Hybrid Bicycles - Rigid fork

I would like to change my suntour sus fork (63mm) with rigid one. Bike is Giant Roam XR1 (2012), 700c wheels with disc brakes.

Would prefer not to change geometry of the bike ..so I'm looking for 445-455mm ATC fork...

Do you have any recommendation on what to buy (Surley, Salsa, Trigon, Exotic....)?

PS: CroMo or Alu, not carbon.

G,day Rise I think flebay is your best bet I've seen lots of brands there. The length your looking at is a 29er MTB fork I put on a cyclocross 410mm fork to make it more road bike like.
Some people might disagree with me but I would not use an alloy fork with a alloy frame, the ride will be to harsh and all the shock will go through your body also if you included carbon in your options you would have a lot more forks to choose from so I would rethink the carbon option.

Thnx for the reply.

29er forks are around 460-470mm ATC and that would change geometry and make bike taller at front.

Found some Kinetics trekking forks with 450mm ATC but have canti studs which I realy don't like so google it a little and found out that Surley 1x1 100mm fork would fit fine. As I already have experience with Surly rigid fork on my old bike this will probably be the answer for me. At the time I can not find webshop that has it on stock but I'm sure it will appear somewhere in week or two.

Carbon forks (under 200 USD) have weight limitations and I'm pretty big boy :D

Yes you are right about the ATC length I should have thought better. It seems you have a good idea about what you are doing, also remember your fork choice is for a 26inch wheel and you have 700c but I think it will be OK.
Make sure there are disc brake mounts, the canti brakes wont work with a 700c wheel and usually they can be unscrewed then fill the holes with silicone the same color as the fork.
I built a bike with a 26er frame 29er wheels with a CX 700c fork so I had no trouble fitting the front wheel and at the back the same Sammy Slicks as you have fit in well still allowing some mud clearance.
Hopefully you have the same results at the front, here's a few pic's showing the clearance.

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad345/kdionb/JBC%20custom/DSCF1899.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad345/kdionb/JBC%20custom/AUT15769.jpg

Yes you are right about the ATC length I should have thought better. It seems you have a good idea about what you are doing, also remember your fork choice is for a 26inch wheel and you have 700c but I think it will be OK. Make sure there are disc brake mounts, the canti brakes wont work with a 700c wheel and usually they can be unscrewed then fill the holes with silicone the same color as the fork.

This isnt't my first bike so I know couple of tips&tricks but it's always better to doublecheck and ask more experienced drivers ;)
Regarding the Surley being 26 inch fork and I have 700c wheels - it's should work fine, because ATC is 453mm but disc brakes are a must. Also found couple of builds with 700c wheels on 1x1 fork around the internet so I will give it a try.


I built a bike with a 26er frame 29er wheels with a CX 700c fork so I had no trouble fitting the front wheel and at the back the same Sammy Slicks as you have fit in well still allowing some mud clearance. Hopefully you have the same results at the front, here's a few pic's showing the clearance.

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad345/kdionb/JBC%20custom/DSCF1899.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad345/kdionb/JBC%20custom/AUT15769.jpg

That CX fork looks amazing but as I can see it's out of my budget (around 400USD (http://www.cyclesport.com/road-bike/ALPHA-Q-CX-CARBON-700C-FORK-118))...

Judging by the pics your bike is a real beauty! :thumb:

rise000,
Slightly off-topic (but not really), I'd be very interested in any thoughts/comments you have on the XR 1: quality, ride, handling etc. I'm seriously considering the bike (we can get them here in Canada), but test rides are no substitute for longer-term experience.
Cheers!

Hi Badger,

here are few words from me, hope it helps in your decision on buying one...

Components - very well sorted mid to high class MTB parts. SLX shifters (10 speed) and rear derailleur are working extremly well as you would expected for the price you pay on the bike. Front derailleur is XT series and Roam is probably one of the few bikes that have front derailleur higher class than the rear. Brakes are Elixir 1, basic brakes from Avid but for me and for just about everybody using bike on road and light trails have more than enough stopping power. These are my first disc brakes and although I had excellent Vbreaks on my old bike (Deore XT) this is just different story - they can put you in dead stop in metter of seconds. Should be carefull on first rides until you get use to them.

Suntour fork is Suntour fork :D It is, I think, their top model for trekking/cross bike but still no match for forks from RS like Reba, SiD, Recon or even Tora. It has hydraulic lockout and I keep it that position most of the time. Partly because I like rigid and this is one of the first things that I'm going to upgrade. Some nice CroMo or carbon rigid fork would give the bike more stifness and speed. If you're more into trails and jumping on potholes I suggest to look for some decent 29er fork with no more than 80mm travel cause of the geometry of the bike.

Saddle, stem, seatpost, handlebar and wheels are all Giant branded components so time will show how they will cope with millage and abuse. For now I'm very pleased and it seems that are all reasonably light.Best part of the bike is frame. It's light, beautifly crafted aluminium SL frame that is Giant's top of the range (regulars Roam's have diffrent kind of aluminium used and are havier). With this frame and top components like Shimano's XT/R series and some nice carbon fork the bike could easily go under 10kg which is very very light for this kind of bicycle.

