Low cost Down Hill Triple Crown Fork

[macribs]

Came across a DH fork I never heard of on Aliexpress. It is 2015 Zoom 680 DH. Made from magnesium alloy.
Priced currently from 140$ a piece. At this price I feel I must share this as it might be the best deal for a triple crown fork I've seen.
And for the price I would say people that consider pit bike forks or motox should rather take a look at this DH fork - for the price it is certainly worth a shot. If it should not work for you I am sure you could easily sell it locally, probably with a small mark up too

• Oil and Gas Fork (Air Resilience/Oil Damping)
• 180mm travel
• Weight is 3.5 kilo
• 20mm through axle

 

[Animalector]

they're not bad... I bought a set because of the price. They were advertised as "with rebound damping adjustment" but they have none. so while they are damped, you can't adjust the rebound so they rebound 'very' fast and top out pretty baddly.

probably be ok for bumming around on the street. but don't go downhill on it, you'll crash from lack of handling.

Andy

 

[MadRhino]

There is no magic in this world.
When someone is selling you a complete DH fork for the price of one good stanchion, or a complete FS bike for the price of a good brake, you need to ask yourself on what did he managed to shave. Then you see that it is printed "not to be used for DH riding" :wink:

I wouldn't fit a pitbike fork on my bikes even if it was free, but I can go as cheap and heavy as an old Marz Monster T in fair condition for 300$. That is a boat anchor but at least, it does the job and very reliably.

 

[cwah]

So worth it or not?

 

[ridethelightning]

sbscribed

 

[macribs]

So worth it or not?

Well it seems that people who have tried the fork is not super impressed. It is no way near a DH fork. The fork does not have adjustable rebound. But fork is light weight triple clamp air/oil fork, it looks cool and seems to work decent for street riding.

And who knows, maybe there are some DIY tweaks and mods that can bring the fork into another league?
For the price it might be worth testing out. But I guess for better performance spend another 50$ or a 100$ extra and get yourself a Rockshoc TK solo Air or similar well known brand with lots of reviews so you know what you buy into. Or be on a look out for great deals on well known high quality forks. You'd be surprised how many people actually switch gears like forks every year or two.

 

[MadRhino]

So worth it or not?

Nope, unless you are a cruiser. This is cosmetic upgrade to pimp a street cruiser pedal bike.

If you ride fast and/or hard, this is a potential killer. 1st quality we are looking for is safety: A fork that will never break dramaticly, sending you face first painting the pavement. Someone at Zoom said "Hey these guys are selling forks 1000's of $, we can make one that looks exactly like theirs for very cheap." A good stanchion can resist a hard hit (like a square pothole at 50 Mph), that is why we pay them 150$ ea. A complete fork for that price, is nothing more than a fork shaped object.

Then, lots of people are riding bike shaped objects everyday, but they don't go fast.

 

[Punx0r]

I'm sure Zoom are the company who make the cheasy 50mm steel pogo-stick forks found on BSOs with a 1" threaded steer. I had one

 

[macribs]

I am sure it can't be flat out dangerous to use that fork. I mean when using magnesium alloy and still weigh in at 3+kilo's there must be some dimension and sturdyness in those stanchions. They must be pretty bad designed to just collapse with just street riding. And even if they do try to make it in the low end market, selling a death trap would be bad for business.

 

[rider95]

Been running a set since last yr have a lot of time on them mine doesn't top out or pogo tracks straight across the tree roots which is why I wanted the 20mm axles , They were cheap double crown 20mm axles says right on them not for DH or Free ride and they work pretty good and there still on my bike .

 

[Ohbse]

I like the term fork shaped object, it really captures the essence of these quite well. This is a product to imitate the look of a high end DH fork. It will not replicate the function of the suspension, the durability, serviceability or strength of the original. The fact that there's a disclaimer about suitable use means that it has not been tested in those circumstances. An ebike is much faster and much heavier than most bikes. You want some peace of mind. I sure hope you're not planning on putting one of these on your bike macribs?

I recently crashed into a car (thanks to the actions of the driver, this was unavoidable) and severely bent my front wheel. I sent off the fork for inspection, measurement and a rebuild and it checked out perfectly. I can guarantee that would not be the case with the Zoom fork. It would likely have failed catastrophically and I'm sure I would not have fared so well.

I replaced my wheel, the car ended up replacing both passenger doors and wing mirror.

 

[Overclocker]

i believe this label says "not for DH"

 

[MadRhino]

Been running a set since last yr have a lot of time on them mine doesn't top out or pogo tracks straight across the tree roots which is why I wanted the 20mm axles , They were cheap double crown 20mm axles says right on them not for DH or Free ride and they work pretty good and there still on my bike .

