fooddude

Hey all i just got my first "real" mountain bike (motobecane 600ht). I love the bike but i am considering upgrading the front fork to something a little better. Right now it has a Rockshox Dart 1. Im looking into rockshox Toras or possibly recons if my budget is right. My problem is i know nothing about sizing for my bike or how hard they are to install. Anyone have any experience changing forks? I would ask this at mtbr forums but everytime i make a thread like this i end up getting answers such as just get a new bike, or something that has nothing related to my question. Any help is greatly appreciated thanks.

MCaldwell

a little late, but I started with a Raleigh m700 (very beginner bike) and slowly upgraded (starting with the fork) and eventually to a whole new bike. But the bike had a stock rockshox fork on it and I found a Marzocchi z1 sport fork almost brandnew on Craigslist and upgraded very easily. and transfered it to my new frame when I got it. so what does it entail? I am no expert so look this up online as well.

but first off you need to measure your steertube (the hollowed out cylinder that holds the fork) measure the width and the length and find a fork that matches (if the fork is longer you can cut the tube down) once you have a corresponding fork. you will need to remove the old fork by taking off the headset, then the fork should slide out, bearings and all. I recommend getting your LBS (local bike store) to repack your bearings for you/get new ones since they are most likely worn. Then you simply reinstall everything. This is the short gist of it. in essence, with a little research, its not hard at all. I did about 3 months after getting into mtb. so its fairly simple. If you have more specific questions ask me and I will elaborate. also check out parktool.com they have detailed step by step repairs for anything on a bike. try looking for related forums on MTBR. I know for a fact ive asked almost the identical question when i changed mine. good luck, and again ask me if you have specific questions. Also, pics of bike?

sortafast

Not entirely right. You want to remove the stem, not the head set. Headset is press fit into the frame and if you take it out it can be a pain to get back in with out a headset press.

Only other thing you will have to do is remove the bearing race from the old fork to put on the new fork. You will probably also have to put in a Star nut, but you LBS should be able to do this.

as for fork options, the Tora is a good middle of the road fork. It doesn't flex as much as the dart and I think its a bit more plush. But if you can get the Recon I would. A nice fork is something that my bikes are never with out. It can make your bike ride sooo much better. I can see what I fork for, if you want.