Originally Posted by acidfast7 (Post 15252520)

don't overthink it ... coming from a guy with front sus RS ... i like it and it absorbs that bumps that loser roadies don't have to deal with.

can you employ a lock-out?

Originally Posted by slcbob (Post 15253305)

Shades of grey here. Sure, you're right, "most" rigid forks are normal rigid forks. But there are plenty of longer rigid forks, called suspension corrected forks, that are "special" but not rare. It's basically a second standard, and readily available. If you're going to replace a sprung fork, at least get one of those and you'll be close.

Originally Posted by droy45 (Post 15252637)

Ah exactly! I will have to remember that. You are the bike riding scientist for sure. LOL.

Originally Posted by acidfast7 (Post 15252643)

I'm curious to what kind of "scientist" (s)he is?

Originally Posted by slcbob (Post 15253305)

Shades of grey here. Sure, you're right, "most" rigid forks are normal rigid forks. But there are plenty of longer rigid forks, called suspension corrected forks, that are "special" but not rare. It's basically a second standard, and readily available. If you're going to replace a sprung fork, at least get one of those and you'll be close.

Originally Posted by cyccommute (Post 15254321)

My daughter has worked out a method of getting new parts for her bikes by suggesting that I get new parts for mine. She's very devious;)

Originally Posted by droy45 (Post 15254364)

Thats cool Cyco, you gotta love kids, I'm an empty nester now but I can remember times when mine out smarted me with their deviousness too. My youngest son used to do that to me with our snowmobile parts and modifications back in the day. :roflmao2:

Originally Posted by cyccommute (Post 15254409)

Empty nester myself. She still gets parts in the mail;)

Originally Posted by droy45 (Post 15290832)

Well, I installed the new "used" rigid fork after I got it all painted and was all excited about shaving another 2 pounds off the bike which would bring me down to a 25 pound commuter. The bad news for me is I didn't dry fit everything in advance and took too much for granted and discovered that my Linear V-brake arms will not work on that fork. Even canti's won't work. The problem is the brake bosses are set too high for modern V-brake arms and the brake pads will not go low enough to mate up with the rims. I still do not know what type of wheel this fork was designed to work with but it certainly isn't 26" nor 27". I always thought that 700c was a fairly new size but I could be wrong and this fork may be designed to be on 700c. Its a mountain bike fork, it should have worked for 26in just like it stated but that's Ebay for you, my mistake, live and learn. So I couldn't use it and scraped the idea for now.:crash:

Originally Posted by AusTexMurf (Post 15291532)

I used a non-suspension, not corrected fork on my 97 Trek mtn bike conversion. This is the one that fits my bike and delivers greatly improved weight and handling. I went with the Surly Long Haul Trucker fork because of the multiple braze ons for all types of rack/fender combos. Or get the disc brake compatible one if you want that as an option.
I love this fork when combined w/ Schwalbe Big Apples or Big Bens. Doesn't get any better for a mtn bike commuter setup, in my opinion.

Surly and Soma both have excellent rigid forks available with 2 or 3 different levels of suspension correction and it looks to me as if you need some correction based on your frame (guessing 80mm).

All of these options are very worth checking out....

Originally Posted by droy45 (Post 15290832)

Well, I installed the new "used" rigid fork after I got it all painted and was all excited about shaving another 2 pounds off the bike which would bring me down to a 25 pound commuter. The bad news for me is I didn't dry fit everything in advance and took too much for granted and discovered that my Linear V-brake arms will not work on that fork. Even canti's won't work. The problem is the brake bosses are set too high for modern V-brake arms and the brake pads will not go low enough to mate up with the rims. I still do not know what type of wheel this fork was designed to work with but it certainly isn't 26" nor 27". I always thought that 700c was a fairly new size but I could be wrong and this fork may be designed to be on 700c. Its a mountain bike fork, it should have worked for 26in just like it stated but that's Ebay for you, my mistake, live and learn. So I couldn't use it and scraped the idea for now.:crash:

Originally Posted by cyccommute (Post 15291730)

I wonder if you found an old U-brake compatible fork. They are rare but out there. The bosses are certainly in the wrong place for linear brakes and cantis.

Originally Posted by AusTexMurf (Post 15291977)

Aha......maybe....

Could be a rigid fork for a 24" wheel mtn bike......I saw one of those the other day at Yellow Bike Project, also have a set in our stable from an early 90's Novara 24" touring bike.....and also a homemade one at my sons school (the fitted a 26" rigid fork, cut the old bosses and welded them to fit a 24" wheel).

or forks off of or to replace the forks on the 90's 700c hybrids like the crossroads, cross fit, multi track, etc....

Not sure if your bosses are too low or too high....

Possibly....otherwise I don't understand.....even the old roller brakes had the same throw as the more modern vbrakes.......

For commuting/touring/loaded trails or even unloaded running single track, I love the LHT fork and BA's. The fork has the exact amount of rake and rigidity to suit my purposes. I do not think Surly makes the LHT fork, suspension corrected, but I may be wrong. You have more choice in suspension correction w/ a straight, modern mtn bike fork from Soma/Surly/Salsa, etc.....You should be safe w/ 80mm but it is also possible your bike was setup with 110m of travel in the front shock.

Originally Posted by Leebo (Post 15292386)

Measure to axle to crown height on the existing fork to get a good fit for the new one.

Originally Posted by Burton (Post 15293462)

So my vote is for a rigid front end. Not that I totally hate front suspension systems - but because my last two builds included Schwalbe Marathon Supremes 700x50c tires on the front end and the ride over rough roads and grassy fields is every bit as good as what I get from a $1,200 DT Swiss 130mm travel carbon front fork. Don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted.

Originally Posted by droy45 (Post 15297888)

So, correct me if I'm wrong. If I had a low end RockShox with about 100mm of travel from what I can tell, and replaced it with a rigid, I should not miss the suspension if I commute and ride some rough roads and gravel trails but mostly good roads. The fork weighed 4.2 lbs and I think a rigid is about 2 lbs for the most part.

Originally Posted by Burton (Post 15297918)

That's my experience - particularly with low end forks. Coure you might miss some of the negatives in a good way - like the front end not diving anymore when you brake, or the bike being lighter.

Is that fork so low-end there's no lock-out on it that you can ride with and confirm that?