I had some judy fsx on my axis tt that had the Englund air upgrade which also increased the travel a bit and these were fine. I've just swapped on some 100mm fox forks and the axle to crown difference is literally 1-2cm at most and whilst I've not ridden it yet, it doesn't look like the geometry has been affected much. Will the steering be affected that much, I'm no expert so can't say, but you will get the benefit of a better performing fork in terms of rigidity and tracking (not to mention actual suspension) so these benefits may outweigh any of the deficits you may introduce.
100mm modern sus forks and E-stay frames?
- Thread starter MADB
- Start date
Wow so much controversy, so I’m now thinking this could be done with some wide bar and a shortish stem to help with the handling. 100mm forks are definitely going to be pushing the limits of a usable bike but 80 looks fine. I know what some of you are saying about sloppy head angle but isn’t that how lots of modern bike run these days. Especially the long travel 140 -160mm hard tails, which is the look I’m after but with the E-stay styling. I would have a custom made E-stay frame made to take 140mm forks but I need I win the lottery first.
I have some crap SR 100mm forks that I might put on the Saracen just to see how it works out as an experiment until I can find another suitable frame, just need to swap out the headset for an ahead one.The Saracen will be going back to it original look as I love that little bike as it is, mad fast little machine, it feel like an MTB BMX hybrid after ride my 29er.
Kaiser that is a wicked looking Alpinestar, the decals are a bit bling for me the build is very nice and the 80mm forks look right at home on that frame, have you tried 100mm in it?
I have some crap SR 100mm forks that I might put on the Saracen just to see how it works out as an experiment until I can find another suitable frame, just need to swap out the headset for an ahead one.The Saracen will be going back to it original look as I love that little bike as it is, mad fast little machine, it feel like an MTB BMX hybrid after ride my 29er.
Kaiser that is a wicked looking Alpinestar, the decals are a bit bling for me the build is very nice and the 80mm forks look right at home on that frame, have you tried 100mm in it?
i've been running 100mm travel bombers on a small-ish orange gringo (17" c-t designed for 80mm travel iirc) for a few years, the things i would note about the longer fork is not so much steering related but climbing.
with the nose pushed a bit further up, essentially you are shifting the point of balance further back so on a hill you can get quite light sensations on the steering and in some cases lift the nose accidentally if you are pedalling hard.
this is probably exagerated for me as i do prefer slightly smaller frames than i should ride (according to manufacturers guides) especially when off road. with the frame being slightly smaller, i run a 110 stem, risers and a layback post which will all contribute the the centre of gravity shifting but on the flat or downhill this isn't an issue. with an e-stay, they are notoriously better climbers (from what i have read & bean lead to believe) so this may not be as much of an issue, likewise if the frame itself is the 'correct' size for you.
as everyone else has said - try it. you might just like it!
with the nose pushed a bit further up, essentially you are shifting the point of balance further back so on a hill you can get quite light sensations on the steering and in some cases lift the nose accidentally if you are pedalling hard.
this is probably exagerated for me as i do prefer slightly smaller frames than i should ride (according to manufacturers guides) especially when off road. with the frame being slightly smaller, i run a 110 stem, risers and a layback post which will all contribute the the centre of gravity shifting but on the flat or downhill this isn't an issue. with an e-stay, they are notoriously better climbers (from what i have read & bean lead to believe) so this may not be as much of an issue, likewise if the frame itself is the 'correct' size for you.
as everyone else has said - try it. you might just like it!
Osella
Senior Retro Guru
MADB":4u372y61 said:
Best idea so far.. Try it out!
But even better than that is to get some measurements...
100mm vs 80mm vs 140mm is in part meaningless.
The actual height your headtube will end up at depends on the axle to crown length, minus sag. I have a pair of Suntour 100mm travel forks.. I also have a pair of 100mm Magura Odur's, and 100mm 2002 SID's. They all have different 'real-world' heights..
If you're thinking of going with Maguras, SID's, etc then I think you'd have no problems as their heights tend to be 470mm or so at most. More modern Suntours, Rebas etc are more like 480mm+, so there's 10mm of height difference for the same travel.
3-4 year old figures, but for example:
Fox F80: 450.9mm
Fox F100: 470.9mm
99-08 SID 80: 451mm
SID 100: 473
Magura Odur 100: 473mm
Manitou Minute 100: 478mm
Marzocchi DJ 100: 490mm
I'd suggest measuring the Suntour height, pop them on & see if it feels/looks too high, if not - go for something similar, or if it does, go for something smaller, but with the same travel. What you don't want to do is dial in so much sag to get the front end low that you end up with the forks bottoming out!
