Though tbh, I didn't think it felt any different to my old 130mm Rev 426s in terms of stiffness etc

   Posted 15 hours ago #
6. lazlowoodbine - Member 

   My newest forks are 2007 Marzocchi Z1 SL, the ones with about 20 air valves to tune fiddle with. They're on a 456 built up on the burly side and, once fiddled with properly, are great.

   The oldest set I use regularly are some 1999 Jnr T's. These are on a little single speed hardtail I use for DH typr stuff, albeit nothing massive. I have no qualms about really leaning on them despite the quick release and skinny legs.

   I'm not ignorant to fork performance but honestly I don't feel held back by any lack of stiffness or damping with the T's. I've been riding them hard for years and see no reason to stop. The only thing that bothers me is the very thin casting around the caliper mount, I think I best take off the 8" rotor..

   Posted 15 hours ago #
7. mindmap3 - Member 

   I have some old 9 year old air Pikes and still really rate them, even compared to newer forks.

   Whereas as I hate that era Pikes. I had three pairs and thought they were all poor; heavy and poorly damped. The Motion Control damping is still used in fork like the Yari's so RS can't think it's that bad.

   I think modern damping has improved; my original 888's blew through their travel so easily whereas my current 380's are still plush but have better support on steep stuff and don't bottom out as easily.

   Posted 8 hours ago #
8. breadcrumb - Member 

   I've had original Pikes and have the 35mm ones now. Night and day.

   More controlled, stiffer, more adjustment.

   Posted 6 hours ago #
9. nixie - Member 

   I think they need the oil changing and oil level looked at for my weight - ideally they could do with stiffer springs but thats a futile search these days.

   I might have heavy springs. Definitely got a set in the forks and a set in the toolbox. Which is which I'm not sure.

   Posted 6 hours ago #

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10. matt_outandabout - Member 

    Eldest_oab just sold a set of Mazocchi AM1 SL forks.
    Not quite full retro. However, mega plush, controlled and reasonably stiff.

    Mrs_oab loved her Headshock - it was tuned to her 7st weight, again very controlled and sensitive for such travel.

    I also had some proper retro forks on the kids bikes a few years ago. Manitou Mars ( Uber flexy, poorly damped), Manitou Black (Flexi, terrible compression feel) and Marzocchi X-fly (wow, plush, nice damping, Flexi).

    Posted 5 hours ago #
11. zero cool - Member 

    My Marz 55 RC3 Ti forks from a few years back still outperform a lot of the newer, lighter forks I've tried over the past few years. And a set of 2012 Boxxer Teams set up by tF Tuned were better than a lot of the new stuff I've tried out of the box.

    I'm sure there are improvements but apart from a few leaps and bounds I'm sure top end forks from 5 years ago are no worse than the latest Lyriks or Pikes.
    Most of the Pro riders will be running custom set up and internals anyway.

    Tom KP.

    Posted 5 hours ago #
12. downhillfast - Member 

    Im still happy with a pair of 2004 Bombers! (For riding local trails).
    95% of people who ride mtb (made up stat) just want something on the front end that bounces up and down. That's all.
    A more "serious" mtb'er may pick up on the differences, but I don't think as an average rider I could really notice much apart from smoother more controlled action, and more flipping knobs and dials to **** things up with!

    Edited to add: I have ridden much more modern forks. All I noticed was "plusher" action, and more (un-needed) adjustability.

    Posted 5 hours ago #
13. jameso - Member 

    A good tuner-tweaker can do great things with older forks. Customised shim stuff, etc. Most of the gains in last 5-10yrs have been better damping as std and stiffer chassis so if you don't really need the stiffness then a tuned set of older forks is a good option.

    Posted 5 hours ago #
14. boriselbrus - Member 

    Currently running a Pike RCT3. They are nearly as good as the 2005 Marzocchi AM1's I had. Shame they didn't make them in 29er size.

    The AM1's were a bit heavier though.

    Posted 5 hours ago #
15. ghostlymachine - Member 

    Up to 8-10 years ago, maybe a little more, I'd say not much.
    They all have decent tuneability, decent sized stanchions, sensibly designed lowers, reasonably sized steerer and so on.

    In fact, all the things they have today, except in more fashionable colours.

    Posted 3 hours ago #
16. ghostlymachine - Member 

    Probably more difference going from the entry level version to the top of the range than there is between comparable models 10 years apart. (As long as they've not been abused.)
    My 10 year old fox 32s are indistinguishable from my 2 year old ones. I'd be gutted if I'd paid for the "upgrade".

    Posted 3 hours ago #
17. montgomery - Member 

    Two years ago, after 10 years on rigid forks, I bought a set of cheap RS TK30 Gold Solo Air forks out of curiosity. Nearing the end of their lifespan now, having been used, I suspect, well beyond their design brief. Although a bit flexy, these cheap forks have been much better than the Pace & Magura forks I was running 2001-2006.

    Posted 3 hours ago #
18. emac65 - Member 

    Still got my 2004 Z1's, serviced them for the first time a couple of years ago, the oil was spotless clean ! Double seals on each leg work, end of ! As for are they as good as my Pikes. They're a bit fiddlier to set up, but when set up right they work nearly as good, but better than a pair of Revelations or Rebas ....

    But I do like the fact you hardly ever have to service them though

    Posted 15 minutes ago #

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