southerndownhill.com - Forum

Getting an '07 patriot sometime soon, wondering what forks people are running on theirs. I've got some '05 66's lying around, but they're horrendously tall and I don't want it to be too slack.

It's between Z150's and 66 SL ATA's (need the travel adjust for going up hills and whatnot, needs to be a do-it-all type bike)

Opinions?

i have an 08 one and run fox 36's! TBH the Z150's will be perfect for it as it will save a huge amount of weight which will really help if you want to go up as well as down!

I'm running domains on mine, but the non adjustable 180mm ones. The u turn ones might fit the bill, they're bloody brilliant if youre on a slightly smaller budget. If not, i have some Z150s for sale :)

(http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2169/pbpic2169284.jpg)

James (mtballtheway) ran 40s on his  :D

I had one with many different forks on it at point or another.
Pikes, x-vert carbons, shiver dc's, 888's and fox 36's.

The 36's were by the nicest forks. They suit patriots perfectly.
Get a nice pair of 36 talas rc2. Light enough to go back up and work amazingly on the downs.

Rode a patriot with fox van 36s today they're perfect for the bike! so plush and compliment the single pivot perfectly! don't make the head angle slack at all but they're not steep either. Get the RC2s if you can  :)

Hmmm. Only rode 36's once and they didn't feel that great. They may have been set up badly though. What are they like to maintain? I'm keen on marzocchi's 'cos I've got the seal tools and it's a peice of cake to service them.

it was temporary, but yer wasnt to slack and that was with 200mm travel lol

I've got 66 sl1 ata's 07's on my glory fr and although they are a pretty decent fork i've had to tighten the grub screws inside the travel adjuster and fix the travel at max as they kept reducing travel on my way down the trails so for an adjustable fork i'd look elsewhere as this prob isn't just with mine its a known and common problem.
I reckon lyrics or 36's would suit the patriot if you have the cash.

Just re-read your post and realised you already have the 66's - i thought you were considering buying some. Still think lyrics or 36's.

I run both Boxxers and 36s on my Patriot depending on what riding i'm doing.  The great thing about the Patriot is the sliding shock shuttle.  This means you can get the geometry sorted for most forks.

For up and down riding 36s would be perfect.  Brown RC2s go cheap if you look around.

I find it strange that everyone seems to run their Patriots as All mountain bikes (up and down).  To me it's a slightly shorter travel DH bike.  I'd hate to have to ride it uphill, 7" is way too much travel to get any speed up.  The only time i've ever ridden it uphill was at the Mega and it was too much bike for that.

Get a 5 or a Cannondale Prophet if you want to go up and down. 

definateely '08 Fox 36 Talas's, magic forks - if you have the cash

36's, Lyrics, or shock, horror, dare I say it........Manitou Travis Single 150s......

agree with that: i normally get half way before collapsing at the side of the road! i like how light it feels though when going down! very very easy to flick around!

I use the term all round riding fairly loosely. Basically, I mean when I can't be arsed pushing my DH bike up the hills it would be good to have something lighter, especially on the less gnarly tracks. I don't often do any proper XC, and if I do I use the hardtail.

But yea, a mini dh bike is really what I want to end up with - its going to be single ring and a 16" frame (I'm 6'3) but I want to be able to ride it up hills if needs be.

i'm 6ft 2 and find my 18in perfect for me! depends how you like your bikes but i'm sure a 16in would feel too small for me... i do quite like longer bikes though... and you might like small bikes! i'll be quiet... ::)

I'm 6' and got an 18".  I know it'a personal preference but i reckon a larger frame give you more room to move around.

agreed, i think a 16" or an 18" would be fine. i'm 6'1" and ride a 16" but i don't really use it to go back up the hills. having said that, could easily get the seat high enough.