I swapped the Manitou Minute Elite 120mm forks off my Ti456 yesterday for a pair of Reba Teams set at 100mm. The transformation is amazing. The front now seems to just hug the trail where the Minutes always seemed a little pogo-ish. This in turn makes the ride more fun and the bike feels just as happy (or perhaps even better) in the rough stuff.

It got me thinking as to whether we spend too much time worrying about what length forks for bike 'x' and not enough time thinking about the quality of the forks or their damping?

What do you think?

I think if you have long legs then you need a long fork to match. Short legs = short fork.

Why would you make a 22" and a 16" frame and then put the same length fork on both?

@abductee

srsly?

slightly

❓

I agree. Stiffness is a big factor too. A well damped stiff 100mm fork will work a lot better than a 120mm flexy noodle with bad damping…

I went coil and oil 130mm travel Z1 dropoffs back in about 2000. Everyone else was on there psylos or other. A ride or two on my bike and they were ready to get rid of their forks even tho the marzocchis were a fair bit heavier!

Fork performance can make a huge difference to the handling of the bike.

Inzane is spot on, damping and stiffness are the key to a good performing fork.