Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Help with upgrading front fork

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Help with upgrading front fork

Old 07-02-22, 06:10 PM
  #1  
Eagleboi
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2022
Posts: 1
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Help with upgrading front fork

I have a huffy nighthawk from which ik is not a good mountain bike but I’m trying to upgrade it into a pretty good hard tail for trail riding. My next upgrade for it is going to the the front fork. Idk what kind of fork it is and I’ve heard that it is hard to find replacement for it and I’m wondering if it’s true. The current fork is a kolo 4200
Eagleboi is offline  
Old 07-02-22, 07:29 PM
  #2  
cxwrench
Senior Member
 
cxwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767

Bikes: lots

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times in 1,489 Posts
Front fork you say? I wouldn't bother upgrading the fork on that bike. I'm quite sure that the frame isn't strong enough for real trail riding and any decent fork you find will cost more than the bike. I just looked online real quick and that thing sells for $125-150. Don't bother spending any money on it, sell it and buy a real bike.
cxwrench is offline  
Likes For cxwrench:
Old 07-02-22, 08:19 PM
  #3  
dedhed
SE Wis
 
dedhed's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,516

Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970

Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2731 Post(s)
Liked 3,355 Times in 2,034 Posts
What you'll spend upgrading that bike you can be in a good used name brand bike
dedhed is online now  
Old 07-03-22, 08:57 AM
  #4  
veganbikes
Clark W. Griswold
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,274

Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4251 Post(s)
Liked 3,862 Times in 2,578 Posts
Like cxwrench said it is not worth it. The bike as a whole is a disposable item not worth putting much time and money into. If you are looking to mountain bike there are plenty of excellent bikes out there designed for that purpose this bike was not in the least. Yes you will spend money to get a good mountain bike but I can assure you that money you spend if you spend enough and get the right bike will get you a bike worth owning a long time and riding a lot and even upgrading at points.

Look for something with an air fork rather than coil springs (generally) and find something with Shimano Deore and above or SRAM NX and above, look for hydraulic disc brakes and if you have the budget a dropper post is quite nice but don't try and cram too much into a tiny budget. The more you add to a bike the more expensive it becomes or the lower the quality becomes. Go to an actual bike shop, wally mart and similar box stores are not bike shops they have no mechanics and even if they assemble bikes on site that word assembly is used pretty loosely and they aren't looking over the bikes at point of sale or really at any point, they are churning them out quickly as they get paid by the bike in a lot of cases so taking your time and doing it right is just not part of the program. Even if they did the parts that come on it are disposable they aren't designed to work well or last they are designed to be as cheap as possible.

If you are really on a super tight budget find a local bike co-op and see if they have anything you can help restore or find someone maybe at your local shop who can help consult for money or food or beer or something and find an older bike that is in good shape.
veganbikes is offline  
Old 07-04-22, 07:35 AM
  #5  
BobbyG
Senior Member
 
BobbyG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,959

Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1359 Post(s)
Liked 1,658 Times in 822 Posts
+1 bike co-op
BobbyG is offline  
Old 07-04-22, 10:26 AM
  #6  
70sSanO
Senior Member
 
70sSanO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 5,768

Bikes: 1986 Cannondale SR400 (Flat bar commuter), 1988 Cannondale Criterium XTR, 1992 Serotta T-Max, 1995 Trek 970

Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1935 Post(s)
Liked 2,148 Times in 1,312 Posts
As others have said, you are spending money on a bike that is not high quality. There is a difference between an older quality 26” mtb and cheap 26” mtb.

If you are upgrading just for the sake of it. Don’t waste your time on a new fork. A co-op is a good idea. Unfortunately cheap higher quality vintage forks in excellent condition are no longer throw aways. And maintenance is an issue.

Keep riding your Huffy and keep your eye out for a good 10 year old, or so, 29er. Mtb’s have changed so much in recent times that older, but not yet “vintage” bikes are not in as much demand, pandemic issues aside.

Most stuff goes from a cheap people no longer wanting it to a highly nostalgic expensive collectible, you just need to get one when it has fallen out of favor.

John
70sSanO is offline  
Old 07-04-22, 11:07 AM
  #7  
Iride01 
I'm good to go!
 
Iride01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 14,800

Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020

Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6099 Post(s)
Liked 4,730 Times in 3,260 Posts
Forks are expensive. Frames are cheap. I'd also just look for another bike that is already what you want it to be.

Welcome to BF.
Iride01 is offline  
Old 07-04-22, 12:48 PM
  #8  
kap 7
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Mishawaka, Indiana
Posts: 108

Bikes: 2007 Specialized Hardrock XC

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 52 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 7 Posts
I agree with everyone else. Just for fun I read customer reviews of this bike on Walmart. There were a lot of good reviews but an alarming amount of bad ones... Really bad.. like catastrophic failure of wheels over the smallest of bumps . Overall complaints about quality from top to bottom. And many times these were happening the bike was basically still brand new!
kap 7 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.