I am thinking of switching to a solid fork, mainly because mine is low quality and heavy so hoping to lose weight/gain some pedaling efficiency.


I measured my "crown to axle" and came up with about 17.5" exactly (sorry for the lousy pic, it's tough to hold the camera and the tape measure at the same time). This one I found on Amazon is 430mm which is about 16.92".


Will I notice the 0.5+" difference in my geometry? I am not sure if this is one of those things where fractions of inches matter or not.


Thanks!

Do you notice it now when the fork compresses?

That's a great question - I want to say "no" but the only time the fork really compresses is on the steepest part of my commute when I stand up on the pedals. The minor bumps in the road otherwise don't compress it more than the 0.5" difference I mentioned.


Also, I would think there would be a difference between the instantaneous, temporary geometric change resulting from hammering on the pedals or riding on rough terrain and permanently fixing your bike's geometry to be a fraction of an inch lower.


I am just trying to figure out if lowering the front end 0.5" will be so small it's not noticeable or if it will be a large, annoying change.

I'm sure the fork compresses a certain amount just from you sitting on the bike

How much does it compress when you sit on the bike? Doesn't it compress? I honestly do not think you will notice much of a difference, if at all. If you do, you will get used to it quickly. Generally, when you have suspension, the fork will compress slightly when you sit on the bike, assuming the fork is set up for your weight.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't notice it squat much when I sit on it, I think most of the weight is on the back tire, but I am sure it sags some. It's a pretty crappy fork. If you take a look at the bike, the top bar slopes upward so I don't think it will look goofy if I lower the front end slightly.

The fork probably compresses more than you think when you get on the bike. You can see exactly how much by placing a plastic wire tie around the fork where the tubes meet. DO this with no weight on the bike. Get on the bike, as if you were going to ride it. Get off and measure how far the wire tie has moved. It most likely has moved. If not, the shock probably has to heavy of a spring for you anyway.

If it doesn't move, you can reduce the length by .5 inch by using a tied down strap to slightly compress the fork, and see if it affects the handling. Honestly, a half inch isn't going to make a difference you will notice. If it does, you will get used to it quickly.

I think the benefits of moving to a rigid fork, both weight and efficiency, will outweigh any slight handling difference.

That answers my question! I have actually used the zip tie trick when I used to work on race cars. Not sure why I didn't think of it on my bike!

while designing a bike for a suspension fork, most people assume 25% sag. So if it's a 100mm travel fork, that means you would subtract off 25mm. You measured the un-sagged length

Brilliant!

One more thing, a solid fork is going to be super heavy. Take some solid advice, and get a hollow rigid steel fork instead.

I replaced the crap Manitou cheapo fork in my Montare years ago with a nice and light Salsa Cromo rigid fork. My only regret is not doing it years sooner. I doubt the difference will be significant.

Thanks. As you can see, I am still learning the bicycle vernacular

I am convinced!

I've done the converted mountain bike thing. If I were headed to a flatbar again I'd get a hybrid, and leave the mountain bikes on the trails.

Those of you talking about sag - this is a cheapie, it's probably got a lot of preload so it's topped out most of the time and only deflects for big hits.

Alan is making a funny, but there were solid forks back in the old days. Schwinns had them, for one. They are heavy as hell but sort of attractive since they look so thin compared to tubing.

Tons of preload, no rebound. Like riding a pogo stick. That's a point well taken about mtbs but I am honestly having just as much fun working on it as I am riding it!!

I had an old rigid MTB that I rebuilt into a commuter after the frame cracked (too many good parts on it to waste). I used this fork on it to also get a little more height in the front end:

Nashbar Rigid 26" Mountain Bike Fork

It seems to be fabricated to substitute for 100mm travel suspension forks, and makes the front end 'floppy' when going really slow (it changes the 'trail' of the fork/wheel setup), but feels OK when up to normal road speed; I still wouldn't ride it 'no hands' at speed as it does have a little flop to it, but I'm happy with the final build. I wouldn't use ti exclusively on trails, but a dirt path wouldn't be a problem.

Yes, they were just ahead of their time with the thinking that aerodynamics is more important than weight. And considering the weight of the rest of the bike I'm not sure the fork added any significant amount.

I actually own a Schwinn with a "solid" fork. I was working on building it out and getting it road-worthy for the wife this weekend. See my thread titled "Schwinn Modernization Project"


I LOVE the aesthetics of this bike but didn't really think about the forks being solid steel until you mentioned it in this thread!

This is what you want: Nashbar Rigid 26" Mountain Bike Fork

I have them on 2 of my bikes, including one that originally had a low-end Rock Shox suspension fork ca. mid-90's. Unfortunately it seems to be back ordered, but you may be able to find the same fork on Amazon or eBay or elsewhere that Nashbar sells.

V-brakes on this one:


Disc brakes on this one:

I have done some conversions and I think its best to go with the shortest possible fork you can find. like 410mm. It just feels more solid. and you get used to the different geo in a few hours.