Erik_A

I am trying to build 69er from my rigid 26" Access XCL 22in mountain bike frame. I bought a Surly Karate Monkey 29er rigid fork which fits fine clearance wise, but raises the front end up substantially since it is a suspension corrected 29er fork. I run v-brakes, not disc; what front fork would you recommend that wouldn't push the front end up so much? I would just use a 26er suspension corrected fork; except the canti brake post don't align. It looks like an older Marzocchi Marathon 29 which would be perfect, (72mm travel) if they weren't so expensive used. I am leaning towards a susp. fork with 3-5" travel. Any ideas?

Erik_A

I decided to keep the Surly KM fork - after doing some riding, the geometry works great for my 6'-4" height, with long torso.

ed 

Well now that's interesting...how does it compare to the straight up 26"?

Erik_A

The 29er front wheel with 2.3" WTB tire makes front suspension almost unnecessary. The 26" rear wheel is quicker to accelerate than a 29er rear wheel. Also I am 225 lbs and 6'-4" so the 26" rear wheel is much stronger than an equivalent 29" wheel - which I need. I love it, though I come from cyclocross rather than hardcore MTB, but this does the job on singletrack where my cyclocross with 45" knobbies has trouble.

ed 

I know what it's supposed to do...and what Carver and Trek have marketed. 5yrs ago, I was going to buy the Carver but just never bought into it.

I think my question to you is that do you personally "feel" a significant difference/advantage in smoothness over a 26 or a significant difference in snappy accel. over a 29'er?




The reason I ask...is b/c I had thought about getting a slightly longer more traditional style rigid fork for the crapper and making it a 67.5'er. The way it's setup right now...it feels a little too raked out. Looking at profile pic's of it...it looks like the Kona P2 Tall Race fork is raked more than it needs to be.