Fork size and handling
I thought I might be best off asking the framebuilding folks this one. I've got a hardtail mountain bike I'm building up that's spec'ed for 80mm of travel. For a rigid fork, the frame manufacturer suggests a 438mm fork, but I found a great deal on a 425mm fork.
I e-mailed both frame and fork manufacturers to ask if a 425 would be okay. Here's the response, in part, from the fork manufacturer: "The handling on the bike will be much twitchier and the BB will be lower and youll most likely clip more rocks with a shorter fork but you may actually like the more agressive position on the bike."
I know the 13mm shorter fork will change the handling, but will it be as extreme a difference as the quote above suggests? Much twitchier? Clip more rocks?
What do you all think?