Rigid fork conversion (700C disc)
 

Looking for some advice from someone informed - I'm not, hence the ask for help. I don't know the first place to start and the LBSs in my area really don't offer much in the way of modifications. They sell lots of road bikes and if you're not buying one, you get very limited assistance.

I have a '09 Gary Fisher Kaitai hybrid, 21" with 700c 28mm slicks (and disc brakes). I want to remove the suspension fork and replace it with a rigid fork. I'm trying to determine what rigid fork I can buy online and bring to my LBS for installation. Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Given my ineptness on the topic, I would gladly paypal some $$ to anyone who's willing to spend a little time advising me on what to buy. I'd like to spend less then $150 on the fork. The goal of this exercise is to make my hybrid as road bike-like as possible. I want to ride more frequently for a few months and if I do, consider going to a road bike next. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

No worries. Free advice is what the InterWorf is for.

Here's one: http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=4158

According to BikePedia, you need a 1 1/8" threadless version:
http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...e#.USGLovIp-7Q

Note that Dimension is a brand imported by Quality Bicycle Products and sold through many retail and online locations. I bet one of you LBS's has an account with QBP and can order the fork for you, which might work to your advantage. Bike shops can get a little snippy when customers walk in with random parts bought online.

FWIW: I just did roughly the same conversion to my mountain bike. Since I'm not hitting bumps hard enough to make a suspension fork worth it, I de-suspended it to lose the weight and height of the suspension.

If you want the geometry to be completely unchanged, instead of just really similar, I would think that a Surly Karate Monkey fork would be a good choice.

OK, this fork: http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=47440

Since the OP is starting with a hybrid and not a 29'er, I wonder if the Karate Monkey fork would actually raise the front end of the bike compared to his existing suspension fork.

I put this on my hybrid that I got rid of the suspension fork on. It's inexpensive and has held up really well

http://www.amazon.com/Dimension-700c-Hybrid-Threadless-Suspension/dp/B003UA5UEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361160777&sr=8-1&keywords=suspension+corrected+fork

edit: I didn't see the disc brakes, my bad

I've been contemplating the same thing on my GT Transeo, and was figuring on the Nashbar carbon cyclocross fork.

Thank you all very much for your input. Now I can confidently move forward knowing that this will technically work. Now the only question is what would paying more for a nashbar carbon fork get over a less expensive steel one (besides weight) and I'm off and running with the project!

Just put the Surly on my trek 8.3.

Specifically which Surly fork did you go with? I see several available on their site. Thx.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...QEwBQ&dur=3611


this one,Did my first ride with yesterday(18 miles)and everything worked fine.

weight is pretty much the savings.

a good quality steel fork should have some similar vibration damping qualities

From universal cycle for my 29er Gary Fisher paragon I got Salsa CroMoto Grande Rigid 29r Fork FSA Orbit XL-II Threadless Headset and they installed the crown race. I went on line and found a explanation on how to make a head set install tool from threaded rod and copper plumbing parts and it all went together great and works great for my MTB touring bike conversion bike.