wolf_river_mike

I'm looking at buying a rigid fork set up for a 700 cc wheel bike, my bike has 26" wheels. The steerer tube is long enough, I can cut and reweld the brake posts, or make new ones, to the right position. The axle to crown length is ~ 1" shorter than the 1.6" suspinsion fork I have on my bike now. My question is, what would this do to the handling of my bike. I am not a racer or anything like that, if anything, I'm facinated more by long distance type of riding. Can you guys see any other problems this swap would incur? Thanks for your help

pmseattle

Before you buy a 700c fork and re-weld it, check this one out:

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...%20ATB%20Forks

The fork legs are as long as a lot of 700c forks, but brake mounts are in the right place for 26" wheels, which sounds like what you're after. I can't figure out why they made it so tall. I bought one a while back but have not found a good use for it due to it's size.

This will obviously raise the front of your bike. You may not be able to stand comfortably clear of the top tube. The steering may feel heavier. If you climb extremely steep hills in a low gear, the front tire may be prone to lifting off the ground.

Little Darwin

If you read the text they explain why... very vaguely. It is to make the fork as long as a suspension fork. They are designed to allow for replacing suspension forks with rigid forks while minimizing the impact on the bike geometry.

well biked

The Nashbar fork you're talking about is suspension corrected, meaning it's taller than a standard fork so that it can be used on a bike that's geometry is designed for a suspension fork, without screwing up the handling. Since the OP indicates his bike currently has a suspension fork, the Nashbar fork does look like a good choice-

pmseattle

While that's true, it's corrected for a very long travel suspension fork. Most other suspension-corrected rigid forks are less than 420mm from crown to dropouts. This one would just about replace a 5" travel fork allowing for sag; most hardtail mountain bikes are designed around 80mm ( 3" ) travel forks. But the OP said he wanted a taller fork, so this one does fill that requirement.

well biked

Good point, and I see now that the OP is talking about a 1.6" travel fork, a very, very short travel fork (40mm?). I think it's safe to say that the Nashbar fork would slow the handling of the bike, while the 700c fork that's slightly shorter than the current fork would quicken the steering a little.

If you're interested in a somewhat shorter fork than the Nashbar, that's intended for 26" wheels, here's one by Surly. It's suspension corrected with 80mm (approx. 3") travel forks in mind: https://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30...ils&sku=FK0001

wolf_river_mike

Thanks for the replies guys. I know of the Surly 1x1 and the Tange suspension corrected forks. I believe I've read Little Darwin uses the Tange. I was looking at a pretty good deal on a Surly Crosscheck fork. I really like the crown on this fork and it might be worth the effort to modify it if it doesn't screw up the handling too much. My current fork is a 1.6" travel RST, it measures ~ 17"(432mm) from axle to crown. The Crosscheck measures 400mm.

well biked

Another possibility would be the Surly LHT fork, in 26" (they're available in both 26" and 700c versions, I believe). It's got a lugged crown I believe, and it should be about the right height for your bike to not affect handling much. Better check that, though, I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of it-