Help the unedumacated

[jonny dh]

I'm having this problem with finding the right fork for the job,I've been told several ways I could go but, but I'm just learning the ropes about technical terms when I ask if a 8" fork can go on my 7.3 I get the reply of (it will change the bb or steep) not sure of this terminology,or some say stick with a 7" fork for what I ride which is fr with dh a little more fr I like the drops to jump then i like going fast,Ive been told the toem solo air for one and the other is the boxxer which I've herd that the totems have serious problems on the seals and components braking for the boxxer it was the stonchons lose the agility and become lose, but how about the 66's or the 888'sI'm hoping to narrow this down with your guys knowledge, were you've been their done that, to save myself. any help would be generous thanks.

[mandown]

you need this page
Link (http://www.go-ride.com/WSWrapper.jsp?mypage=RidingTips.htm)

read the articles on the page and it will help you.

your current bike came set up from the factory to feel a certain way. any change you make to the bike is going to change that feel. changing the fork is one of the biggest changes you can make. it will change the quality of the suspension and the geometry of the bike. switching to a taller fork will change the handling (keep in mind that a 6" travel single crown may be as tall as a 7" dual crown with flat crowns - as a general rule, long travel single crowns are taller than dual crowns with the same amount of travel).

raising the front end of the bike raises the bottom bracket height. it is pretty simply to visualize; place a box under the front wheel and leave the back wheel on the ground, you will notice the bottom bracket gets higher. this is good for getting over rocks and obstacles. it is bad because it raises your center of gravity, making handling less stable, notably in corners.

raising the front end also changes the head angle. using the above example, when you put the box under the front wheel of the bike, notice that the angle of the current fork relative to the ground changes. the closer the fork gets to parallel, to the ground, the slacker the angle. this is good when things are steep and when you are going fast. it removes some of the steering sensitivity, meaning you need to turn the bars more to get the same amount of steering effect. this is bad if you are doing slow speed stuff and climbing as the bike will feel difficult to manage.

some people are more sensitive to these geometry changes than others.

forks also feel different depending on the maker and the intended use. the boxxer is designed for racing. the fork tends to be lighter and designed to keep the front wheel glued to the ground, with less concern given to big-hits (not many hucks on the race course). marzo forks tend to be more free-ride oriented with more consideration given to how they handle big hits from jumps and drops. i've seen some bmx guys hit some big stuff on rigid 20" bikes, meaning that the big jumps don't need suspension if the landing is good and groomed. instead, suspension is for sucking up bumps in the road. the more bumps you have on your roads, the more suspension you will probably want. longer travel forks allow you to run more sag, which is the amount of compression on the fork under a static rider load (just sitting on the bike). sag allows the wheel to extend down when the ground drops away on the trail.

ramp up is key. each fork will handle hits differently. some are linear, which means the same amount of force is required to compress the suspension at any point in the travel. other forks are progressive, meaning it gets harder to compress the fork the deeper it sits in its travel. progressive forks are good for big hit riding. linear forks are good for smoother riding. some forks have adjustments letting you control the ramp up (marz does this with an air preload on some forks).

ok, back to work for me...