to those who have or had noleen mega air forks

[bayarearider]

i am considering purchasing on of these.  I was wondering if any of you have had leakage issues with this fork.  Or any other problems that you may have encountered.


please state the year of the fork you used

thanks

[Dave Cepp]

2001 Mega Air. I have to pump the shock up once a week from 55 to 70 psi. Used for 3 full seasons with no seal, wiper, oring replacement. I need to give it some TLC this winter. I have noticed the the stachions are starting to "flake" a little, but no big deal. I am a 210 lb rider who has ridden this shock for 1500 miles now. If this shock had a lockout (for some hard power climbing) it would be the perfect shock. I do only XC riding with little to no jumping (less than 2 feet). I have ridden the fork on 3 adventure races (2- 12hr and 1-24hr race and it worked fine even on the climbing and road sections. It is light (3.1 lbs) and solid. Unfortunately I only can compare it to a Noleen Crosslink fork on my 1998 Proflex 2000 w/ NR1. I am sure there are better performing shocks out there. Good luck!

-Dave

[Carbon_Angus]

i have a 2001 Mega~Air and a 2000 Mega~Air.

the '01 is at 100mm and on the Oz.  i had to rebuild it, which was very easy, even for me. it holds air fine if all is tight. the WTB grease ports are shot so i lube it thru the holes remaning and put duct tape over the holes to keep the grease from coming out (ugly but it works)

the other one is a very well used 2000 that was on my 857 SS for awhile, rebuilt that, too, but it still leaks, so instead of rebuilding it again, i opted to put my x~link back on the SS.

it's a pretty good fork as far as light weight in the 100mm mode, and fairly stiff and easy to rebuild, no oil mess.

drawbacks are 1) plastic internals that will break and/or wear out from repeated rebuilds. 2) not super great on stutter bumps.

bottom line if you get a used one you will probably have to rebuild it, be sure it has enough steerer tube for your application, get a 2001 w/ adjustable travel and grease ports that are still functioning.
[smiley=beer.gif]

[bayarearider]

I am also looking into other cheaper marzocchi forks (something under 200) used.  I know noleen is a air fork, but how does it compare to a coiled marzocchi?  As those coiled versions can be had for under $200.  I am still researching, so any input would be great.  I am looking to get a new fork for an 01 razorback that i am negotiatiing with someone in my city.

again still looking at my options.
thanks for the input!

[Redshift]

Do not get the 2000 model - the version without the grease ports.  It cannot be switched between 75 and 100mm without an upgrade kit, which may be a real tough thing to find.

The 2001 model has a better internal configuration and can be travel adjusted just by removing or adding a spacer, which takes just minutes to do.

Currently I have four 2001 models, three at 100mm and one at 75mm.  None of them lose air at a rate that I think is unusual for any air device, which is to say once a month I may have pump a bit, and certainly no where near what you'd do to a SID.

You can find all but one o-ring at any hardware store.  The final o-ring is tiny and you'll have to look harder to find one that small, maybe a hobby store.  You can still get o-ring/rebuild kits from K2.

A friend of mine did have a part on the spring side leg strip it's threads this past summer, but K2 sent a replacement part in less than a month, and the fork was still usable.

Some forks seem to have a clunking problem at the top out.  I think I've seen folks with a solution to this problem, but I haven't figured it out.  Two of my forks clunk and two don't, it doesn't affect the fork's performance but it can be a bit annoying I guess.

At 100mm the fork can be set quite soft and is much more plush than people give it credit for.  At 75mm it's pretty stiff all the time.

I do jump my forks all the time both from speed ramps as well as drops to flat (less than 40").  All I can say is that the Mega Airs hold up better than my Manitou Super Air at 120mm which comes apart and needs major service pretty much every month after just a year of use.  I won't even mention air leakage on the Manitou...

The last two forks I found were on Ebay for a hundred bucks each, which I think is a helluva deal.

My feeling is that these forks are way underrated and a great deal on the used market for the careful shopper.  

[Scott]

How can a seller tell me if they have a 2000 or 2001 model?

[bikendan]

the '01 models have grease ports on the back of each leg, the '00 did not. the '01 has noleen decals in big block letters on the lowers, the '00 had noleen mega air, in cursive letters on the lowers.

[Scott]

Thanks Dan.  If I buy one it'll be on account of the reports here which run contrary to what the mags have said as usual!