Freeride Forks

[GRIM]

I am looking at getting new Forks for my Santa Cruz Bullit, the choices are;

Marzocchi 66RC
Manitou Sherman Slider Plus
manitou Sherman Firefly Plus

The first two sound great but the last one concerns me that there would not be enough travel. What does everyone think?

[kalem]

Them 66 forks be very tall, if you wanna slack the bike out a bit then great but just be aware its very tall for it's travel.

[Daver]

Why not consider a Boxxer or even a Super T? From my experience they suit the Bullits extremely well. A Boxxer Ride would be perfect if you want an all day/enduro bike, and if you want something lighter but still stiff i'd have a look at the Manitou Nixon (140mm of travel but still light).

66s are pretty tall as well as very hefty, not so good if you want the bike to be able to be ridden all day. The Shermans are a bit lighter, but the SPV might not be the best thing if you move towards DH. I ran Boxxers, Monster Ts, Fox forx and Psylos on my bullit and i thought that the best balenced ride was given by the Boxxers, as they were still light yet super plush.

That said, i'd kill to have a Cove Playmate or G-spot with 66s, i can see it being a great throw around bike, yet the weight would be substancially more than my current DH bike (Peeler w/ Dorados).

[freeride_this]

hey dude,
i have a ' 04 santa cruz bullit also, and i just ordered an 05 boxxer team for it. for a while ive had the marzocchi z150's (150mm of singlecrown travel) on and in order for racing or even hard freeriding, something bigger will work way better. however, if you have a bullit that dosent have the reenforced steerer/top/down tube then santa cruz sais you shouldent go bigger than 15cm of travel.. i think thats only on the models below '03 tho.

[BS]

i ride Jr T's on my gemini now. i recently had a look around for better feeling forks. i found that the Boxers are said to give a better ride, but are heavier. the shermans are lighter, but not as high, so the geometry was out. if you want a single crown, try and ride a pair of 666's. i think they're heavier than the shermans though.

[Daver]

i ride Jr T's on my gemini now. i recently had a look around for better feeling forks. i found that the Boxers are said to give a better ride, but are heavier. the shermans are lighter, but not as high, so the geometry was out. if you want a single crown, try and ride a pair of 666's. i think they're heavier than the shermans though.

You need to examine that statement and then consider your name. Boxxers are .5 pound lighter than jr Ts, and the 05s are the same margin lighter than 66s.

[rtd]

I also have a Bullit. I run Boxxers, and they feel great. Once put a set of EXR supra's (130mm) on and didnt like the feel. That said, I think either the Sherman sliders or 66rc's would be the go.

[DW-1]

I am looking at getting new Forks for my Santa Cruz Bullit, the choices are;

Marzocchi 66RC
Manitou Sherman Slider Plus
manitou Sherman Firefly Plus

The first two sound great but the last one concerns me that there would not be enough travel. What does everyone think?

Fox 36 in 3 weeks.

Elvis.

[kemmo]

I ride a bullit & have had the super T's on it for 2 years now.
Very nice balance, they work well & they havn't stuffed up.
You just cant go past the Marzocchi's...........

[BS]

considering Daver's comments, the boxers look like a good option. also considering my obvious lack of up to date product knowledge, your best bet is to not listen to me and try to ride each one to pick the one that you feel best on.

[Juls]

Alright,

there is a bit of misinterpretation here

66RC is in fact LIGHTER than all of the forks mentioned here, Bar the Firefly and the Fox 36.

The firefly is a lightweight Titanium coiled All Mountain fork, not really a high end Freeride fork, and a Fox 36 is "Air Sprung" It has no coils, While still very FR ish, it has Wind down gizmo's ect which means it's more All Mountain/Trail than outright insane Freeride. (36RC 2400 Grams) (Firefly around 2300 Grams)

the 66RC comes in a 2810 Grams in 7 inch version, both Boxxer race and team are 3360 Grams (the WC is lighter) the Slider Plus is almost 3100 Grams, The 04 Super T comes in at 2965

on the other side of looking at it.

the race (top of crown) to Axle on a 170mm 66RC is 595MM, while the Super T is around 575, The funny thing is the 888RC 170mm is actually 575mm axle to race so a 888RC with a crown kit could come down to 550mm if you needed it to.

The Slider PLus is 540mm!! thats almost 2.5 inches difference over the 66RC, make sure that going either way isn't going to stuff up your ride.

I don't have any measurements on the Boxxers, But I believe them to be in between, however consider the boxxers are 8 inch primarily.

really look at your riding style, and what you want as far as weight and head angle is concerned. Then make a informed decision.

My choice is still 66RC, but you really have to decide what works on your bike.. and under your hands.

Keep in mind if you choose too shorter fork, it will dive heavily under severe compressions, and could cause some nasty over the bar episodes.

Kind regards
Juls

[fatnold]

i just got a bike with fox 36's on it. i'm not convinced by the air spring yet. may take some fiddling.