I Bought a Chinese Suspension Fork

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Mr. Toad said:
My 9 yo daughter rides a 20" Gary Fisher MTB. The bike's a piece of crap, but that tiny girl surprises me with some of the trails she drives it over. And she loves riding it.
Click to expand...

mine is 9 too and has an adequate 20" norco, but it is pink, and her friends are all taller and have had 24s for a year (before they were ready) and the current mean girls meme in her group is that she gets teased for being "cute" so a teeny pink bike is a double fail. we are going camping tonight with those friend's families and are all bringing bikes for a big trail ride and she was already claiming that her old bike didn't work properly and that i shouldn't bring it.

so now she has about a millimeter of clearance standing over the top tube, and ideally she needs handlebars that come back to her a little, and i need to find a way to adjust the brake levers further in for her, but she was very very happy last night and psyched to go bike riding...
 
It’s a good idea to keep the plastic spoke ring, if stuff gets bent and the chain jumps off the top it will save the spokes, and thus the wheel. They look dumb but they do serve a purpose.
 
semlin said:
mine is 9 too and has an adequate 20" norco, but it is pink, and her friends are all taller and have had 24s for a year (before they were ready) and the current mean girls meme in her group is that she gets teased for being "cute" so a teeny pink bike is a double fail. we are going camping tonight with those friend's families and are all bringing bikes for a big trail ride and she was already claiming that her old bike didn't work properly and that i shouldn't bring it.

so now she has about a millimeter of clearance standing over the top tube, and ideally she needs handlebars that come back to her a little, and i need to find a way to adjust the brake levers further in for her, but she was very very happy last night and psyched to go bike riding...
Click to expand...

My 15 yo daughter likes to ride with me but gets a little frustrated trying to manage the gears. She's riding a hardtail and can really boogie on the smooth terrain. She's pushing 5'11 with looong legs. It's only a matter of time before she's whipping the old man. :)
 
Status Update

I ordered 2 forks from China. China sent one good fork and one that didn't work. China sent me a replacement for the bad fork and let me keep the bad one (that was very cool). I have about 40 hours on the fork, and it works fine. No complaints.

I sent the bad fork, along with 75$, to China's USA service rep for rebuild and repair. Hey, why not -- a brand new fork for 75$? Well, here's the status of that. It's almost comical. Almost.

e-mail exchange said:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 12:35 PM
From: THEM
To: ME
Re: Warranty Problem With NEW Aeris 320-100 RLC

Still waiting on some parts from Taiwan.

Sorry
THEM

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On 7/12/10 7:33 PM, ME wrote:
Hello THEM, I'm ready for the fork! *--ME

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
--- On Wed, 6/16/10, THEM wrote:

From: THEM
Subject: Re: Warranty Problem With NEW Aeris 320-100 RLC
To: ME
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 11:35 AM
Re: Warranty Problem With NEW Aeris 320-100 RLC

Looks like we will be able to ship this week. *We have been playing with the valving and air control and it looks like all is good. *One last test this week and out it will go!

Thanks
THEM

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On 6/8/10 8:22 AM, ME wrote:
Hi THEM:

Any word on when the repair might happen?

Thanks,

--ME
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
--- On Thu, 5/27/10, THEM wrote:

From: THEM
Subject: Re: Warranty Problem With NEW Aeris 320-100 RLC
To: ME
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010, 4:52 PM
Re: Warranty Problem With NEW Aeris 320-100 RLC

We should be able to get parts in and fix it by the end of next week
THEM


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On 5/24/10 5:45 AM, ME wrote:

Hello THEM:

Have you been able to identify and correct any problems with the fork?

Thanks,

ME
Click to expand...
 
The U.S. service rep still hasn't rebuilt and returned that fork to me. He stopped answering my e-mails. It's almost comical. Almost.

BUT, I have another fork -- a working one -- on my bike. I've been running that Spinner Aeris for about 8 hours a week while this thread has been going. It's doing fine. I don't really notice it. Could there be a comment much better than that?
 
since you started this thread, i have rebuilt my bomber and now it is locking out in non lockout settings. prolly less hours than you.
 
whoa

that's awesome
 
Summary: I ordered 2 forks from Spinner. One was defective, so Spinner replaced it free of charge. At that point I had three forks, one of which is defective. All of them were black. Then I thought that getting the defective one repaired would be a pretty good idea because the cost was negligible and I'd have a spare. (My friend claimed the other one)

So I sent the defective fork to Spinner's USA service rep. Months ago. And then nothing happened. So beginning in July I started sending monthly, stupid messages to Spinner's USA service rep concerning my long lost fork. Or the one he was holding hostage Somali pirate style. Or how I might die of loneliness if I never saw my fork again. He stopped responding. I dodn't blame him. I wrote the fork off to Chinese curiosity.

In the interim, I figured out that the fork I'm using, which was supposed to be a 100mm fork, was almost certainly 120mm.

And then ...
 
When I came into my utility room after work today, I found this. They sent it back to me!
November Surprise 1.webp
 
Or so I thought. This one looks like one of those crazy white plantation babies! They sent a new one. And it's the right length. Woo-Hoo!
November Surprise 2.webp
 
I rode in near freezing temps one night this week. It was like I was riding on a nearly rigid fork and frame. Not just my Chinese front fork but my very not cheap Fox suspension shock too.

It doesn't get cold here often so to all you cold weather mountainbikers, is that normal?
 
Yes it is normal for them to stiffen up in the cold. Mine will often get "squishier" if they are air spring and not coil. It gets so cold the air pressure reduces in the shock and fork.

Essentially my suspension will sag a little but also not be as plush. I've ridden below 20 degrees and the bike sags and gets stiff :eek:

It's probably hard on the seals but it's more fun than the trainer :)
 
Kent said:
Yes it is normal for them to stiffen up in the cold. Mine will often get "squishier" if they are air spring and not coil. It gets so cold the air pressure reduces in the shock and fork.

Essentially my suspension will sag a little but also not be as plush. I've ridden below 20 degrees and the bike sags and gets stiff :eek:

It's probably hard on the seals but it's more fun than the trainer :)
Click to expand...

Thanks! That's exactly what they were doing: a little extra sag but not much comfort.

I did my air body "40-hour" maintenance on the Fox rear shock earlier this afternoon. RP23. All seals, o-rings and bearings were bueno. I've put multiples of 40 hours on the bike and haven't done any maintenance on the shock (oops), and there's no telling how much the PO put on it or what kind of maintenance he did, so I was glad to see everything looking good.
 
Fork report: It's still working, but I've had to air it up a couple times -- maybe every 2 or 3 weeks. I've given it no maintenance, and I've ridden it pretty hard (hard fairly technical xc -- I certainly have not been bombing downhills or anything like that).

I have no real complaints about the fork that I've been punishing. But out of a total of 4 forks the company sent me, 2 were defective to the point of being unusable. 50% is not good.
 
Last edited:
i forgot about this thread. i just had to pay too much for an old demo fork to build up my unplanned new bike :mad: i should have pm'd you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

CruiserTrash
Have any of you ever built a frame?
Replies
14
Views
1K
CruiserTrash
CruiserTrash
little_joe
False alarm
Replies
3
Views
481
96bruizer
96bruizer
OGBeno
2024 Biking Year in Review
Replies
15
Views
1K
SmoothLC
SmoothLC
alia176
Any favorite hip/waist hydration packs for MTB riding?
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
jembourbe
jembourbe

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom