Originally Posted by
Ronno6
I'm refurbing an old Cannondale ST (touring) frame, but do not have the original fork.
The Frame is 25" size, and has a 72° head tube angle.
Dimensions for the original, fork 1 and fork 2 are:
Fork.......Axle to crown...Rake....Trail
Original.....385mm..........55mm...55mm
Fork !.......403mm..........50mm...58mm
Fork 2.......400mm.........44mm....64mm
Question is: are either of these acceptable, or will the increase in trail make the bike demonstrate unsatisfactory handling characteristics for loaded touring??
I cannot afford a custom fork, and I have not as of yet located an original.
Can fork blades be "adjusted" safely to achieve the original rake, or am I worrying too much about it?
On one Trek I had a framebuilder reduce rake to increase trail. On trying to get the change reversed on the same fork, I couldn't get anyone to do it. Looking for a mod on another fork, I struck out completely. If Igleheart will do it for you, more power to you. At the time I was inquiring, nobody had suggested them.
As far as how much trail is too much, it's interesting to look at a survey of bike geometry on Dave Mann's "The Bike Geometry Project." I think you'll find very few frames offerring more trail than 62 mm, but I don't know why.
I got a local framebuilder to build me a fork with high offset (low trail) for a very reasonable price. PM and I'll send you his info. Fork is nice, but it took a long time.