Originally Posted by
fishboat
Timely question as I've been looking for a 19-20 inch rigid mtb frame for a while. Slim pickins from what I've seen...at least in what I'm looking for(higher-end steel or possibly aluminum). Most seem to be frames without forks. Sort of torks me off a bit as I've found aftermarket forks the right size and decent quality can be slim pickins too. Can there be THAT many bent forks or are people just breaking up the frame and fork to make more money?
Today I located what looks to be a nice 19 inch 1995 Stumpjumper M2..no fork. From research, it appears the original rigid fork has an ATC of 410-415mm(?), 1 1/8ths threadless. I've almost considered picking up a donor Rockhopper or Hardrock bike just for the fork, though not sure if the same fork was used nor if a threadless version was used in these bikes (or at least what years/models..more research needed). By the time I did all this I'd be better off buy a frame with a fork or a complete bike and use the components I have to upgrade if or as needed. I thought this might be easier..
If I needed a 16, 17, 18 inch frame there's more to choose from, but 19-20 there's much fewer around.
In the case of MTBs, I often find people toss the original rigid forks so they can have a suspension fork instead. Two/three/four owners later, the original forks are long gone. Ruins the vintage ones IMHO. I've seen Kleins where someone tossed the fork. Ouch!!