Mountain Biking - Fork Length

First off...Please ignore my misspelling in the title ...I know...length.:)


My Gary Fisher Tassajara came with a 100mm fork. Are there any big issues with going with a 120mm or a 130mm fork?

Handling will definatley change on the bike, not by much, but it will be noticeable.

Besides that you will have no problems, may i ask what fork your looking at putting on?

Oh and others may whine "ohhh its not designed for 130mm your frame is going to crack". That wont happen.

Besides that you will have no problems, may i ask what fork your looking at putting on?

Nothing solid yet. I am hoping to find a Fox if I can afford it. If I can safely open my size rage up to 130mm that just gives me that much more of a chance of finding a good deal.
If anyone has a GOOD XC fork they are looking to part with please feel free to PM me with the info :)

120 should be okay, 130 might be pushing it. Ideally you want to go with whatever amount of travel the frame was designed around and I'm guessing an XC bike like the Tass was made with 100 or less in mind. Adding more travel will change the effective headtube angle and put you in danger of a failure where the top and downtubes are welded to it.

IMO if you are doing anything that 100mm is not enough for, you shouldn't be doing it with that frame in the first place.

edit-I am a moron. Please disregard the last sentence as it has nothing to do with your reason for posing this question.

Why do you want 120mm? If you got one that size for free then go with it, if you are buying a new one then you are better off with 100.

Quality, NOT quantity...

With respect to geometry changes, the axle to crown length of each fork makes the difference, not the difference in travel.

Why do you want 120mm? .

Only reason is more available choices in good used forks if I can use anything from 100mm to 130mm instead of just looking at 100mm forks. Thats the only reason.

First off...Please ignore my misspelling in the title ...I know...length.:)


Fixed it for you!

With respect to geometry changes, the axle to crown length of each fork makes the difference, not the difference in travel.

This is true, but the amount of travel often affects this length. No matter how you slice it, the OP is best off selecting a fork that has the recommended travel for the frame.

Fixed it for you!


:) Thanks...

Oh and others may whine "ohhh its not designed for 130mm your frame is going to crack". That wont happen.

....yeah, usually the entire head tube just snaps off. :p

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a10/Zanetti7/azonic20002.jpg

did that happen to you^^

This is true, but the amount of travel often affects this length.

Often but not always. I just sold a 150mm fork that had the same axle to crown as my 200mm fork. And I have a 140mm fork that is over 60mm shorter than the aforementioned 150mm fork.

My point is that you could have two forks, one with 100mm and one with 120mm. The one with 20mm more travel but could actually be the same height as the 100mm fork (or close), depending on model, year, etc.

Only reason is more available choices in good used forks if I can use anything from 100mm to 130mm instead of just looking at 100mm forks. Thats the only reason.

I had installed a fork on a bike that I thought I got for a good price... turned out that the A/C length screwed up the handling of the bike more than I expected. Lesson I learned- should have bought a fork that was more similar to the one that came with the bike and what I though was a good deal was not.

Okie dookie....I purchased a 100mm. Decided to play it safe.

....yeah, usually the entire head tube just snaps off. :p

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a10/Zanetti7/azonic20002.jpg

So that happened to a frame with a 130mm fork that originally had a 100mm fork did it?