Rock Shox Mag21 - Worth it as a suspension fork?

[letmetalktomark]

I know BITD the Mag21 was quite well regarded.

Looking at the possibility of adding a sus fork to a 1993 frame and the Mag21 seems to fit the age bill okay.

But are they really any good?

 

[mikee]

they're okay , take the sting out of things
bit flexy too

hard to say , comparing to newer forks they are rubbish ,but thats not the point is it
i have a couple of bikes with them on and they do what they're supposed to
try and get a long travel kitted pair (60 odd mill ) they seem to
be better damped

 

[merckx]

when freshly serviced and nice new oil they work ok. they definately are very flexy though, the brace is not much chop, and the threads for the bolts can strip out easily..i had to heli coil mine bitd. they suffer a lot from stiction, it takes a big hit to break the initital seal grip. all things aside though, they are a pretty cool fork, and they really do look good, on all sorts of vintage mtb they just look right...

 

[Drencrom]

when freshly serviced and nice new oil they work ok. they definately are very flexy though, the brace is not much chop, and the threads for the bolts can strip out easily..i had to heli coil mine bitd. they suffer a lot from stiction, it takes a big hit to break the initital seal grip. all things aside though, they are a pretty cool fork, and they really do look good, on all sorts of vintage mtb they just look right...

+1

 

[letmetalktomark]

Hmm.

I am definitely heavier than I was back in 1993 so perhaps I might need to give these a miss

Manitou any stiffer?

 

[Drencrom]

Hmm.

I am definitely heavier than I was back in 1993 so perhaps I might need to give these a miss

Manitou any stiffer?

It's that old chestnut - what sort of riding and how often? I'm definitely heavier than I was when I first had a pair BITD, but I also used to hammer them. I'm not likely to do that with the Mag 21's I've got these days, I'll save the hard riding for the more modern bikes I ride.

 

[Neil G]

Manitou of the same era (2/3) flexy as f**k as well and elsatomers are rubbishunless your riding in warm conditions.

 

[Drencrom]

Manitou of the same era (2/3) flexy as f**k as well and elsatomers are rubbishunless your riding in warm conditions.

In which case it's Bottom-Out City if you're anymore than flyweight. They look cool though.

 

[drcarlos]

Err no, i run a set of Mani2's and I'm just under 16 stone, they don't flex as much as the Mags and don't bottom out. This was the main reason why I bought them all the way back in '93. They don't have the smoothness and travel of a set of Mags though.
I recently tried a set of TF Tuned Mag 10's on a friends bike and these were way more flexi than my Mani's and they could be bottomed out quite easily.

BITD the reviews I read said that the Mags and Zocchis (XC400's) were very flexible but were smoother and had more travel but the Manitous were less flexi and went where you pointed but were not as good at absorbing bumps.
I test rode all 3, found the same and had the XC400's on my CB swapped to Mani2's.

Lets face it though none of the forks from back then were much good, there was nothing great IMO until the Z1's came out in 1996.

Carl.

 

[Drencrom]

Lets face it though none of the forks from back then were much good, there was nothing great IMO until the Z1's came out in 1996.

Carl.

I'd happily agree with that. I'll hammer my '96 Z1's all day long and they still keep on going. That was an amazing ride, the first time with Bombers.