Originally Posted by
Moisture
1. A suspension fork can sometimes be barely any heavier than rigid. Thats not the problem. The extra length is.
Ive tried a 700c front 26" rear configuration before. Didn't like it much. It raises the front end by another inch which you don't need unless maybe you do serious singletrack.
Most modern rigid mtbs (including fat bikes) have suspension corrected forks and frame geo.
The frame is designed around a rigid fork that is longer than it needs to be so that a swap to an appropriate suspension fork will not screw up the geometry.