good front fork for gas mountian bike?

Just get a used mountain bike fork, like an old Marzocchi or even Rockshox.. 100mm or 110mm travel should be good. EBay etc..
The "springer" in your original post is what people put on their cruiser type bikes.. No damping, and possibly using drum brakes. Not really appropriate in a mountain bike in my opinion.
 
Noo, those are for vintage looking bikes that people like, look like the earliest motorcycles that derived from bicycles of the time. You don't need a brand new fork anyway. Used, early 2000s mountain bike forks often go for peanuts on eBay. Just check the length of your steerer tube and get something coil sprung and oil damped like Marzocchi bomber Z1 or similar in my opinion. Don't rush to buy anything for your bike, have a good look at the bikes shown on here and the options available.
 
Just get a used mountain bike fork, like an old Marzocchi or even Rockshox.. 100mm or 110mm travel should be good. EBay etc..
The "springer" in your original post is what people put on their cruiser type bikes.. No damping, and possibly using drum brakes. Not really appropriate in a mountain bike in my opinion.

I agree with this.

The top screw going down vertically will screw in to a star nut inside the fork steerer tube. With proper spacing this is what adjust your vertical play in the headtube or the tightness of your steering explaining it roughly. The two allen bolts located on the stem which are horizontal adjust your stem and handlebar alignment left to right. When you get a new fork it will need to be the same length steerer tube or you can cut it to size or space it out with headset spacers if it is longer than your current fork. If you space it you want the stem to sit with just a little space above the top of the steerer tube not completely flush so when you tighten down the top vertical allen bolt it will pull the fork upwards taking out any excess play in the headtube. All you need is a millimeter or two. When you take it all apart just kinda reverse engineer it and it will be a little easier to understand.

Your headset is threadless so almost any length will work as long as it's not to short. Too long is ok but to short simply will not work. Since I doubt you want to replace your whole headset, you will need to purchase another star nut to insert into your forks steerer tube and also you will have to take the crown race off your old fork and put it on your new fork. The crown race is at the base of the steerer tube on your fork and is basically what your bearings sit against. I am going to post a link to a video on YouTube that will show you pretty much everything you need to know. Watch it and it will all make sense.

 
wow thats pretty simple. are crown nuts and star nuts universal? can i just get them preemptively and pop them on the new fork? taking the crown nut off seems like a pain. and it looks like a large washer, so whatre they, like 5$
 
It depends on the headset bearing. Some are interchangeable and some aren't. What we do know is the one that is currently on your fork definitely fits your headset.
When you get a new fork, if it is a used fork it may even have one on already. If not or if it doesn't look the same then it is easy to remove from your old fork by spraying on a little WD40, leave for a bit, then place the fork upside down on the floor and then with a large flat head screwdriver and plastic mallet you can knock it free. Just tap lightly in about four places and keep working your way around and around until it comes free. The only thing to avoid is hitting one side hard, that would possibly jam or bend it.
New ones are likely only available as part of a brand new whole aheadset.
A used fork will already have a star nut inside.
 
can i get one that has threads even though mine is threadless? it seems like only the other way around could be a problem right?
 
Never tried and wouldn't, so I can't tell you. I doubt it would be a great idea. The stem is meant to grip the surface so you can steer.. Can it do that on a thread?
 
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