Fork thread. (Which one?)

[Xmetal]

Hey guys

I'm currently in the process of building yet another bike and i've reached a really big hurdle and need advice.

The bike in question: 2008 Intense SOCOM

Current fork: Fox 40 RC2 Non-FiT Coil

My main aim is to try and keep the weight down and after doing lots of reading and researching i've come to the conclusion that a dual-crown coil fork isn't going to do me many favors in the weight department.
The idea I have is to switch to a single-crown air-spring fork and the potential contenders so far are...

Fox 36 Van/Float <--Not sure if these come as an air spring fork.
RockShox Totem Solo Air
RockShox Boxxer WC Weight permitting

My only qualm with Singles is stiffness, I'm well aware they aren't going to be as stiff as Boxxers/888's/40's et-al but will they withstand the rigours of DH racing?

The Bike is being built as a pure DH race horse.


Thanks in advance.

 

[T-Rex]

T-Rex Junior ran the Float 180 for a couple of seasons of State and part of a National series in U17 and U19, before upgrading to.a 40.

I would say the 180 is fine if you are not trying to get on the podium at State or Nationals in an A Group class.

The limit we found with the 180 was basically the travel. Junior was running it close to maximum pressure so he didn't blow through all the travel, meaning it didn't really have enough sag. The result was the front skipped around in rough corners at full pace. Moving to the 40 fixed the problem, even though it was the best part of 800g heavier. He reckoned he could not not notice any less flex in the 40 vs the 180.

PS we also ran WCs for a period of time, they are relatively high maintenance compared to Fox. if you are training a lot as well as racing, you really need to service them every couple of races.

 

[NoFilter]

I ran a solo air 180mm travel with a -1 degree angle set in my 26" 951 and it was awesome. The totem blew me away with its performance, very happy with it indeed. The stiffness wasn't quite there in comparison to a boxxer but it was fine for my level of shenanigans. Weight was great too, lighter than a boxxer wc by a little bit, same axle to crown measurement so didn't throw the geo out at all.