[Closed] 140mm forks on a 2008 Trance - Will I die ?

Most people agree that you can run up to 20% longer forks than standard

Who are these people?

And I think you mean 20% more travel, not 20% longer.

Yes Brant I do mean that....(whoops) ,thats what happens when you try & do 2 things at once..plus just remembered that the forks I will be fitting are 130mm - so,will I die ?

I doubt it would instantly rip the front end off and kill you but you're obviously putting more stress through the head tube than the frame was designed for. I'd check with Giant what the frame is warrantied up to, if it's shorter then 130 then you're taking a gamble. Might last for years might last until your first high speed drop off, personally I wouldn't risk it.

I ran 120mm Marazochi's on a Specialized Stumpjumper that was supposed to be for 100mm and I quite liked the ride (prefered it to the 100mm forks), they did have lockdown though to help with the steep climbs.

[i]"I think I have seen Trances specced with 120mm forks as stock.Most people agree that you can run up to 20% longer forks than standard"[/i]

Nope, its the 127mm Trance X that comes with 120mm forks

for e.g.
Cotic say you can run 100-130mm forks on its sould hardtail. I've read many times on here (from cy) 140mm forks are not warrantied, due to the increased leverage on the headtube from the longer travel/hieght fork

Problems/Issues/changes/differences include (other than possibly ripping the headtube off):
Shortened effective top tube, less space to 'breathe'
Higher BB hieght, less stable in corners
Slackened head angle, but will still dive to the same hieght when bottomed out, so not higher all the time.
Shortened effective chainstays and slackened seat angle, forcing weight further back, making climbs more difficult, (but steep descending probably better)
Higher handlebars, you may mind the bike tall and harder to control side-side, wider handlebars or lowering them should help out

If its travel adjust fork you're after you can adjust to suit what you're doing, but a frame designed around the fork should be as good(if not much better) on the steep stuff, but a lot better in the corners/singletrack/uphill

Is it a pre-2008 trance, or a 2009-
9 trance?

Hi James
Cheers - its a 2008 Trance.The forks I have got hold of can be run at 80,100 or 130mm so at least I can set them to 100mm,they are still an upgrade over my old ones - I think there are others on here that are running longer travel forks on their Trances but they dont seem to be around at the minute.Does the fact it is a 2008 make any difference ?I know the issues around the travel etc & warranties as you mentioned above with the cotics.I have seen loads with revs & pikes on @ 140mm,infact a friend just got a new soul with 140mm revs on there,which is how it was built up in the shop.

I have 130mm forks on my 2006 Trance, it was a huge improvement over stock 100mm.

@ ransos - so youre still alive ? I wonder if the 2006 frames were designed around a longer travel fork though ? ❓

Loads of people run 130mm forks on trances, when i had my trance i ran 130mm revs and it vastly improved the bike.

I ride with Fox Talas on a 06 Trance and they work fine.
Forks are mostly set to about 110mm but ride them 120+mm a lot and no probs.

Yep, no near-death experiences recently...

My bike was designed for a 100mm fork, but IMO rides better with a 130mm. Much more confident on descents and feels better balanced. It might be a Giant thing - I had an NRS years ago that felt better with 100mm instead of stock 80mm.

Hi, you know I've got a 140mm fork on mine.

I would have preferred 130mm as it's the maximum I usually wind it out to, but wanted the Maxle.

Will you kill yourself? I hope not! The way I see it is that the bike wasn't hugely expensive, so if I rip the head tube off I'll (hopefully) live and learn.

I know more Trance owners with 130ish forks than with 100mm - so anecdotal evidence suggests I'll live.

Hey Chapa - yeah I did but being a serial worry monger I thought I would trawl for some more opinions - mine will be @ 130mm max.I'm not into launching myself off things (intentionally that is... 😳 ) so hopefully I will be ok.As others have said the longer travel actually has made a big positive difference to the way the bike rides.Having the U Turn just means more adjustability for me,as it is my only bike for all sorts of riding (including enduros etc when i can wind them down to 100mm).