Netdewt

Does it make any sense to retrofit a suspension fork onto an old bike? I have a 1996 Rockhopper, all static, steel, nothing special really. I went trail riding with friends last weekend (haven't used the bike since I was a kid), and not having front suspension was BRUTAL.

The forks they put on the current Rockhoppers (I know they are for 29" rather than 26") are like $200. Is that worthwhile to look into? How would I get one that fits if so?

roccobike

Assuming you are correct about the year of the Rockhopper you have two things going for you, 1. the bike has a 1 1/8 headset which opens up a world of fork possibilities (check this to make sure) and 2. The geometry of that bike was set up for a suspension fork. Also, there are a very large number of forks availabe for 26" wheel bikes.
Now, here's the downsides 1. Although designed for a suspension fork, it was not designed for a 100mm or larger fork which dominate the market. Not a deal killer, but keep this in mind. Your bike was designed for a 60 to 80 mm fork. But it will probably work with a 100mm, but it will affect handling. 2. To make this financially sound you should do all the work yourself. If you've not worked on bikes, it's going to cost to go to an LBS. 3. You want to keep the cost of the fork down, I'd recommend used, late, better models, others will disagree and recommend low end new forks. Going high end new with that bike is just not practical. 4. Before you do anything, what type of headset do you have, threaded or threadless? If it's a threaded, add another $30 to $50 to update to a threadless headset.
I think you can see, adding a fork to this bike for something that keeps the price down to reasonable has it's limitations.

bikeme

Like what roccobike said. Just want to add that a fork that is too long will slack out/lessen your head angle. This make your bike less twitchy descending but slower handling in twisty single track (as an example). It will also make the bike climb poorer as your weight is higher and shifted back. I added a mild-length 80mm Rockshock Judy SL to a 1990 Fisher Paragon (not made for suspension at all) and really messed it up. I had to try 3 diff stems to get the climbing back. Personally, i'd keep the bike as is from a collectible standpoint.

NoTrail

There are some options for a 26" with only 80mm of travel (this is what I would recommend too). Here's just the ones from Rockshox, many of them can be adjusted to run either 80 or 100.

• Rockshox XC 30 TK
• Rockshox XC 32 TK
• Rockshox 30 Gold TK
• Rockshox Recon Gold
• Rockshox Recon Silver TK
• Rockshox Recon Gold TK
• Rockshox Reba RL
• Rockshow Reba RLT
• Rockshox SID RLT
• Rockshox SID XX
• Rockshox SID XX World Cup

If I had your bike, I'd look at the 'XC' or '30' line of forks.

roccobike

I agree with the two additional posts. I like the less expensive RockShox for this conversion. Very Good brand, but the XC30 is budget priced. OP, be sure to check the head on that bike that it is a 1 1/8 head. Your steel framed Rockhopper with a rigid fork didn't show up in bike pedia, (steel is there but with a sus fork) but that source isn't always accurate. Before you do anything, confirm the size of that head.
Hope all the information we've added here helps.

Netdewt

I think I was wrong. It's a 1997 and looks exactly like this one.



I noticed the XC Rockshox. I'd much rather spend $200 than buy a new hard tail. The bike mostly sits in my garage because I don't know what to use it for.

cobba

$200 and with better dampers then the Rockshox XC's: https://www.pricepoint.com/Brand/Mani...Disc-Fork.axd?