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Hello all..

i need new forks on me bike..I've been looking at the rock shox recon solo air and the coil spring version..i only ride XC,thorndon,weild,hainault,bedgebury, nothing crazy..what do ya think the pros and cons are of both forks..i know the solo airs are lighter..trying to work out if its a waste of money getting the solos..there about £100 more..whadda recon..many thanks..Z

Get air over spring if that is what you ride they will be much more tuneable

very much this!
Springs are just set at an average persons weight, where air you can tailor it to suit you.
Ive had Manitou six's the blew through their travel as soon as you looked at them, and i've had Darts which wont move unless theres two of you on there!

Yes but...

springs can be changed to suit, i've recently done this and its easy plus a spring has a liner resistance meaning that the resistance is the same for the whole compression of the sping, unlike air which has more resistance the more it is compressed what this means in lay mens terms:

air shock: if you hit a small bump it will be plush, if you hit a big bump it will start soft and jolt to a stop as it becomes fully compressed.
coil shock: if oyu hit a small bump it will be plush, if you hit a big bump it will be plush.

unless you actually bottom out with either shock !

TRUE but for xc, which is what its being used for air is the right way to go
Imo

Air -
lighter
more tunable - but its not hard to get a coil set up well

Spring -
less stiction & small bump compliance
more predictable feel - no mid stroke blow through

Air is starting to catch spring at the very high level in terms of feel but its not quite there. I don't think the difference in terms of feel is that noticeable below 160mm. It comes down to you making a price / weight decision.

If they were the same weight and price id go coil every time.

And coils don't leak

Id disagree entirely jon! Lol
Shorter xc travel forks work better air

I cant be wrong - im an extreme XC rider and spend most of my day in talc laden bib shorts!

There are lots of other factors affecting a forks performance other then if they are air or coil

On a fork with the same damper, lubrication and setup adjustments, air offers no advantage other then weight. The stiction from the pressure preloaded seals means they will always perform worse than a coil.

The seals give an air fork a platform damping effect. This may be desirable for XC however those characteristics should be handled by the damper. Having an air fork is essentially limiting your LSC range.

As mentioned I don't think the difference in terms of feel is that noticeable below 160mm with modern forks. I think the issues you had with your coils VW are related to other ares of the design / quality of the dampening unit and the forks would have been even worse if they were air.

In relation to banjoboys original post, in reality at the 100 120 140 level it doesn't make much difference with modern forks like the RS rekon and the weight / price consideration is probably a more important one.

its something which often gets discussed > http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspensio ... 60452.html

I would defo go air for riding where your wheels are on the ground 90% of the time as described above. Plus it might have a lock out function which is even more useful.

Great replies guys...off topic, but does talc help?....im going through moo cream like mad!!..i think air might be the way to go for me..when i rode highlands park with some of u,them big roots killed me..my shoulders and the top of my arms just took a beating..i was shot after 40mins or so..air would have help here right?..but then i like the predictabilty of a coil and like jon said the whole liner resistance thing....FIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT....Z

[quote="Karve"] - no mid stroke blow through

quote]


Ooh err Matron!

Coils work good at places like Danbury and that's the sort of playground I built my bike for, if it's not your thing and xc treks up the fire roads are your thing then air is more than fine and it's a damn sight cheaper to let air out and put more in to fine tune your ride, shop around with am open mind and look for the best bargain be it air or coil!

I'm looking at this bargain:http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/forks-shocks/rockshox-suspension-forks/2012-rockshox-revelation-rlt-15mm-axle.html for my 456 build. Works out £290 after 10% discount and 3% cashback via Quidco. Never had a Sprung fork though so open to other bargains/suggestions. Do mainly XC while over this way but enjoy the rough stuff when I'm in the west country (Exmoor, Quantocks and Wales).

That is a bargain