Crosslink vs traditional forks?

[Vance_in_AK]

As mentioned in another post I may be reforking my '01 (or '02) Razorback Team.  I use it maily for fast XC trail riding, some technical XC, & an occassional race.  No big drops or anything.
For some reason I've always wanted to try a pair of the Crosslinks.
How do they compare with "modern" fork designs?
Thanks guys.

[orange]

Biggest difference I notice is there is no lateral flex compared even to relatively modern forks. Not experienced enough to say much more than that!

[willem]

You may get a bazillion opinions on this, and maybe not. In any case it's a great question...

Light! With disk brake tabs my XLink Elite forks ran 2.70 pounds.

Stiff!! Almost zero lateral flex. You better know where you want to go because they turn like very stiff non-suspension forks. Right now!

Short travel... If you get just the right shock and tweak 'em just so, you can get 3".

Divey... is that a word? Hit the brakes and they tend to dive a little more than sliders. I was never able to tune this out, but some of our experts here can guide you on that.

Tunable. You can get air shocks, brain shocks, springs and oil dampers, or go super light with urethane bumpers. Lots of options when the "guts" are open to play with.

Rebuildable. Fun to tinker with.

For lightweight riders. At 210# I could never get satisfactorily set up.

Try 'em. It's worth the price of entry.

Cool. Well at least I think so.

[orange]

I would agree with Willem on most of those points.

[Matno]

Willem brings up a couple of good points:

1) They don't work so well for heavy riders

2) They're very stiff (torsionally).

However, if you're not a heavy rider, fork flex is minimally noticeable on ANY fork, so you don't really win either way. There is a sweet spot though, but not having experimented with Crosslinks much myself, I'm not sure where it is.

Modern "slider" forks are so awesome that the only reason I can think of to go with a linkage fork is if you really like the unique look. For ride characteristics, I think you'd be happier with something made in the new millenium. I've always been a big fan of Manitou's damping systems, though their bushings tend to loosen up quicker than most. (Not an issue if you buy a new fork every 2-3 yrs, and they tend to be cheaper than some comparable brands...) Fox is undoubtedly as good as or better than anything out there (and I WANT ONE!), but way too pricey.

In my opinion, even more important than the shock quality itself is how the fork reacts to bumps and braking on downhill runs. If your technical XC riding doesn't include steep descents, you may be fine with a Crosslink, but I've gone over the handlebars a few too many times with forks that dive to be comfortable with one.

[shovelon]

I'll try to keep this short.

I was never happy with my carbon crosslink with smartshock. Too heavy and the battery would drain after a month.  Not until the seals blew and I had no damping did I like it. I tend to like my front stiff enough to not bob on climbs and negate J-path dive, but need fast action for descents. The dive problem I was able to counter by reversing the legs for more rake.


My wife has a carbon crosslink on her bike, with an NR1, and I have to say I REEEEAAAALY like it. The key is that it too has blown seals. We stiffened the spring for no bobs on climbs, and it is still fast on descents. 3 inches of travel(well really 2.5) seams to be enought for her.

One of my buddies has a K2 4000 Waybig with a crosslink elite(also blown seal) and he loves it. The lenght of the Waybig frame offsets the J-path dive he gets when braking.

My advise is don't spend too much on a crosslink, and leave some funds to upgrade later if you want.

[keith]

What would you class as a heavy rider,I'm 12 stone and I never got on with girvin forks,sure they steered sharper than traditional forks but they were never as plush.I much prefer a traditional setup

[willem]

Dude... 168#! You're a stick!

Unless stones went the way of the pound sterling, you're a light guy. A 200# spring will give you lot's of travel and very little sag.

You could probably get by with a 180# spring.

(These numbers are for XLink Elites and probably the carbons... not sure if they apply equally to the earlier Vectors.)

[Vance_in_AK]

Thanks for all the help guys.
By the sound of it I'll maybe keep my eyes open for a steal on a crosslink, but other than that I'll look for a standard fork if I upgrade.  My wife's Razorback (A '98? with probably less thaan 100 miles) has a Crosslink on it but the frame is a small so I can't play with it enough to know what I think. Guess I could swap forks with her someday for fun though ....

[orange]

I picked up 2 sets of Crosslinks a year ago for about $80 each off Ebay from different sellers. They do come up quite often.

[wylyman]

buy a Fox Float air you wont regret it!  The talas version would be even better.

[Thunderchild]

Maintenance can be an issue.  I have owned three Girvins.  Riding in Oregon (in the mud alot) I had to do a bit of maintenance on the bearings and would wear out the seals that sandwiched the bearings.  I have not owned any of the dark annodized/painted versions, so maybe they a bit better?  

Overall I put more more time into the Girvins than I have ever put into my three Marzocchis.  I do all the work on my Marzocchis including oil, seals, etc. (I have inspected, but haven't had to replace any of the bearings in any of the three so far).    

Thunderchild

[orange]

here's one in the UK:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260144394882&ru=http://search.ebay.co.uk:80/260144394882_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40QQfviZ1

[Carbon_Angus]

i think you can't go wrong either way.

the j-path blues can be scary and they tend to bob a lot on up hill climbs in small front ring. even when trying not to put pressure on the bars.

that said for xc/washboard/light they are still a sweet ride.

i cured "most" of the j-path problem by going up to a waybig size. i'm too chicken to invert my forks like Terry did. and still ride V brakes on the one x~link I have.