Well, just don't trust on them to ride fast. Repeated small hits will result in fatigue and failure, sooner or later.
The size of the axle is not the only feature to look for. DH rated 20mm axles cost 20$ to 50$ to produce in Asia, and sold for 55$ to 125$ online. I mean those that are proved safe to hit repeatedly. Do you believe they are selling a fork that cheap with such an axle ? Add a good steer tube and they would cost half the selling price of the whole fork already.

Just one example, a very popular DH axle, not the best.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/marzocchi-axle-66-888/rp-prod24807

I'd prefer to ride with an old, scratched and ugly, yet a real DH fork. For the sake of my skin and bones. :wink:
.

 

[Ykick]

Macribs - do you actually own and ride an eBike?

 

[dogman dan]

Lost me at Zoom, no need to read the labels.

 

[rider95]

I most likely have more time on them then anybody on here and almost all it on trails bought mine for under $200 took 6mos riding to get them broke in when new they was soo stiff price was right , double crown, 20mm axle fork, not bad at all for a $200 fork got em on my bike now as I drive down to deep woods KY to ride for two days . But will be upgrading soon to a set of Rock shocks or bombers because I just want too

 

[Hillhater]

Bit hard to slag off an item that you have never used or even seen in the flesh ! :?
No one said it was a top spec, super strong proven race winner ......just a cheap TC fork that looks the part !
..and would work just fine for most leasure cyclists??? Ebikes included.
And isn't "looking the part" ... What 90% of modern bike gear is all about???
EG;- wearing gaudy colour racing Lycra !, cruiser bikes, carbon frames, etc etc.

 

[rider95]

Yep they look bad ass too big beefy got a few comments how as one kid put it neat looking my bike is the bike shop guys just stare at it looking confused . But really for the money you can,t go wrong .

 

[DAND214]

What no link? How can we check it out?

Dan

 

[Overclocker]

so i picked one up used. really cheap. just to see what it's all about. apparently i over torqued the pinch bolts so i either need a torque wrench or the magnesium is really brittle

this one i got has coil springs on both legs. no damper. so yes it's a pogo stick

verdict: if you're looking for a cheap DUAL-CROWN spend just a little bit more for an RST R-One and skip this Zoom crap. the bottom of the range R-One inappropriately called the "Pro" has a rebound adjustable damper on one leg, and overall better quality (yes i've disassembled both forks). fwiw this fork is used on the Stealth electric bikes, just don't know which particular variant. the more expensive R1's have both compression and rebound adjustments.

ps to reiterate it's dual-crown, not a horse race

 

[ecycler]

so i either need a torque wrench or the magnesium is really brittle

I believe they are that brittle and chitty. Shearing the forks off speeding down a large hill sounds like a terrible way to look cool with dual crowns.

 

[MadRhino]

We can see in the pic, the poor quality casting with cavities and cracks. Mg is quite standard for fork lowers, and safe when casted properly. High end racing fork lowers are scanned for porosity imperfections before approval, and it is very unusual to break one other than in a violent crash.

 

[ecycler]

If my rockshox or marzocchi dual crowns broke like that when tightening the forks, I would not be a happy camper. Anyone brave enough to run this cheap stuff should really check their hardware (and brain) daily to make sure they are not a stress crack away from certain disaster.

 

[Lurkin]

I picked up a set of rst-one forks new, for aud200. difference in price easily offset by potential future medical bills.

 

[hydro-one]

RST =low end but apparently used on the (low end?)stealth bikes.....zoom, now thats walmart low end -stay away from that !!!!

if you want a good fork stay away from rock cocks(roxshokz), and manipoo(manitoo) too.....lol

i would listen to mad-rhino on this.....

you want a good mazocchi bomber , and i dont mean a comp mx......something rated for dh or freeride would be best.

trust me once you ride a good set of forks you wont ever go back, its so flickable and buttery

you get what you pay for . i had 5000miles on my 66rc , gave it to my brother-0 still good.....got a set of jr t's for 175 shipped and rode 5000miles on them, they are screwed up because i forgot some parts when i rebuilt them but i couldnt ask for a better ride, unless it was fox 40's(my next fork).....i bought these all used btw.. worth its wieght in gold

i havea friend who spent 3 weeks inthe hospitol after his steertube (aluminum not steel as he was advised) broke and sent the bottom of the fork into his face ripping apart his lower jaw and also shearing half his nose off. for real!! he is a trials rider and equipment is pretty important to these quys and they dont even hit 10kmh....




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