I'm thinking of buying my first 29er and have included the Singular Swift and GF / Trek X-Caliber in my shortlist.
One thing I've noticed is a 2 degree difference in head angle between these bikes (X-Caliber 70 deg, Swift 72 deg). Will this make much difference to the feel and handling of the bike?
Thanks.
i that measured in the same way? sagged/ not. same length fork? many manufacturers measure in different ways.
I think fork offset and castor are the major issues 29er designers have had to grapple with to make the bikes work well. Test ride them first.
I was expecting the HA on my Inbred to suffer from running 120mm forks, but despite looking slack(ish), it actually works quite well. One of the first things I noticed on a 29er was the increased resistance when steering...what might sound like a steep HA might not be so bad if what I noticed was correct.
The GFs have more offset on the fork so you can't really compare like for like unless you work out the actual trail figure. I suspect that both bikes you mention actually end up with a similar figure.
I do have a Swift and it's great but typically IME a steep head angle can result in the fork wanting to fold under when you really steer sharply and in a big angle - not really something I find a big problem but I can see why GF has maybe preferred to go for a slacker angle but more offset.