Forum menu
My mate has got a 2009 Bad Boy that he currently uses for commuting. He wants to get a lefty suspension fork and convert it to a SS MTB. The fork he's looking at has a 1 1/2" steerer tube and I was wondering if this would fit his headtube?. Does the fork need a special axle/hub combo?
Are there other forks that would fit his frame that he should consider instead? Or are there adapters for standard steerers?
I've tried searching for this information but can only find a geometry chart that doesn't include the headtube diameter.
I think it depends on the exact model of Bad Boy he's got. Essentially it's a Caffeine frame (predecessor of alloy Flash) but some have a 1 1/8" head tube and others have a Headshok tube. The latter will just work with the right ('Dale) headset - it's not a normal 1.5" one as, while the external diameter is the same (so any 1.5" headset [i]should[/i] fit on a 2009 frame - earlier ones were different), the internal diameter is slightly larger. The smaller headtube can be made to work with a Lefty4All kit (or one of the aftermarket alternatives).
He will need a lefty front wheel, which is compatible with nothing else - these can be bought off the 'bay.
Advice would be easier if you have pictures of the bike or details of the exact model.
HTH
Andy
There are loads of different versions of the badboy,
Bad Boy
Bad Boy Disc
Bad Boy Singlespeed
Bad Boy 700
Bad Boy Ultra
Bad Boy 8
Bad Boy 8 Ultra
Bad Boy Rohloff
Bad Boy WhiteEdition Solo
Bad Boy WhiteEdition Solo Ultra
I think the Ultra which has the oversized headtube as it has a Headshock. I think the others have a standard headtube
EDIT: Beaten to it!
Cheers for the info. He's got the bad boy disc, so looks like a lefty is out of the question. Is there anything to prevent him putting on some 100mm 1 1/8" forks?
Nope. Check the geo against the Caffeine frame and see what that was specc'ed with. Might have only been the 80mm Headshok, but there may have been some with "normal" forks too. I put some 100mm MX ETAs on an old badboy and it felt horrible but it went from rigid with 1" tyres to 100mm fork with 2.25" tyres so not an easy comparison. It basically felt dead and lumbering so I sold it. Let me know how your mate gets on though as they seem pretty cheap on Ebay and I am looking for a very cheap XC bike...
Might have only been the 80mm Headshok, but there may have been some with "normal" forks too.
I nearly bought a 2009 F1 and it came with a 110mm travel Lefty (think the F2/F3 came with 80mm Headshok) - as such 100mm forks should be OK if it's a 2009 Bad Boy.
He can probably still fit a Lefty if he gets a conversion kit - there are a few people on here who've done this (someone with a Cove Handjob plus Lefty springs to mind).
Andy