# Suspension fork on C-dale mountain tandem



## JCHKeys (Dec 10, 2004)

My wife and I are riding a cannon dale mountain tandem, about 4 years old. It has a rigid fork currently, but on gravel rails to trails we ride the ride is rough. I was wondering what forks people recommend, if any, in the 100mm range? The fork is a straight 1 1/8" and quick release wheel with disc brakes. 

I found a 80mm Manitou Minute ACT that fits the bill on PB Buy Sell. Is that a good choice?


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## Okayfine (Sep 7, 2010)

Marz DJ1 has been a go-to in the lower end. Stout enough, 100mm, available in QR. Marz isn't a company any longer so if you don't care about warranty service there are probably bargains to be had...

I have a DJ3 (no whistles), not sure of the steerer length. PM me if interested.


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

The DJ1 is a good choice.

Marzocchi I read, and of course it could be wrong, decided to continue with MTB and is being sol. The moto products are being closed.

This was from July so things could be different now.

Tenneco to Discontinue Marzocchi Suspension Business - Motorcycle USA

PK


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## Okayfine (Sep 7, 2010)

Marz is kinda like the weather. Don't like the outlook? Check back in a couple minutes.

Picking up a DJ and a seal kit or few should prove uneventful down the road. By the time something goes wrong and you need parts you can't get, probably time to upgrade anyway. I've run Marz stuff on our tandems and my single without issue, beyond maintenance. Good value when they're cheap (and year-end is the perfect time to look for deals).


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## DHMASTER (Oct 12, 2010)

Perhaps Fox will produce a good Marzocchi fork for tandems.Fox Racing Shox Acquires Marzocchi - Pinkbike


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

They are buying simple reliability...Glad to see Marzocchi picked up, I heard something was happening but did not read the press release until today.

It will be interesting to see exactly what Fox has in mind. 

PK


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## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

If it's Fox, there won't be anything tandem-rated. Fox is the most adamant about their products not being used on tandems, the least willing to listen to customers, and I doubt they're going to assume any unnecessary risks with the Marzocchi line. So in reality, when Marzocchi went under, we lost another option as far as approved forks for tandems. 
It's interesting that at some conceivable point, the lack of viable suspension fork options could make off-road tandeming obsolete. It could certainly put me out of business.


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## DHMASTER (Oct 12, 2010)

There's always the "40", I've tandem rated it. It is a bit heavy, and expensive.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Ventana is planning to make fat bike clamps for the MRP Groove, that'll be a great tandem fork if you run wide hubs. You can get a number of beefy twin crown forks already, boost hubs, including the Groove and the Manitou Dorado.


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## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

Nurse Ben said:


> Ventana is planning to make fat bike clamps for the MRP Groove, that'll be a great tandem fork if you run wide hubs. You can get a number of beefy twin crown forks already, boost hubs, including the Groove and the Manitou Dorado.


The Groove is a great fork, and we've used it on "regular" tandems and a couple of fat tandems over the years. But it's better matched to full suspension, as it's very soft in the initial stroke, sags more than I would prefer, then ramps up later in the travel. VERY plush. Some of it is to do with the travel being reduced for our purposes but still being 140mm at least, which is on the high end for XC tandems. 
Not sure how larger-sized teams will like these characteristics on hardtail tandems. Maybe not an issue. 
I like the feel of the fork, but it's also about 8+ lbs in stock form.


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## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

DHMASTER said:


> There's always the "40", I've tandem rated it. It is a bit heavy, and expensive.


You might have tandem-rated it for your own use, but you aren't going to back up the factory warranty or share in any potential responsibility if it fails in use on someone else' tandem are you?


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## ds2199 (Sep 16, 2008)

TandemNut said:


> You might have tandem-rated it for your own use, but you aren't going to back up the factory warranty or share in any potential responsibility if it fails in use on someone else' tandem are you?


Fair point. It is all about the warranty and liability. For someone choosing to take on that risk, it is on them. For a dealer like mtbtandems, they are limited to using "tandem rated" forks. When Alex ships a bike, it is implied that the fork (or any part for that matter) is suitable for tandem use. So he can't really use a Fox fork (even if he believes it to be worthy for the job).

I see you dilemma...

I was just on a ride with 3 Ventana owners all ECDM 29. All using Fox 36 forks. I believe all are very happy with the Fox fork performance, but the if a fork was to fail, LIABILITY is all on the owner, not Fox.

I'm certain that none of the bikes came complete from Alex or any tandem dealer (maybe frame only).

So is MRP the only current manufacturer that has a "tandem rated" fork?


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

Boxxer may still be tandem rated, but Alex would know best. 

The ATC, if even available should still be tandem rated.

Alex could explain what in the MRP lineup is tandem approved.

Yes DS, like you and your friends, plus the DHMaster, we have been rolling Fox for a long time. As most know, we run a Fox 40 Kashima. If I had two areas to worry about, one is the triple clamps maybe someday cracking or, as is common with Fox axle pinch bolt setups on the 20m axles, the lower legs crack. This happens on singles also.

If I could have had the Risse triple clamps fit out headtube length, I would have gotten them.

PK


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## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

We've put Fox 36 forks on tandems, when the customer has supplied the fork. We make very clear to the customer what the manufacturer's position on tandem use of that particular fork is. If the customer then chooses to purchase the fork for their tandem, I'll put it on the tandem if we're building it for them (unless they're a very large team or there's some other mitigating factor that makes it a completely senseless idea). 

I'm trying to balance between supporting the manufacturers that support our niche and staying in business as well. For instance, if MRP decided to stop making tandem forks, we'd be pretty much out of business unless a suitable replacement could be found. 

There are a couple of other forks out there that may be possibilities in the future, but it takes a commitment on the part of the manufacturers, which only comes with a commitment from me to buy X # of forks (usually more than we'd use in a few years) to make such a thing happen. 

MRP has a very good product in their Stage platform, and our experience with the Loop platform has been much improved over the prior platform as far as performance and durability. 

Sorry about hijacking the thread, OP!


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

JCHKeys said:


> My wife and I are riding a cannon dale mountain tandem, about 4 years old. It has a rigid fork currently, but on gravel rails to trails we ride the ride is rough. I was wondering what forks people recommend, if any, in the 100mm range? The fork is a straight 1 1/8" and quick release wheel with disc brakes.
> 
> I found a 80mm Manitou Minute ACT that fits the bill on PB Buy Sell. Is that a good choice?


Back to this...
Does your stoker wife have a nice seat post? That 100mm fork prob'ly won't do much for her.

Also, while our tandem sees way more rail trail than singletrack, tire pressure seems to have the largest effect on rider comfort. The biggest tire that will fit on the back of our C'dale is about 2.2, and it's rarely (never?) over 40psi. The front is around 40. Anything higher is just a bunch of chatter.

If we know that we are hitting smooth, fast stuff I will swap over to 2.1 Rockster tires. They have a center ridge that makes them roll really nice at maybe 42-45psi, but they'll still work on dirt and grass.

-F


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## jfactor1 (Sep 22, 2010)

What about picking up a used Totem? 40mm stanchions, 20mm thru axle and the air version is pretty light. You'd have to lower it, but it'd be a solid option.


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