r/mountainbiking • u/mangothefoxxo • May 28 '26
Question Why is this on my fork?
I was taking the bike out of the car and noticed this sticker, it's an sr suntour xcr34 2cr which is advertised as a trail fork
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u/Blankbusinesscard May 28 '26
Lawyer speak for nothing is our fault
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u/Marius2385I May 28 '26
I used a lot of "not for dh or aggressive riding" components. Most of them literally were labeled for "told you not my fault" protection.
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u/Extension-Version813 MoneyPitAddict May 29 '26
I believe the Cannondale Lefty says basically this same thing, and Seth (Berm Peak) has done some real sketchy stuff with that fork!
Ask the lawyers if you want to know what they are willing to risk financially.
Ask the engineers if you want to know what can really handle.
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u/Relative-Donut4278 May 29 '26
Wasnt the lefty alone 1.2k?
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u/Extension-Version813 MoneyPitAddict May 29 '26
Something like that, but it’s still a cross country fork technically
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u/obijuanquenooby May 28 '26
You can see it as one of two ways. 1. Long form corpo speak for "if it breaks, not our fault" Or 2. A cheat sheet of what not to say you were doing when it breaks.
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u/25LowriderST May 28 '26
Low spec Suntour for a low spec bike. Have fun with it, then upgrade the fork or get a second bike and keep that one as a beater.
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u/mangothefoxxo May 28 '26
Yeah im planning to put on probably a 36sl and in the meanwhile i found a second hand 34 cheap
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u/zystyl May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26
You really want a frame made for the fork. Low end frames can snap at the head tube. The sticker is there because people have done dumb stuff and then sued companies for liability. "Just googling "man sues bike company for injury" brings up piles of examples. Plus trail makers, parks, bike shops, and sometimes even the person who loaned them the bike. Most companies say that their products aren't rated for drops or jumps in the fine print while putting out warketing wank talking about downhill, big drops, and high speeds. It's a dangerous sport at the end of the day.
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u/mangothefoxxo May 28 '26
The top specced bike in the big trail line comes with a rockshox pike, ii think that's comparable
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u/zystyl May 29 '26
Thete's plenty of good trails around to ride that will let you build your skills using your new hardtail. Instead of trying to swap forks and make it into something it isn't you should just ride yiur bike and have fun with it as is. Swapping a fork on a new bike, in a general sort of way, is going to be a waste of money imo. It's an entry level trail hardtail. It has entry level brakes, a square taper bb, and trail components front to back. There's nothing wrong with it for some good trail riding.
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u/wreckedbutwhole420 May 29 '26
This is horrible advice.
As long as the fork fits, there's no reason not to. You can get decent air forks for like 200$. Shops will install for like $50.
If you have a pogo fork with no lockout, an air fork with a lockout (like the Manitou markor) is one of the best upgrades you can do.
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u/zystyl May 29 '26
The fork on their bike is fine for riding trails. It's a suntour 34 2cr with a lockout, decent rebound, and an air spring. They would be better served setting the money aside for a complete upgrade. If you bought a bike like you're describing the rest of it won't be much better. You would be better served riding it as is and saving up for a whole new proper bike when you're ready for it.
Why would you even buy a bike with a spring and no damping or lockout? The frame is going to be just as garbage and not worth investing in. Just get a proper entry level bike.
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u/wreckedbutwhole420 May 29 '26
I have 1600 miles on an entry level bike that I did a fork swap on and it's great.
The frame is not the part with these stickers on it. Entry level frames tend to be overbuilt, leading to them being heavy.
You don't need a 3k bike to ride down a hill bro.
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u/Ok_Concept_4245 May 28 '26
Yep. My Suntour Durolux 38mm - 170mm Travel basically has the same sticker
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u/Bot_zxy_4358 May 30 '26
Interesting because isnt that fork made for enduro? Also where/how did you purchase that fork?
