Early suspension forks

[Mr.Toad]

Manitou 1 or earlier gets my vote.

Back in the day my friends and I valued simplicity over the complex motorcycle cross-over technology due to the ease of maintenance and reliability.

"if you want motorcycle technology ride a motorized bicycle" was a common comment heard around my circles.

 

[FSXStumpy]

JeRkY,

In the publication "Specialized Stumpjumper, 25 Years of Mountain Biking", Specialized claims that they made the first carbon legged suspension fork, so I guess the Pace must have come after. Assuming the claim's true, LOL.

Mombat has Rock Shox making Future Shock forks for Spec. starting in 1992. The FSX is explicitly listed in the '93 season, but it may have been available in '92.

http://mombat.org/Suspension.htm

That Pace fork does look tastey, though...

My first "decent" bumper fork was a pair of Tange Struts. They were OK at best, and I rode'em to death. Liked the air/oil forks due to their better sealed innards. All the elastomer forks I owned died watery deaths.

J

 

[24pouces]

Rock Shox RS1

or the ATZ swiss made fork !

 

[danson67]

Specialized claims that they made the first carbon legged suspension fork, so I guess the Pace must have come after.
Assuming the claim's true, LOL.

Yup, there go those Americans again...Pace RC35 carbon sliders 1989-90. :twisted:
But the Pace ones are carbon wrapped aluminium, so maybe the Specialized claim is for 100% carbon sliders?
I've not had a good look inside any...

All the best,

 

[FSXStumpy]

Neat! I've never seen a Pace in the "wild". And I can attest that the FSX is full carbon sliders, having been inside my pair enough over the years.

Still, as my 210# decends a technical, rocky decent, I'm in awe of this old fork. Never bottoms harshly (I use full stroke regularly, but have never "felt" a clunk), flex seems under control, good braking action with my XT V's, and the powerhanger'd canti's before that. They've been raced, ridden off 4'+ drops, downhilled, and toured for 17 years under me, and a year or 2 under their first owner. I've replaced only a handful of O-rings and the air needle valves in all that time.

J

 

[FluffyChicken]

The 1994 mag21 is superior to the spesh fsx series, they never got the negative spring, the revised porting and probably not the improved bushing and seals. Spesh never made them anyway did they?
The FSX was a 1994 product same as the SL. Before that it was just the standard FS range.

 

[FSXStumpy]

Correct, lacks negative springs, bushings are old-style. I do believe they were a '93 product, though.

The valving isn't super supple on small stuff, but works well med-large hit. Stock rebound was too quick, and benefitted from using 7.5wt oil, in my experience. Specialized tech-dude visiting the shop in '96 gave me a long travel kit and revised damping spring kit that improved the fork markedly, slowing the rebound and allowing me to run 5wt again...

The 21SL was never as pretty.... That must count for something, LOL.

J

 

[M-Power]

Manitou 1s did it for me bitd. Hoping to try a set of 4s when I finally get a steerer long enough.

 

[A_Venables]

I used Rockshox Quadra 5s for about 5 years non stop, they were the budget fork, only 48mm travel but they saw off everything I rode through at that time, the only reason they got changed was due to sloppy bushings in the end, great for what they were. The one I always wanted around that time was a Judy XC, but being a teen could never afford it. I now have a pair in the glorious gold colour which Ive just rebuilt with new springs and a damper from another Judy (SL). Going to try and get it on my old MF, cant wait to finally ride the fork I wanted all those years ago.......

......Just hope Im not disappointed, something says I probably will be. :|

 

[FluffyChicken]

Correct, lacks negative springs, bushings are old-style. I do believe they were a '93 product, though.

The valving isn't super supple on small stuff, but works well med-large hit. Stock rebound was too quick, and benefitted from using 7.5wt oil, in my experience. Specialized tech-dude visiting the shop in '96 gave me a long travel kit and revised damping spring kit that improved the fork markedly, slowing the rebound and allowing me to run 5wt again...

The 21SL was never as pretty.... That must count for something, LOL.

J

Cannot argue with the looks
It's a 1994 'model year' so available late 1993 as with most things. (Mombat is introduced year normally, not model year. But sometimes flicks between them I think depending on what catalogues info they found)

Catalogues are in the archive for Specialised.