Driving - it's fast. Don't be fooled by semi-slicks. It has 700c wheels and narrow Schwalbe tyers and if you're in race around town only roadies can compete with you. Regular MTB's, even on slicks, can do you nothing :D I manage to keep it almost always above 30km/h and with little wind I can do 40km/h on straight lines.

Even though it's big bike (mine is XL frame) doesn't feel oversized while riding. I test ride few Giant 29er MTB's and they all seem just to big for city commuting and sharp manouvers while avoiding pedestrians and obsticles...I must say, I fell in love with the looks of the Roam because it's not gentle like more road oriented hybrids and it has that "trail machine" look. Even few people stoped me and asked is that a 29er so it looks very aggressive and powerful. Especialy in glossy black.

I think that very big role of driving Roam will be brought from compersion to your old bike. If you drove road bike or hybrid with narrow tires (700x23) this one will not feel all that fast but if you are coming from MTB world (like me) and you were used to 26 inch knobbies this will feel like a rocket :D

Overall I'm very pleased with it. This is my do-it-all bike and I use it for commuting, long touring drives and event light trails. There is always compromise when you're buying hybrid. It's not fast as roadie and not trail happy as MTB but you can toss that story another way around - it's faster than MTB and more verstaile than road bike. So for somebody who wants only one bike in the garage this could be the answer.

You can always change few bits and pieces and make it more road frendly with slick tyres and rigid fork or make it more trail usable with knobbie tyres and better suspension fork. As for me, original setup is almost ideal but will go rigid in few weeks time.

If you have more specific question regarding the bike, feel free to ask.

Regards ;)

@rise000,
Many thanks for the detailed and very helpful comments. Helps confirm what I know about the bike from brief test rides/fitting, and my knowledge of (and liking for) Giant bicycles generally. I'm a fairly experienced -- but older -- cyclist; I'm looking at the Roam XR as a possible replacement for my heavily-modified Spec. Sirrus (flat-bar road bike). Age, and some very specific health problems/concerns, have me looking at front suspension + a slightly more 'upright' position (all on Dr.'s orders) in order to keep riding (I average 6 to 7000 kms/year).
I'd thought about a 29er/slicks option, to be honest, but like you concluded it's 'too much bike' given what I want it for; the Roam XR is more 'fit for purpose', and there's certainly scope to lighten it up considerably (I can't deny my "inner weight-weenie" self!). If I go for it, I'll probably switch the tires to 32c touring (Schwalbe Marathon Supremes or similar), add my pedals and saddle, and go from there.

@rise000,
Many thanks for the detailed and very helpful comments. Helps confirm what I know about the bike from brief test rides/fitting, and my knowledge of (and liking for) Giant bicycles generally. I'm a fairly experienced -- but older -- cyclist; I'm looking at the Roam XR as a possible replacement for my heavily-modified Spec. Sirrus (flat-bar road bike). Age, and some very specific health problems/concerns, have me looking at front suspension + a slightly more 'upright' position (all on Dr.'s orders) in order to keep riding (I average 6 to 7000 kms/year).
I'd thought about a 29er/slicks option, to be honest, but like you concluded it's 'too much bike' given what I want it for; the Roam XR is more 'fit for purpose', and there's certainly scope to lighten it up considerably (I can't deny my "inner weight-weenie" self!). If I go for it, I'll probably switch the tires to 32c touring (Schwalbe Marathon Supremes or similar), add my pedals and saddle, and go from there.



No problem :)

Yes, the Roam is very well balanced between 29er with slicks and road hybrid bike. I'm going in slightley different direction with rigid fork and lowered stem/removed spacers to get a little bit more aggressive position but still like 35 tyres that don't need extra care while jumping on curbes and potholes.

As for weight, like you, I'm also thinking of couple lighter components but will see how much I'm willing to invest in brand new bike :D

Regards

Looks like the Salsa CroMoto 26" would work also. I'm also looking to do the same thing on my Giant Roam 1. I was having a hard time finding a fork that wouldn't change the geometry too much and hadn't considered 26" forks. Are you certain that the smaller 26" fork will work with 700c rims as long as you're running disc brakes?

Looks like the Salsa CroMoto 26" would work also. I'm also looking to do the same thing on my Giant Roam 1. I was having a hard time finding a fork that wouldn't change the geometry too much and hadn't considered 26" forks. Are you certain that the smaller 26" fork will work with 700c rims as long as you're running disc brakes?

I don't see why not. Rigid forks don't have bridge between legs.... So on 100mm suspension corected rigid fork for 26 wheels and ATC 440+ mm there is more than enough clearence to acommodate 700c wheel.... I also ask guys on carboncycles to recommend me a fork to replace one on Roam and they say that 44.5 ATC fork will work just fine (even though it's stated as 26 inch wheels fork).