Thanks for your input Jur-san.
I've done alot of digging around for a nice fork for the Swift, both in English, and Japanese, and when I found the Trigon fork, thought I struck gold, but alas...things aren't going as planned..
Yep I'm sorry to hear this, but you have run into the Swift forks problem. This has stymied me since the beginning. I have not been able to source a fork with correct crown-to-dropout dimension. Will that fork you have take the 451 wheels? I suspect perhaps not.
Good news there - The fork does accept the 451's. We even mounted the R556 calipers & with the pads all the way up, the brakes work too.
If you do fit this fork, I would suggest that you use a clamp to get the headset preload correct, and then just fit the Joey riser over the steerer tube. There is a headset from DiaCompe which has such a clamp. The function of the clamp is such that in a normal Aheadset fork, the stem can be removed without affecting the headset preload.
I'll do a search on the Diacomp headset you mentioned. It might prove to be useful.
You may opt to get another Joey riser and take it to a machinist shop to very slightly enlarge the inner diameter such that it fits the steerer tube. That will still leave you with the original riser should you wish to swap back.
Now I hadn't thought of that! The Joey riser just barely "doesn't fit", so I'm pretty sure it would be a simple/easy shaving inside the riser to get a good fit over the fork's steerer tube. If I do this, I'll reorder another Joey riser.. - in case I can't get used to the lower fork & decide to switch back to the stock fork.
~ Weight wise, I'd really NOT want to, but for handling & appearance, we'll see..
Alternatively, an aluminum tube of the correct inner diameter to slip over the steerer tube would serve as a long spacer would work with a normal Aheadset fork setup. I have done this on my R20.
This is exactly what the shop mechanic suggested. He even dug up a scrap portion off a broken high-end Colnago carbon frame to see if it fit
but it didn't.
I wouldn't go with a short fork for the simple reason I wouldn't like the looks of the sloping down top tube.
Mmm...After we mounted the fork to the frame, this was the first thing that crossed my mind too...then I picked up the stock fork & was reminded just how heavy it is! & how much weight I'd be shaving w/the new fork!
If there was just some way for me to get the front of the bike back up to the same height as w/the stock fork...I'd be set!
For now, I'm going to keep carry through with the change out, but I might be back on the stock fork if I'm not satisfied..
Might have to research the lengths of the KHS & Gios mini-velo forks to see if they'd be a better fit.
Thanks again & I'll let you all know the outcome..
Rgds,
K.