120mm fork on a 1997/8 King Kahuna - is it safe?

[Monkeeee01]

@Monkeeee01 - why not try the SID you have first?... it looks like it may be at 80mm travel atm, but by removing the internal spacer it'll be 100mm.

When I've fitted forks that are too long for a frame, the steering loses it's smoothness - it hits a point where the bar and wheel quite quickly "drop away".

It would probably be worth experimenting a bit to find what you like/are happy with.

Cheers

Thanks @wadsy - I didn’t realise I could do that/don’t know how but yeah I’d like to experiment for sure.

I would prefer the Fox as I find them less flexy when you go round corners but equally if the steering goes Pete Tong then I need to find a compromise.

Hopefully where the seller has reduced the travel on the Fox they will be the best of both worlds (but we’ll see)

 

[bikeworkshop]

The better fox fork will make a bigger difference to ride quality than the 20mm extension i bet

 

[wadsy]

Thanks @wadsy - I didn’t realise I could do that/don’t know how but yeah I’d like to experiment for sure.

I would prefer the Fox as I find them less flexy when you go round corners but equally if the steering goes Pete Tong then I need to find a compromise.

Hopefully where the seller has reduced the travel on the Fox they will be the best of both worlds (but we’ll see)

@Monkeeee01 - the 32mm stanchion SID you have is pretty good and once serviced/tuned is a nice fork. The Fox may well be more stable (esp if you use a through axle) and perhaps more advanced... I'm not that familiar with more modern forks.

I can do the travel adjustment on the SID, or you'd probably find a YouTube video and manuals online too... pm me if you'd like to discuss.

Cheers

 

[grahame]

How much sag do you plan to run on the fork?

25% sag on 120mm travel fork (30mm sag) would leave the geometry effectively the same as running 10% sag on 100mm travel fork - they would both have 90mm of travel "left" and the effective axle to crown length would be about the same, but the longer fork would probably feel much more "active".

 

[Monkeeee01]

The better fox fork will make a bigger difference to ride quality than the 20mm extension i bet

I think so too

 

[Monkeeee01]

How much sag do you plan to run on the fork?

25% sag on 120mm travel fork (30mm sag) would leave the geometry effectively the same as running 10% sag on 100mm travel fork - they would both have 90mm of travel "left" and the effective axle to crown length would be about the same, but the longer fork would probably feel much more "active".

Tbh I’m not very good with setting up forks, sag etc so I don’t know without experimenting but I’ve ordered the 120mm Fox 32’s and the seller has adjusted them to be 100mm for me so I’m hoping they will be all good!

Got to source the rest of my kit now….. brakes, cassette, chain, rotors, tyres, pedals all still to go!

Thanks again for everyone’s help

 

[Monkeeee01]

@Monkeeee01 - the 32mm stanchion SID you have is pretty good and once serviced/tuned is a nice fork. The Fox may well be more stable (esp if you use a through axle) and perhaps more advanced... I'm not that familiar with more modern forks.

I can do the travel adjustment on the SID, or you'd probably find a YouTube video and manuals online too... pm me if you'd like to discuss.

Cheers

Thanks again @wadsy I’ll drop you a line when I give it a go and if I get stuck. I’ll be holding onto the SIDs for a potential future build as V-brake models are getting harder and harder to come by!