Yo Eddy for the 21st Century- update: plans for phase two.

[Dr S]

I prefer the damping of the Magura. It's also much stiffer torsionally. These are the two things that made me go for the Magura. Build quality also looks better too- good German engineering.

 

[CTK]

Don't change it! White Bros do 1" forks- in 80mm and 100mm- would save a lot of fussing about!

 

[Dr S]

But are the White forks as stiff as a Magura? That is my main complaint with the SID; it's just too flexy and twists too easily.
It's only an afternoons work to swap the headtube. Also a modern fork has less offset in the crown. The beauty of putting an old DH crown on a SID is that the offset helps to counteract the changes in handling that you get putting a longer fork on an old frame. If I plugged a modern fork straight into the stock frame I might get the handling problems that some of the contributors to this thread have suspected. By fitting the new head tube I can change the geometry a touch to counter this problem.
It sounds drastic but it's something I have given much thought and I feel it's the better option.

 

[CTK]

White Bros forks are nothing if not stiff according to reviews & look kind of retro too.

I'm not sure about how different forks will change angles but I will say that your Fat Chance looks suprisingly good/right with those forks on. Most retro frames with a 100mm fork on -often seen on ebay- look daft.

If you are swapping the headtube out you could maybe swap to an internal/integral headset? It would save you approx 10mm axle to crown length...

 

[mikesnowdon]

Dont forget the problem of a high BB remains whatever you do with the HT. You could make the new HT as short as possible allowing enough fork/DT clearance to counter this a bit. And use a super low stack Crank Bros headset too.

I would be looking for the shortest A to C 100mm fork I could find. Mind you, I'd probably just use a modern SID as they are much much stiffer than the old 28mm stanchion version.

Maybe 2 degrees steeper is a bit much?

Good luck with it

 

[Dr S]

Dont forget the problem of a high BB remains whatever you do with the HT. You could make the new HT as short as possible allowing enough fork/DT clearance to counter this a bit. And use a super low stack Crank Bros headset too.

I would be looking for the shortest A to C 100mm fork I could find. Mind you, I'd probably just use a modern SID as they are much much stiffer than the old 28mm stanchion version.

Maybe 2 degrees steeper is a bit much?

Good luck with it

The 2 degrees is just a drawn on paper estimate for now. I've measured the AtoC, offset and rake of the Durin SL in my LBS and made calculations based on that. It could be nearer 1.5 degrees yet, I will see when I get the fork as I need to take sag into consideration. Maguras tend to sit a little higher in the travel than Rock Shox or Fox so my 2degree estimate was allowing for that.

Bottom bracket height isn't an issue at all. Yo Eddys are low slung racers and the extra 6-7mm you get from the longer fork comes in handy without affecting the handling. I still managed to bash the outer ring on serveral rocks last night.

 

[mikesnowdon]

Ok cool.

So are you changing the HT yourself or sending it away to a frame builder?

 

[Epoch]

I personally really appreciate what you have achieved here.

The bike looks cracking, colour not my preference but what does that mater!

I too am about to replace large chunks of my 1997 Kona with more new parts as i still love riding the frame. It won't be as classy or well done as this (i'm staying with rim brakes etc) but for me it will make the best of what i've got.

I also now know i'm neo retro

Thanks

 

[Dr S]

Ok cool.

So are you changing the HT yourself or sending it away to a frame builder?

It's all down to time. I'm planning to make the changes later in the year- I'm trying to make the most of what is left of the evenings and fair weather to get some riding in. I've also got a few projects stacking up so I will decide nearer the time. If I can't find time I'll send it over to Kevin Winter (who did a fantastic job on the frame repair and disc mount). Kevin is really busy at the moment though.

Si

 

[Dr S]

I personally really appreciate what you have achieved here.

The bike looks cracking, colour not my preference but what does that mater!

I too am about to replace large chunks of my 1997 Kona with more new parts as i still love riding the frame. It won't be as classy or well done as this (i'm staying with rim brakes etc) but for me it will make the best of what i've got.

I also now know i'm neo retro

Thanks

Don't forget to take plenty of pics and share your progress with us