ChiapasFixed

So ever since i got my Tikit, I have let the Airnimal Joey just sit there and gather dust. I finally loaned it out to a friend for a few weeks, but I am seeing he is not caring for it like I would.
SO
I had the bright idea of converting it to a hardtail MTB that I can ride out into the wilderness, then easily hitchhike or take a bus back into civilization. Also useful for traveling to faraway places and engaging in off road touring.

I am looking for a good, relatively affordable suspension fork for 24" wheels that is disc brake compatible. some good all-terrain 24" tyres, and am considering an Alfine IGH (it already has a nexus on there, but as I mentioned I want to convert to disc brakes, the frame is set up for it).

I am thinking BB7's, which I like on my Tikit, but am open to other suggestions.
Here is a pic of the joey in its commuter settup:

ChiapasFixed

also, any advice on good 24" MTB rims?

stevegor

I have a set of Velocity 36 hole 24" MTB rims that are basically brand new, never used and I would sell them to you at a good price....unfortunately, I'm in Australia and you're in...?

kingfish254

Good looking ride. Have fun and good luck.

ChiapasFixed

no good 24" suspension forks?
does anybody own a Rhino? what kind of forks are those, and would they fit 24" wheels?

stevegor

The Rhino "BLACK" uses a Rock Shox SID race fork which is disc compatible and the Rhino "WHITE" uses a Rock Shox Dart2 fork, again for disc brakes. As far as I know these are the standard 26" MTB fork, but they work because they use disc brakes, in other words, the mounting point on the fork for the disc caliper would work with the disc on the 24" wheel's hub, you would just have a bigger gap between the wheel and the fork crown. V brakes would be a different story. Most 24" forks are junk from junk bikes.

I suggest going to Airnimal's website and asking their forum members about converting a Joey to a Rhino, might get the most informed answers there.

Pocko

The only "high-end brand" 24 inch suspension fork I know of is from Marzocchi and it's called the D-Street 24.

It's a MTB "urban jump" fork and it's not cheapie Chinese copy, it's the real thing but it's relatively pricey at about $400-600 new (but that's the normal entry-level price for real mtb forks anyway). Do a search on ebay and you'll find a few "used" ones still out there. I heard it was going to be phased-out fairly soon.

It also uses a 20mm thru-axle so you need to get a front hub that accepts that.



If you are going to make your own frame, you could use a standard MTB 26" fork as long as you're using disc brakes, you just need to compensate for the long-ish fork length for your frame geometry to get the correct head angle so you don't end up with a raked-out chopper.

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ChiapasFixed

thanks stevegor, I may end up using a 26" fork, although it may change the geometry of the bike a bit?
I am not exactly transforming the joey into a rhino, as the rhino is a fully suspended 20" MTB, and I am looking to build it into a hardtail 24" XC bike, but your idea of asking on the Airnimal forums is not a bad one.

Pocko

Yes it will. A rigid 26" fork is obviously longer than your 24" rigid fork - and a 26" suspension fork is quite a bit longer still (because of the added travel). It will slacken your head angle quite a bit and raise your bottom bracket height.

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konut

Wouldn't it be possible to build a 20" wheel, using a disc hub, to return the geometry to normal using a 26" suspension fork? Or would that lower the front too much?

ChiapasFixed

interesting idea konut, but I am trying to keep the 24" wheel, in the front especially, as I feel 20" wheels are not the best for XC...

ChiapasFixed

ps. no forum on the Airnimal website

stevegor

Sorry about that, I was just on the UK site and saw the tab for "community"......nothing comes up.

PDR

Airnimal are really interesting bikes (I test rode a Joey) but there are too many “still under construction, please try again soon” pages on that web-site. I have not seen any changes in over a year..... someone needs a boot up the backside