Retro suspension recommendations...

[Nothin-fancy]

I just picked up a 95-96 Norco Team Issue frame and I'm super stoked about it. I know it originally came with a suspension fork but I'm unsure of what kind and Im assuming it came with something in the 80-100mm range.

I currently have a rebuilt Manitou Comp with 80mm of travel on it. I'm thinking I want to put something else retro on it that's a little bit nicer.

Anybody have any recommendations for a retro fork in the 80-100mm of travel that you can still get part's for that doesn't cost an arm and a leg or is unobtanium? I tried using the search function to see if there was some sort of master list of forks that work decently and you can still get part's for and didn't find anything. I know there's the SRP guys and the guys making the elastomer's online as far as part's go. So I'm just wondering what the brain trust here recommends?

 

[Prodigal Son]

Judy.

 

[Nothin-fancy]

I should have put that isn't generic and maybe something interesting. But the Judy's are nice.
Is there a version that might be better that I should look for? There's tons of different Judy forks.

 

[ishaw]

I have a set of manitou sx ti forks that are in decent shape and retro. I think parts for these are fairly easy to come by, but having ti springs you don't need to worry about elastomers.

Marzocchi forks always seem to come up when question is asked, parts seem to be available for them and they seem hard wearing and robust.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I have a set of manitou sx ti forks that are in decent shape and retro. I think parts for these are fairly easy to come by, but having ti springs you don't need to worry about elastomers.

Marzocchi forks always seem to come up when question is asked, parts seem to be available for them and they seem hard wearing and robust.

Zocchis are mostly coil. Yes, they are robust but the coil action bothered me at the end of 5yrs w/ it. I had Judys w/ air cartridges and it felt better. I am not saying it is better but it felt better to me. In the end i prefer rigid forks w a 2.4 front tire.

 

[Nothin-fancy]

Thanks for the help. I'm sorry if this comes up a lot. I'm kind of newbie about the mid generation mountain bikes and their suspension. I've just come across some nice riding frames and had an epiphany moment about them. I come from the road side of things and pre 93 MTB and had only rode mass market MTN brands and was always just meh about them.

Also I know from experience that some of the mid 2000's bikes are very obsolete and they don't even make part's or new shocks that will mount on the bike. So that's why I'm asking...

 

[Cloverleaf]

If it's up to 96 then I'd say 80mm is the max travel it would have come with. Z1's were only just launched and Warner was racing some WC's on them, and they were 100mm travel. The Judy DH was 80mm and standard Judy's were 63mm, and the Pace RC36 first gen was 76mm.

If you wanted something that would still ride nice then a set of original '96 Marzocchi Z2, or '97 Z2 BAM's would be a nice fit, or Pace RC36. I suggest these as they're reliable, seals are easily available, and pretty simple internally but they work well. In contrast the equivalent Judy options have dampers which used to blow even when new and for which spares are very NLA, and even seals for them can be a pain.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Congratulations, Team Issue is a great frame. To my knowledge, they were only available as frames, so there is no spec sheet, you can build them up however you want. I'd love to see pictures of you have any

 

[Nothin-fancy]

Congratulations, Team Issue is a great frame. To my knowledge, they were only available as frames, so there is no spec sheet, you can build them up however you want. I'd love to see pictures of you have any

Thanks. It's a really great ride. It definitely rides better than the Serotta MTB I had. So I'm stoked. I was dropping off some nice mavic kyserium road wheels and other goodies at my local co-op and I found it in the back and it was pretty much a steal. It's definitely lived a life and is in worse shape than I prefer when buying a frame. It's got a tiny dent in the top tube but nothing I'm really worried about. I was jumping it 3 feet in the air on to the flat this morning. I figure if it's okay with that, I'm probably fine.
After riding it with the Manitou fork I think I'll just rock that for a bit. It was surprisingly nice. I see a lot of hate online about elastomer shocks, but this works really well for what I ride after rebuilding it with new elastomers etc.

I'll get pictures of it tomorrow when I'm out on the trail again. It's one of those frames that makes you just want to ride all the time.

Here's the build at the moment. Nothing to fancy by today's standards but just nice reliable stuff for a rider.

It's 19inch frame made with Tange Ritchey Logic Prestige tubing and the seat tube has the butte's on the outside which is pretty cool.

Deore xt 737 derailleur's front and rear.
Deore 9 speed shifters running a 11-34 cassette
Deore lx m563 cranks w/Ritchey SPD pedals
Deore lx 563 hubs laced to Mavic 230sbp rims
Ritchey wcs stem w/Ritchey Rizer bars
Avid lever's of some sort w/Deore V's and NOS Gorilla brake beefer's. Probably going to change them out for some Scott Pedersen SE canti's...
An old Deore seat post I polished up and a WTB Speed V Pro Gel saddle
And the Manitou Comp fork

It's a blast on the stuff I I ride which is mostly cross country and climbing flowee single track and bombing fire roads.

 

[Lucidone]

I have some Manitou's similar to these on a bike and like you I initially thought they might not be up to the job - I'm glad to be wrong once again as they ride really well with minimum faff.
Sounds a great bike, looking forward to summer pics!