RadRunner Suspension Fork Upgrade

[RenegadePilgrim]

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Has anyone tried to use this to upgrade to a suspension fork on a RadRunner?

 

[RenegadePilgrim]

Not on RadRunner, but I have been buying Bolany, Hero Fork, Pasak, etc. (They're all the same) forks for the last couple of years.
I always pick air fork.
I can tell you that quality is impressive for the price.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I won't be able to install it for a bit, since this weather is not conducive to outside working on bikes....but I am interested to give it a go.

 

[cuekwe Jones]

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Has anyone tried to use this to upgrade to a suspension fork on a RadRunner?

I put a RadRunner Plus suspension fork on my RadRunner 1. I imagine that this fork is very similar to other basic aftermarket spring forks. Just be advised that most of these forks only accommodate a rear-mounted front brake caliper, which is side-mounted on the stock RR1. But all you need to do is remove the side-mount adapter bracket that comes on the stock RR1, add a couple of spacers, and it will likely fit on most of these aftermarket forks. Note further that these forks are likely to be a bit longer than the stock rigid fork of the RR1, which will raise the entire front end of the bike a bit -- around 1" in my case (yet which is barely noticeable).

 

[RenegadePilgrim]

I put a RadRunner Plus suspension fork on my RadRunner 1. I imagine that this fork is very similar to other basic aftermarket spring forks. Just be advised that most of these forks only accommodate a rear-mounted front brake caliper, which is side-mounted on the stock RR1. But all you need to do is remove the side-mount adapter bracket that comes on the stock RR1, add a couple of spacers, and it will likely fit on most of these aftermarket forks. Note further that these forks are likely to be a bit longer than the stock rigid fork of the RR1, which will raise the entire front end of the bike a bit -- around 1" in my case (yet which is barely noticeable).

I heard the RadRunner Plus suspension forks don't work on the RR1 because of some angle issue or something. Did you buy a RadRunner Plus suspension fork from Rad? I had also thought about going that route but had heard they were not cross-compatible.

 

[cuekwe Jones]

Did you buy a RadRunner Plus suspension fork from Rad?

I did. But I've also heard reports that RPB won't sell these forks to customers who don't own a RR+ (probably for liability reasons) -- I happen to own one of each. But if you can get them to sell you one, I can confirm that this fork fits the RR1 nearly perfectly -- took me ~30 minutes to swap out the rigid fork (no cutting/modifications required). The only issue I had was scrounging up a couple of spacers to remount the front brake caliper. I know that Biktrix out of Canada used to sell basically the same fork, but I haven't checked lately.

EDIT: It's the RST Guide, yet which appears to be out of stock: https://www.biktrix.com/products/rst-guide-fork
But maybe you can find one of these on eBay... Or maybe you could contact RST directly to see if they'd sell you one (I don't think this model is part of their commercial lineup any more).
Note: This is a pretty basic spring suspension fork with preload and lockout -- nothing to write home about, but it does make the ride of RR1 much nicer (IMHO).

 

[RenegadePilgrim]

I did. But I've also heard reports that RPB won't sell these forks to customers who don't own a RR+ (probably for liability reasons) -- I happen to own one of each. But if you can get them to sell you one, I can confirm that this fork fits the RR1 nearly perfectly -- took me ~30 minutes to swap out the rigid fork (no cutting/modifications required). The only issue I had was scrounging up a couple of spacers to remount the front brake caliper. I know that Biktrix out of Canada used to sell basically the same fork, but I haven't checked lately.

EDIT: It's the RST Guide, yet which appears to be out of stock: https://www.biktrix.com/products/rst-guide-fork
But maybe you can find one of these on eBay... Or maybe you could contact RST directly to see if they'd sell you one (I don't think this model is part of their commercial lineup any more).
Note: This is a pretty basic spring suspension fork with preload and lockout -- nothing to write home about, but it does make the ride of RR1 much nicer (IMHO).

Yes, I am aware of the RST Guide fork, and know someone that has done that mod but it didn't seem very straight forward....though he really likes it.

I might try doing this on my "test" RadRunner....I have two, and one of them doesn't have all the fancy parts, and I care less if I mess something up with.

Worst case I find someone who has a RR+ locally and see if I can get them to order me a fork! Ha! I really wish Rad was more open about selling their parts...it would be so much easier.

 

[cuekwe Jones]

Worst case I find someone who has a RR+ locally and see if I can get them to order me a fork!

That's actually not a bad idea -- if you live in/near Portland there are bound to be several RR+ owners nearby. Place an ad in the classified section on this forum. The price for the RR+ fork, btw, is $150 + shipping (or anyhow that's what they charged me). Offer your "fork mule" maybe another $20-30 on top of that for their trouble.

 

[RenegadePilgrim]

That's actually not a bad idea -- if you live in/near Portland there are bound to be several RR+ owners nearby. Place an ad in the classified section on this forum. The price for the RR+ fork, btw, is $150 + shipping (or anyhow that's what they charged me). Offer your "fork mule" maybe another $20-30 on top of that for their trouble.

Yeah, I am going to look into that....I would rather have something I know works than play around with stuff from China.

 

[cuekwe Jones]

Yeah, I am going to look into that....I would rather have something I know works than play around with stuff from China.

Btw, if you do go for an aftermarket fork just make sure the dropout width matches the stock fork (I think it's 135mm, w/quick release skewer hub), and that the neck tube is at least as long (cutting a longer tube to fit, if necessary, is a pretty easy job if you own a hacksaw, or know someone who owns one, or have ~$15 to buy one).

Thinking back now, one other concern I had was that the stock RR1 QR skewer would be too short for the beefier RR+ fork dropouts (I'd read reports on the forums about this). However, I had a hard time tracking down a slightly longer one. But it turned out that the stock RR1 skewer was just long enough to work with the RR+ fork.