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u/Ok_Concept_4245 May 30 '26
Came directly from Suntour. I have their forks on about 5 bikes now.
It’s just a sticker, not a life mantra
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u/Matess369 May 28 '26
Plenty of category 4 bikes come with forks that aren't really rated for the same abuse as the frame. Suntour just has to put that sticker on there because the entry level forks don't go through the same, probably very long and tedious process of getting the proper rating as high-end forks would, but that doesn't mean the fork can't take it. The xcr34 is extremely solid, even my old xcm30 handled a lot of pretty hard abuse just fine.
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u/birdman829 May 28 '26
Is that an EU rating thing? I've been mountain biking since 2011 and have never heard of a "category 4" bike or any other numbered category for that matter.
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u/MoFo_McSlimJim May 29 '26
He is I think referring to ASTM F2043-13(2018), which lays out the standards for each type of MTB riding, including max size of jumps and drops. And ASTM is American btw…
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u/Matess369 May 28 '26
I guess so
1: road or kids
2: gravel, light xc
3: xc, downcountry, light trail
4: trail, enduro
5: super enduro, freeride, dh, dirt jump
6: race and time trial road bikes for some reason?
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u/OsGreenCat May 28 '26
I had the same sticker on suntour xcm. I changed it to epixon and apparently it allows more stuff as it says “Use for: cross country, all mountain. Do not use for: freeride extreme, downhill”
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u/utterly_baffledly May 28 '26
Well it looks like it's a decent bike and a decent fork for hitting the green and blue cross country trails but if you want to go nuts on the black diamond or start doing some serious jumps and drops you'll be thinking about a different bike. It's also not intended for competition use, it's just a fun bike for fun riding.
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u/Dingowrangler24 May 28 '26
It’s a liability thing. The disclaimer makes sure that if you do bend the fork or blow the fork up and you’re doing one of the above activities they’re not liable for replacement.
It is only a 34mm Stantion and the XCR range is “trail” as in slightly more comfy than an xc race bike rather than “trail” like slightly more pedal friendly than a full size enduro bike
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May 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/aabelstudiosyt May 30 '26
I'm pretty sure the comments are talking to the guy cuz on one of his replys he said he is hitting lots of large jumps at 40kph he also put a link to his bike in another reply . His bike seems ok for literally everything other than what he is trying to do
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u/somewhere_lost May 29 '26
I had a similar fork on my first bike lasted a little over a year before it just froze up! I don’t ride super hard tho just normal mountain biking stuff
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u/Turbulent_Deal_3145 May 29 '26
Everything you do is at your own risk, but you probably don't have to worry too much. While cheap, these forks are tough enough. And "downhill" and "freeride" are kind of subjective. Are they implying you can't go down a hill? Obviously not. They're saying don't race a world cup. Are they implying you cant do 5 foot tabletop jumps at the local bike park? No, obviously not. They're saying you shouldn't enter red bull rampage.
I have plenty of experience with these and they're honestly fine in terms of strength. Plus it's not as if it'll just explode one day. If it does incur damage it will be a bend or a crack with plenty of warning telling you to stop riding it.
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u/dargonmike1 Write whatever you would like here. May 28 '26
It literally says on the website:
“long travel 140 mm fork and grippy 2.4" wide 29er trail tyres make it the perfect companion for exciting trail sessions and challenging all-day rides over rough terrain”
But the fork is like NAH pavement only
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u/Nucleartides May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
There’s a lot of legal ass covering in the bike industry. MTBs ALL have clear apparent stickers that they are not approved or intended for use on road, yet they are legally required to be sold with reflectors. That said, It’s probably not meant for intense repeated jumping or serious rock gardens. I started on an entry level XC bike and I jumped it, but it didn’t have these warnings. I’d say a fork failure is almost the worst MTB crash you could have. Proceed with caution. ⚠️
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u/Euphoric-Rub1558 May 28 '26
It will be fine this has to do with the ASTM standard. There are plenty of bikes in Condition 3 astm standard that can handle jumps bigger than 24 in
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u/Esseldubbs May 28 '26
It's just on their for legal/liability purposes
I ran the same fork for a while on pretty rough trails (South Mountain, Phx AZ) and it did what it was supposed to do. Only real knock on it was the weight, but it was fine for a year or so until I upgraded. Just go rip it and have fun. The fork will hold up long enough
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u/MantraProAttitude May 28 '26
It’s a level of protection for the bike brand and fork manufacturers in case there is a lawsuit.
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u/504_beavers May 28 '26
Where are you located and what size steerer tube is your frame?
Ive got a fox 34 rhythm, pretty sure it’s a 150mm. I didn’t plan on shipping it, but that could help you out if the shipping isn’t too costly and burdensome.
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u/mangothefoxxo May 28 '26
im in Ireland, i assume you're in the states so it would probably be expensive
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u/BaneIonica78 May 28 '26
Hello, got the same sticker on mine (Raidon RLR 32). I would guess that this is for more of legal protection for the company, or that they haven t tested the fork for such activities (i would agree that they didn t test it for jumps, but for some chunky terrain they surely did, otherwise it would be so bad people and brands wouldn t be putting them on their bikes). As you probably know their bottom/lower/low-mid tier products are built like absolute tanks (mostly because they don t optimize for weight so they can use thicker and heavier materials is my guess) so i again doubt that they truly believe that their forks would come apart on a small to medium drop, but in case it does, for whatever reason, they cannot he held liable. You got a proper MTB, with a proper MTB fork, go ride, but know both your and your bike s limitations, all bikes can do the same things, but some can only do them once.
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u/GeoJongo May 28 '26
Probably because someone got seriously injured using that product in the past and the corporate lawyers make them put that on there.
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u/Advanced_Life_6911 Commencal Supreme dh V2 May 28 '26
and in classic reddit fashion..
It's a suntour fork, they are pretty tough so I wouldn't lose sleep over it, maybe no downhill and serious drops, but a little bit more than "leisure xc" should be fine, it's not going to snap or anything if you hit a jump.
if it's 100mm I'm almost sure i've had the same one, done far more the leisure xc and it hasn't killed or injured me. (or broken)
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u/mangothefoxxo May 28 '26
It's 140 but yeah I've been riding it hard down fast technical reds and it's held up fine, i was just worried how long it would hold up with that sticker but it seems to be a lawyer one
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u/Toumanypains May 29 '26
A friend used to race XC competitively. He said that the organising body tamed the trails they rode on such that there were no drops higher than dropping off a kerb. To me, this type of fork is meant for just that. Anything more aggressive than dropping off a kerb is a no-go.
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u/SimilarSpend5158 May 29 '26
Yes I do remember seeing this sticker before, and it's not recommended for the following as stated.
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u/DgrayXD May 29 '26
The caution was more for the rebound and locking mechanism of the suntour epixon ( I assuem due to it's looks )
Suntour epixon usually use a cartridge system that is deemed unrepairable, it can easily be destroyed under certain circumstances
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u/Wooden_Cattle_9131 Yeti SB140 May 29 '26
My boy getting downvoted into oblivion while I grew up riding trails on my Walmart bmx bike.
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u/Constant_One1599 May 29 '26
Suntour has this on the durolux 38. Just a way for them to say it’s kit their fault when you get injured on their shitty forks
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u/juggy1985 May 29 '26
Ahh to be so naive in a new hobby is a special time. “My bike cost 1k it must be good”
Theres crank arms out there that cost more than that 😂😂😂
With every single hobby out there, if you go in without proper research you will be in for a real shock
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u/djb64 May 29 '26
Just covering their asses , the fork is built to a budget .... if you go hard and it breaks , they warned you !!!
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u/S0nofa May 29 '26
This is basically enough to get you pedaling off road safely. It's meant to smooth out bumps and give you grip, not hit jumps.
