I've got a Revelation Air U Turn Fork lying around and I was thinking of building my lady a 456 when they restocked with 14" frames. Now I see they have sliddy dropout SS/geared 14" Scandals in stock aswell and they are going to come out as a lot lighter build (easier for a lass to lift over gates and stiles etc).
Most of her riding is in the Lakes so a frame that easily carries a 130 fork would be useful. I've never had a proper off road ride on a Scandal. The one I did ride was much lighter than a steel 456 and seemed more lively and willing but I never had a chance to test it to see if it matched the general competence of a 456. It's owner praised it but I'm pretty sure he had a 100 or 110 fork on it.
Anyone ridden one with a 130 fork?
Does it push the front too far up in the air?
Will the 100mm setting on the Revelation still make climbing difficult? Would a fork that adjusts 80/110 to 120ish be a much better bet for a Scandal?
Should I just go with a 456 and pay for the lass to go to weight lifting training?
Thanks in anticipation for any informed input you can give me.
130 is fine on my (albeit 18") slot dropout Inbred. Don't know if that helps.
I ran my Scandal with a 130mm u-turn Revelation, tbh it didn't really work as well as I'd hoped... Partly it was because I really needed a medium, but I had a small (On One's sizing said I should fit, but with the fork at full length and 400mm of seatpost I ended up sat in a different postcode to the front wheel).
But at the end of the day, I just never felt it handled very well with the forks at full length- I'd only ever use it like that for descending. Doing a demo on a Soul really nailed this home, not a very fair comparison since the Soul costs 3 times as much but the second I did that demo ride my Scandal's days were finished, I couldn't stop comparing the two and I had the Scandal up for sale about a week later. The Soul works at both 100mm and 130mm and points inbetween, it handles well with either, the Scandal IMO doesn't.
YMMV of course!
the difference in weight for frames that small isn't going to make the world of difference is it? half a bag of sugar?