[Closed] Fork effect on geometry/handling

Bump for the evening

Bit twitchier

shorter fork will reduce the rake angle ( not the offset sometimes refered to as rake for bicycles but the angle of the headtube) making it steeper. With the same offset on the fork you will have less trail

I think this would give you faster steering from the steeper headangle and less stability from the reduced trail but also less "flop" as the head tube height will change less as the steering angle changes.

Beware the confusion between "rake" as the fork offset and "rake" as the steering head angle

this any help? http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/forklengths.htm

Dropping the fork height will steepen the head angle. Forget rake and trail. The head angle will make the bike more twitchy, simple as.

You'll have more weight over the front end, so climbing *may* improve. But descending will likely feel a harder task to stay on line and not wobble.

You'll need to watch the bottom bracket height though, as that'll decrease also, and you make strike the pedals more often.

Seat tube angle will increase, so you'll need to adjust the saddle back a bit to get the same comfort.

If you adjust bar height with spacers, all you'll achieve is more weight on the front wheel. So more grip. The steering will generally remain the same, not more twitchy.

I'd advise dropping bar height first and see how that goes. If you run out of space, then play with a shorter fork.

Thanks all. Helpful as usual. I'll drop bars first and see if the change in weight distribution helps the feel.
Relatively high BB on the Fargo so not so worried about that, but I've already got a decent saddle setback so I'm not sure how much room I've got there.