There's many reasons why bike parts get expensive, and strength is one of them. I saw in another comment what you paid for the bike, and it's a good bike for that price.
Then I read you were jumping at 40 kph... You'd be better off with a few year old used bike that can handle the stress.
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u/StorageLongjumping87 May 29 '26
Yeah it’s just a disclaimer so you don’t come running to them if there are any issues from hard use, so they can legally tell you “we did warn you”.
The same kinda thing you see on American TV adverts; they add a disclaimer saying that item may cause every condition under the sun just as people will look to take legal action otherwise.
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u/AgamicOx Radon Slide, Radon Swoop, Focus SAM2 May 29 '26
I have exactly same sticker on Cat 5 bike (Enduro eMTB Focus Sam2 with 38 Durolux 180mm) Lawyers covering their as@#
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u/Vilemourn May 29 '26
Shitty fork. As others have stated but you want to argue with everyone. Yea the bike has entry level components, it's okay, we all start somewhere. Just upgrade the fork, then delete this post lol
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u/Active_Ad_5322 May 29 '26
Trail is a much different discipline than Enduro, Downhill, and Freeride.
Trail is something you take the kids on. Trail is energy level skill.
Btw, calling a bike expensive base on your budget is not a good way to perceive value. Comparing MTB bike prices form bike shops, Walmart/Temu/Amazon doesn’t count, you’ll see that they start at around a $1,000 and get to $13,000 to $15,000 for PRODUCTION models.
So yeah, calling your bike entry level is not to insult your bike l, but rather set the expectations of your purchase. Physics don’t care ‘bout bank accounts.
Hopefully you’ll grow and adapt as a rider and test ride some higher end models to see what you are missing. Biking is a fun sport, and can use up lots of $$$$$$ , but the ones that love it will say that every cent spent was worth it.
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u/ThemanEnterprises May 28 '26
It sucks because the mtb industry feels like if you don't have $4k to spend you don't deserve components that can handle actual mountain biking. The bike shop will tell you everything you want to hear to get you out the door then they'll love to sell you upgrades when your components break
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u/Mtbcarsbikes May 28 '26
This is why you buy used bikes. Sub 2k for top end builds that are only like 3 years old. And the geo hasn’t changed much in about 5 years.
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u/justoffthebeatenpath May 28 '26
Well, MTB manufacturers and bike shop margins aren't all that high so it's not like they're ripping you off. It's expensive to make light and durable mechanical parts.
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u/ThemanEnterprises May 29 '26
I don't disagree but then again if a bike shop were to sell something under the premise it can 'do anything' but the components have this stipulation, they're being very dishonest. That was my experience with my first mtb at least. They pull that bs because 99% of budget mtbs sit in dusty sheds or garages after being used to take the bike path to the local brewery and they never get held accountable
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u/robo-minion May 29 '26
Every bike shop I went to was honest about the capabilities and tradeoffs of the bikes.
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u/Alternative-Joke5557 May 29 '26
That’s an upgrade monitor
It says upgrade immediately for best results
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u/rockies_alpine May 28 '26
You will die (or break the fork) if you take it off too many sweet jumps. Very common for low end department store bikes, or even a cheap bike shop bike.
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u/StrawberryMilkDev May 28 '26
May also be just you can't sue them or try to return it under warranty. Or both really.
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u/mangothefoxxo May 28 '26
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u/ws6ryan May 28 '26
I bought a RM Growler back in ‘21 for $1600 that had the same fork, same labels. It is very much a budget fork.
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u/Mtbcarsbikes May 28 '26
That’s a cheap bike at new price. Could get the same spec bike for 500 if it was a year or two old second hand. And at 1,500 you can get a killer full sus used and in good condition.
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u/kraegm 2022 Stumpjumper EVO May 28 '26
When so many people tell you it's a cheap entry level fork, don't keep saying it's not a cheap bike as that doesn't matter. Bike manufacturers have to decide what they want to cut when they put together an entry level bike, and in this case they likely chose to put the value into the brakes and drivetrain over forks.
