Topic: 100mm to 140mm- what would it affect?

[RiskEverything]

Out of curiosity, what would it affect if I changed my fork from a 100mm to a 140mm?

[Gregg]

It would change your head tube angle, which would change the handling of your bike.

[Homer 2-Niner]

i dont think the travel of the fork makes the head tube any higher....  i went from a 100mm fork to an 80mm fork and there is no difference..  i had the bike shop measure the angle (cause i did not believe it) but the angle is exactly the same....

who knew..

=Bob 

[Garry]

i dont think the travel of the fork makes the head tube any higher....  i went from a 100mm fork to an 80mm fork and there is no difference..  i had the bike shop measure the angle (cause i did not believe it) but the angle is exactly the same....

who knew..

=Bob 

Going down 20 mm might not be a measurable amount, but going up 40 mm just may.  I went from 74 to 80 and could feel a slight difference on my hardtail.

[RiskEverything]

How would it affect the handling of the bike? More responsive turning, less responsive turning, or...?

[Gregg]

I actually remember reading about this topic in Mountain bike Action or Dirt Rag sometime over the last 6 weeks, I will see if I can find the article.

Couch Rider

[Gregg]

It would probably slow the steering down some. This could be good or bad depending on your bike and preference. I am pretty sure this was in one of the letters in MBA. I will try to find it.
 

[EllsRider]

You could also void the warranty on the frame if there is any. But then again if you take the front fork off and send it in .... who would know? What type of bike is it on? That is raising it up quite a bit. You could compensate the rise by going with flat bars and maybe changing or flipping the stem. Do you have a free 140mm fork to play with?  Might be worth exploring the possibilties compared to laying out the moolah for another fork!! 

[Vélo]

It would probably slow the steering down some. This could be good or bad depending on your bike and preference. I am pretty sure this was in one of the letters in MBA. I will try to find it.
 

Hey Couch Potato,

Will you share this with everyone when you find it?  Thanks.

~Nikki =)

p.s.  i found a team for squiggy, so i'll be riding.  i'll be looking for you on saturday.

[Gregg]

Cool, I will be there. I will be the one with the cane instead of a bike. Who will you be riding with?

Sloth

[RiskEverything]

I was just thinking that down the road I may want to swap a Lefty Max onto the Rush to replace the Lefty Speed. Downhills still make me nervous, and slower steering there might be a blessing! We'll just see how I like the bike when/if it ever shows up. Tomorrow marks 1 week since the end of the auction and I haven't gotten so much as a tracking number yet. I figured I'd give him a week before bugging him about it- I know how hectic and busy life can get and what a pain it can be to ship large items.

[Homer 2-Niner]

Going down 20 mm might not be a measurable amount, but going up 40 mm just may.  I went from 74 to 80 and could feel a slight difference on my hardtail.

Garry,

Was the steerer tube cut to the same length after you installed the new fork???

The ride height should not change..  I can see your point about going up 40mm and that probably will adjust the ride height alittle...

=Bob

[Gregg]

Bob,

The steering angle has to change some. In your case it was only 20 mm, so it may have been slight, assuming that you are running the fork with the same amount of stiffness than you steering would have gotten quicker.
Your bike probably feels more responsive than it did before.

Gimpster

[Homer 2-Niner]

the angle is no different.. 

heres why

the stantions are the same length on both forks..  the only difference is the travel of those stantions.....

=bob

[CrazyWhiteGuy]

I changed my fork from 80mm to 120mm and it works nicely. When I started ridding the fork was a cheap pogo that dove down on every downhill, but when I swapped it out, the new fork slowed the steering down so it just eats hills now. One of the advantages I noticed was that it was also easier to balance on the bike. I still lower it down to about 100 when I wanna go really fast. Plus it totally improved to fit of the bike.