[Last_Place_Pete]

Some of you may or may not have noticed a slight absence on my part. Over the weekend I went on a road trip to Ohio and back so that I could gather up my belongings left there in '08. Immediately upon return I moved into a new apartment. Now that the dust is settling, and I'm reconnected to the glorious Interwebs, I'm back.

Part of the "take" from the Ohio trip was my Specialized FSRxc. Today I had some extra time, so I stripped it down to the frame and gave it a bath. It needed work as it was so I figured why wait. I'm going to replace the fork, bottom bracket, chain, pedals, grips, wires, pads and tubes over the next few weeks. To be honest it will probably take most of the summer.

The stock fork is a Manitou Mars. I don't even know if they are still made, but do any of you MTBers have suggestions for a new fork? As always, thanks for however many cents you feel like contributing!

Happy Riding!

[Industry_Hack]

I'm partial to the Mars. Still have their funky grease gun too.

[Garilia]

Welcome back Pete, we saved Last Place for ya!

How much are you willing to spend on a fork? The current Stumpy's run with RockShox Reba's. I run with a RockShox Dart 3 on my bike and am satisfied with it. Some folks have told me I should have gotten at least the Tora level. I don't know much about other forks, but SRAM kicks ass with their RockShox line.

[Last_Place_Pete]

Hack- Don't entirely remember the diagnosis on the fork. The bike is a 2003 if I recall correctly. I got it as a HS grad gift but haven't been on it since the beginning of 2006. Pretty sure the shock is blown seeing how it has no resistance at all. I know diddly-squat about repairing/rebuilding them so I figured it would just be easier to buy a new one rather than paying for parts/labor to fix it. Don't get me wrong, I will definitely hang on to the Mars in the event I need a(nother) project or find someone to do the work for me.

[Industry_Hack]

I'm pretty sure it's air and oil, isn't it? Check under those silver caps for a valve - it may just need some air.

My first MTB was a graduation gift too, but that was a year or two before you...