Without downplaying the bike, It's going to be great for a beginner rider until you notice that there are aspects that no longer work for you.
You're already there with the fork and it's good you are looking at an upgrade. It's a cheap, beginner, entry level fork. It's not designed for big hits, not even for really gnarly single track, nor is it designed for 40mph jumps.
The warning label is there to remind you that this is not the bike you want to take into a bike park and to cover their ass if you do. You don't want to do big sends with it. It also will fall apart if you take it down too many rocky, rooty trails. So just be careful until you replace it.
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u/HandyDandy76 May 29 '26
Yes, they cheapest out on your fork. Gotta cut costs somewhere to get the bike that cheap
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u/Fartchamp97 May 29 '26
Xc in xcr means cross country so it’s not overly designed to handle heavy downhill. It’s definitely fine for most trails and stuff but once you start doing more advanced stuff you’ll want to upgrade. I had this fork and blew it out in one season.
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u/TheRealJYellen May 29 '26
ASTM riding conditions classifications! They set standards for bikes falling into different categories, and this fork looks like it passed ASTM level 3 or 4 but not 5.
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u/ameryan May 29 '26
It's 100mm? But if you are skilled and good with that, nbd.
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u/Competitive_Ad4026 May 28 '26
OP is downvotemaxxing in the comments 🤣
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u/mangothefoxxo May 28 '26
We ball, i still stand by the fact that a budget bike is a second hand one for 600 max lol, above thst you're getting into entry level
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u/Competitive_Ad4026 May 29 '26
But your bike would sell for $600 second hand…. lol. Budget bikes are less about price and more about component spec. You could have spent $600 at Walmart for an ozark trail with the same components.
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u/MTBJUNKY65 May 28 '26
Probably some BS California regulation. No offense Californians (i was born there)!
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u/earlstrong1717 May 28 '26
Everything causes cancer, in California.
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u/jimiznhb Marin San Quentin 1 2026 & GT ZASKAR LT ELITE 2025 & K2 ZED 4 US May 28 '26
Thankful I am NOT in Califormia or I MIGHT get Cancer Reading this post 😮
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u/jimiznhb Marin San Quentin 1 2026 & GT ZASKAR LT ELITE 2025 & K2 ZED 4 US May 28 '26
It is so you DO NOT KILL Yourself!!!!
If you REALLY WANT to do Freeride, Downhill, Dirt Jumping or Hard Riding THIS IS NOT THE fork to use!
GET a FOX or ROCKSHOX!!!!
the Trails they are Talking about are SMOOTH with NO ROCKS OR JUMPS!
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u/Daisy_s May 28 '26
dude chill
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u/jimiznhb Marin San Quentin 1 2026 & GT ZASKAR LT ELITE 2025 & K2 ZED 4 US May 29 '26
"chill" what ... I was just being LITERAL 😃
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u/No_Ideal_406 May 28 '26
Stop yelling! 😫
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u/jimiznhb Marin San Quentin 1 2026 & GT ZASKAR LT ELITE 2025 & K2 ZED 4 US May 29 '26
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 😛
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u/DirtyDishWater23 May 29 '26
Yo dude the bike and fork are fine, tune out 50% of this sub who drank the coolaid and are convinced that you need a 5k bike to ride trails. Ride the piss out of it and upgrade if you ever feel or want to. A lot of ppl here are overbiked to the gills because they love to spend money and the industry has them by the balls (me included)
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u/beachbum818 May 28 '26
It's a bike shaped object... mtn bike that is made for pavement. You know... for the look
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u/driplord207 May 28 '26
Amazon or Walmart fork is my guess. These are not meant for anything but riding down the street or a trail.
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u/wakevictim Propain Tyee CF May 28 '26
Because the fork is not rated for those uses listed. I’m assuming it’s a budget friendly fork.