Rock Shox DART 3 Remote Lock out

[jgreen]

hi, i ahve a very cheap mountain bike, and was thinking of upgradingthe forks. i found these Rock Shox DART 3 remotelockout forks on ebay for 140 us dollars, is this a good deal?
can anyone tell me about these forks or if they have had any experience with them or with remote lockout forks?? thnx!

[Kalgrm]

G'day mate,

They are at the bottom end of acceptable forks. Personally, based on your other thread about having a really cheap k-mart bike, I'd say save your dollars and get a new bike. Putting even these low end forks on a k-mart bike is a waste of money and time.

Cheers,
Graeme

[}SkOrPn--7]

The dart 3 are entry level forks that come mounted on many low end to mid range bikes but you first need to know that any fork your thinking of buying is it solely for disk brakes or does it have the lugs for V-brakes etc so be careful there. Also check out the delivery cost as ebay isn't always a better option for you but again do your research. If your a heavy set person then Dart 3 will sag too much even after adjustment and if the item on ebay is second hand then your risking it because the Dart 3 being entry level as I said and could be worn out and to fix will be more money you will spend. Also second hand if that is the case the steerer tube would have been cut and may well no longer fit your bike. You also need to check the tube diameter as most are now 1 1/8" or larger and your bike may well be the old 1" or be a threaded headset where as the Dart 3 are threadless. As for price if new that seems to be a fair price but not knowing shipping this could be a clincher.

What is wrong with your current forks and what bike are you planning to place these forks on?

EDIT: Graeme has said it all before I posted he seems to know a little more on what bike you have.

[jgreen]

thanks for the help guys, sounds to me like i'l probably thrash this bike until it falls apart, and then buy something half decent......

[glawrence2000]

Mate,
If you're riding a K-mart job, that may be sooner than you expect and almost certainly will occur at the most inopportune time, like full tilt down a very rocky, nasty hill miles from anywhere. Beware, have fun but get a new ride when you can.

[jules21]

i just bought some Dart 2s from chainreaction.com. they may be entry level, but the cost of more spendy ones like Marzocchis is astronomical.

[S.A. Wilsmore.]

Hey mate,

I have had a GT Avalanche 1.0 for a few months now, and the stock standard forks are the DART 3'S. I normally travel into University most days (around trip of 35 km) and just lock them out as my commute is mainly road, on the weekends, with a turn of a switch i can give them more sponginess and travel to go off-road.

As far as I am concerned, these forks are a great quality and are really reliable for a good price. I have found that they can take quite a beating on the off-road tracks and locking them out for road riding makes them completely stiff.

I would not reccommend putting them on a poor quality bike though. maybe something a little bit better.

[aeroslave]

Hey mate,

I have had a GT Avalanche 1.0 for a few months now, and the stock standard forks are the DART 3'S. I normally travel into University most days (around trip of 35 km) and just lock them out as my commute is mainly road, on the weekends, with a turn of a switch i can give them more sponginess and travel to go off-road.

As far as I am concerned, these forks are a great quality and are really reliable for a good price. I have found that they can take quite a beating on the off-road tracks and locking them out for road riding makes them completely stiff.

I would not reccommend putting them on a poor quality bike though. maybe something a little bit better.

I have them as well on my entry level Spez MTB. They are awesome value for money suspension forks especially for someone who only goes off road every now and then. Decent off road capabilities with a nice lockout feature...

[soulblighter]

Hey mate,

I have had a GT Avalanche 1.0 for a few months now, and the stock standard forks are the DART 3'S. I normally travel into University most days (around trip of 35 km) and just lock them out as my commute is mainly road, on the weekends, with a turn of a switch i can give them more sponginess and travel to go off-road.

As far as I am concerned, these forks are a great quality and are really reliable for a good price. I have found that they can take quite a beating on the off-road tracks and locking them out for road riding makes them completely stiff.

I would not reccommend putting them on a poor quality bike though. maybe something a little bit better.

I've got a GT Avalanche 1.0 as well, but my Dart3's are leaking now after 1 ride.

Got the bike on a Monday, went to the Appin trail on the Saturday - a couple of days later noticed some blue fluid on the plastic sheet the bike was sitting on. Now its at the lbs getting fixed.

Ive read some reviews on these and they dont rate very high. But you wouldnt expect it to rate highly for an entry level piece of gear. Most reviews say that these tend to top out and make 'clunking' noises as you ride - which had noticed with mine.

I bought the entry level Avalanche to see if i was going to stick with MTB'ing or phase out of it - next year i'd spend 2k+ on something nice.

But yeah - me personally, wasnt a good experience with the Dart3. 2 weeks off the bike so far and im itching to get back on and hit some dirt.

- Mike.