YoKev

Greetings! I found my way over here from the C&V forum, and have been lurking for a week or so reading various topics of interest.

I picked up a Kona Smoke 2-9 last fall, and I have had a blast riding it. It has full fenders and 700*47 tires. I do a significant part of my 30 mile round trip commute on old rail beds and roads in poor condition, and I feel my Kona 9'er may possibly be a great way to try some local touring adventures (2 nights or so). I am looking to work with what I have; I did not think about the possibility of short tours when I purchased this bike.

It's a 4130 cromoly frame with both rack and fender mounts on the rear, but none on the front fork I currently use the largest Wald basket I could buy to haul my gear to work. The advantages of having the load distributed lower is (now) very apparent I need to fabricate some long rack struts for my rear rack to attach to the rack mounting holes, and I suspect that some weight in the rear will definitely help. The chainstay length is 45.5cm and the wheelbase is 109cm.

Is there a 29'er fork out there that can fit my tires and fenders? If not, what is the largest tire/fender combination that will fit under a commercially available fork? I emailed Surly about the LHT fork and have not heard back yet.

Thanks all, see you out on the road,

Kevin

Tom Stormcrowe

Look at Epic Designs Frame Bags.

If all you are going to be doing is 1-2 day rides, this might be just the thing for ultralight touring

https://epicdesigns-ak.blogspot.com/

arctos

I have been touring fully loaded off and on road on a Bruce Gordon RNR for over 19 years using 700x47 tires. It has been great including the Divide Ride. Weight distribution front and back does influence handling. I use 2 front panniers and and a rear rack top dry bag for supplies and equipment.

check out these bags too:https://www.carouseldesignworks.com/CDWpage1.html

Robert_in_ca

Instead of buying a Fork + Rack, buy this rack that will work with your fork.

https://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/...rontRacks.html
Either the Cold Springs, Ultimate Lowrider(double check on that one) or Sherpa.

truman

You might look at the Surly Karate Monkey forks. No lowrider braze ones, but they'll take just about any tire you can find.

https://www.surlybikes.com/karatemonkey.html

dannwilliams

Kona makes the Project 2 fork in many variations. I have it on the Sutra with disc brakes and it has lowrider mounts. Go to https://www.konabikeparks.com/ and click the components/forks tab. One of them should work for you.
Dan

YoKev

Thank you for the suggestions! I an really liking the old man mountain racks, and will look into those. The frame bag idea is kind of neat as well.

Thanks again,
Kevin