I ordered a 100mm travel 29er Bomber Z2 fork to put on my Surly Lowside. After I install the fork I check the head angle to see if it's where I want it to be.
Has Fox internals, but these Z2s are known to be shipped without foam rings. Curious if you ever take yours apart what you find. My Z2 did not brand new. It wasn't until my lower service that I found out.
There’s still some good clearance sales on the Fox forks. Jenson has the bomber for under $300. I bought a Fox 34 AWL which is similar but optimized for e-bike and put it on my Turbo Tero and I’m really happy with it. As far as cutting steerer, I wasn’t quite sure and put 30mm of spacers under the bar. It seems fine right now and I guess if I put a different set of bars I may end up with one 5-10mm spacer on top. That should be ok though.
Two points about the steerer: manufacturers recommend space below around max. 30mm. And higher bars is more "reach neutral" than placing stem up and down the steerer.
Yes, Surly makes others. If I want a suspension corrected one I could get a Karate Monkey fork. There are a couple others that match the 420mm axle to crown of the Lowside fork, but they are straight.
I have several older Bombers and have restored them .Fox internals in Marzocchi of today is cheap cost cutting .I don't like Fox forks of today as they are Taiwanese junk .
Very good point about the safety aspect of spacers above the stem. Look forward to your opinions regarding bottom bracket height and also seat tube angle. Is the old 73 degree seat tube angle not good anymore?
73 degrees became more challenging when bikes started getting longer. So as the front end gets longer the seat angle should get a little steeper. I do however feel that having it extremely steep, like 77 and 78 like you see of some bikes puts your knees too far forward over and past the pedals and that's not good for power or your knees for longer distances. 75 and 76 seem like a good sweet spot to me.
So do you think front of knee in line with pedal spindle should still apply or not possible with steeper seat angle ? Knops I think the theory is called and probably more of a road bike thing.@@ShadLife
For longer rides it is. That's the reason it's important for road bikes, you are seated and pedalling for long periods of time so it's important to have the fit just right to prevent negative side effects. For mountain biking, if you are standing a lot and not doing longer rides on mostly flatter terrain, or like in the case of enduro type riding you are climbing up a hill just so you can go down, it's not as big of a deal. This is why enduro bikes tend to have the steeper seat tube angle. But most XC bikes don't.
Just got a zbomber 150mm Z2 for 220
Has Fox internals, but these Z2s are known to be shipped without foam rings. Curious if you ever take yours apart what you find. My Z2 did not brand new. It wasn't until my lower service that I found out.
The foam rings are not a huge deal and if/when I have them serviced they will get the rings.
Mine didnt have the foam rings in it. When i serviced it I installed some then,
Why do these foam rings matter?
Fox has cut prices on everything, shocks,forks,and dropper post. FYI those volume spacers come with all Fox Air forks and the same ones.
So do you like the bomber z2 more then the DVO diamond?
No, the DVO Diamond is a nicer fork with more adjustability. The Z2 is amazing for its price.
There’s still some good clearance sales on the Fox forks. Jenson has the bomber for under $300. I bought a Fox 34 AWL which is similar but optimized for e-bike and put it on my Turbo Tero and I’m really happy with it.
As far as cutting steerer, I wasn’t quite sure and put 30mm of spacers under the bar. It seems fine right now and I guess if I put a different set of bars I may end up with one 5-10mm spacer on top. That should be ok though.
Must be watched at 1.75 speed....
And the box doubles as a drum
Two points about the steerer: manufacturers recommend space below around max. 30mm. And higher bars is more "reach neutral" than placing stem up and down the steerer.
Yes, exactly my point.
Are there other rigid fork options the Low Side could take? Maybe one that is straight instead of that curved one it comes with.
Yes, Surly makes others. If I want a suspension corrected one I could get a Karate Monkey fork. There are a couple others that match the 420mm axle to crown of the Lowside fork, but they are straight.
Looking sweet!
I have several older Bombers and have restored them .Fox internals in Marzocchi of today is cheap cost cutting .I don't like Fox forks of today as they are Taiwanese junk .
Pretty much all forks come from Taiwan. There are a couple of exceptions, but most bicycle parts are made in Taiwan.
I just ordered a bomber z2 in 120 mm to upgrade from my current Rock Shox recon! I am hoping for improvement,….
It will be much improved. It is easy to set up and the rail adjustment is super nice! It has a wide range of adjustability.
First ride on the bomber z2 120mm. Big improvement over the Rock Shox recon!
Nice!!
Just ordered mine! Can’t wait!
I wonder if you could put a grip 2 damper in a marzocchi fork knowing they use the same damper setups
You can on the Z1
Very good point about the safety aspect of spacers above the stem.
Look forward to your opinions regarding bottom bracket height and also seat tube angle.
Is the old 73 degree seat tube angle not good anymore?
73 degrees became more challenging when bikes started getting longer. So as the front end gets longer the seat angle should get a little steeper. I do however feel that having it extremely steep, like 77 and 78 like you see of some bikes puts your knees too far forward over and past the pedals and that's not good for power or your knees for longer distances.
75 and 76 seem like a good sweet spot to me.
So do you think front of knee in line with pedal spindle should still apply or not possible
with steeper seat angle ?
Knops I think the theory is called and probably more of a road bike thing.@@ShadLife
For longer rides it is. That's the reason it's important for road bikes, you are seated and pedalling for long periods of time so it's important to have the fit just right to prevent negative side effects.
For mountain biking, if you are standing a lot and not doing longer rides on mostly flatter terrain, or like in the case of enduro type riding you are climbing up a hill just so you can go down, it's not as big of a deal. This is why enduro bikes tend to have the steeper seat tube angle. But most XC bikes don't.