26" sus fork onto 700c road tourer - advice?

[Cave]

Hi all, I'm a cheapskate and don't want to shell out for a MTB, but toe overlap on my tourer is killing me when I go off road. I'm thinking of moving a 26"-wheel fork onto it to decrease overlap and thought this might be the place to ask advice.

Head angle 71 deg on tourer
Fork is a low-level Suntour, looks like about 75mm travel, could be a little less.
Head tube looks a similar level on both bikes, maybe 1-2 cm lower on the tourer.

Both 1 1/4" threadless so fork should drop out fine.

Any comments?

[meb]

Hi all, I'm a cheapskate and don't want to shell out for a MTB, but toe overlap on my tourer is killing me when I go off road. I'm thinking of moving a 26"-wheel fork onto it to decrease overlap and thought this might be the place to ask advice.

Head angle 71 deg on tourer
Fork is a low-level Suntour, looks like about 75mm travel, could be a little less.
Head tube looks a similar level on both bikes, maybe 1-2 cm lower on the tourer.

Both 1 1/4" threadless so fork should drop out fine.

Any comments?

If rim brakes are used, the brake shoes won't line up on the rim, so you'll be without front brakes, but the road wheel should seat in the MTB fork.

Most of the toe overlap reduction could come from changing the tire, so if both are disc brake fronts, just change the wheel instead-although you probably need a fairly skinny 26 tire (1.5 or less) to fit in the road fork unless you have one of the wider forks.

The change in head tube angle will adversly effect the bike's high speed stability, but will make it more responsive at low speed. A half inch change in fork length isn't going make it unrideable at any rate.

[kemmer]

I'm not sure if you're planning on putting 26" wheels on as well, but one thing to consider is that if you do, you'll end up with a lower bottom bracket and you won't have as much pedal clearance as you might like. You could switch to shorter cranks if it becomes a problem, but that's not an ideal solution. Why not buy a $50 Specialized Hardrock/Trek 850 or whatever 90s mountain bike you find that fits you? I don't know how it is where you live, but around here the things are a dime a dozen. I've got more than I know what to do with, all from the trash. I'm a cheapskate too but I do like having the right tool for the job, so to speak.

[mastershake916]

I'm not sure if you're planning on putting 26" wheels on as well, but one thing to consider is that if you do, you'll end up with a lower bottom bracket and you won't have as much pedal clearance as you might like. You could switch to shorter cranks if it becomes a problem, but that's not an ideal solution. Why not buy a $50 Specialized Hardrock/Trek 850 or whatever 90s mountain bike you find that fits you? I don't know how it is where you live, but around here the things are a dime a dozen. I've got more than I know what to do with, all from the trash. I'm a cheapskate too but I do like having the right tool for the job, so to speak.

I was working on an older Hard Rock and the fork size is all different now with modern suspension forks, so it's very hard to find one that fits.

[kemmer]

I was working on an older Hard Rock and the fork size is all different now with modern suspension forks, so it's very hard to find one that fits.

Well that's true. I guess if you really need suspension and older MTB might be harder. You can get 1" suspension forks on ebay though, or you could just shell out a little more for a bike that already has a front shock. I see quality stuff all the time for < $100.

[doktoravalanche]

No reason why it shouldn't work: Check this out, they've been discontinued, probably too radical for most people... http://www.profirad.de/images/cinelli_bootleg_zz_rats.jpg

[alecw35]

The suspension forks will be longer than the original forks especially if the forks were close clearance.

might be that it kicks the steering angle back a bit.
so it'll be less twitchy.

[cerewa]

my understanding of post#1 is that Cave wants to put a 26" fork and wheel on the front of the bike. Switching forks and not wheels will do almost nothing for your toe overlap.

If you do that, and it keeps the headtube of the bike within 20mm of its original height, the change in height may have no tangible effect on handling at all. If the new fork affects the handling, my suspicion is that the difference won't bother you much (and yes, you might even like the handling better). None of us on this board can tell whether it will seem like an improvement to you, but I can tell you that it is very likely to be possible to make the wheel-and-fork swap.

The only hitch I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is that it won't work if the 26" fork doesn't extend far enough above the lower headset bearings.

[toolong]

I'm not sure if you're planning on putting 26" wheels on as well, but one thing to consider is that if you do, you'll end up with a lower bottom bracket and you won't have as much pedal clearance as you might like.

Actually 26" pretty much any mtb fork will be longer than a road fork + 700cc wheel due to shock+ tire clearance on those things. So it will be a challenge to keep the BB at the existing height(and not higher). 26" wheels with 2.1" tires are actually pretty similar in diameter to 700c with 23mm tires so the difference in wheels is negligible.

I think this would be a cool project. I'd love to hear the results.