[Closed] New forks- would you chose the 26" or jump to 650b whilst still using 26" wheel?

I wondered about a 650b front end (fork and wheel) for the next time I need replacements. This might work quite well - especially on a gravity-ish bike where a slightly more relaxed head angle could well be beneficial.

....and lets be honest - the difference is in the noise isn't it. You probably wouldn't notice any difference at all.

Guy i ride with has been running some 650b forks and 26 wheels for about a year now, no problems at all. His plan is to upgrade to a 650b frame and wheels in the future. You'll be fine

I went for a 160mm 650b fork on my El Guapo which should have a 170 26 fork. I'm very happy with it.

350 NCR is in stock now has a more advanced damper and lock out

http://www.kustombikes.co.uk/forks/marzocchi_forks/marzocchi_350_ncr_suspension_forks_2015

Don't X-fusion simply refer to half of their forks as being both 26" and 27.5" compatible? cuts out a lot of confusion and Bollocks IMO...

Of course you can use 26" wheels in a 27.5" fork, you won't bring the trails alive though...

There was quite along thread a couple of months ago with people doing exactly this.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/running-650b-forks-on-a-26-rim ]In fact you started one![/url]

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/rockshox-pike-advice-can-anyone-help ]There was also this one.[/url]

Given how long you keep bike parts
NO

Am running a Pike 27.5 on a Carbon Covert but do have 27.5 front wheel 26" rear

fathomer - Member
There was quite along thread a couple of months ago with people doing exactly this.

In fact you started one!

There was also this one.

Oh Yeah! My previous response on the topic was more concise too:

cookeaa - Member
YOU WILL DIE!!!*

*(You'll be fine)...

POSTED 2 MONTHS AGO #

As per the previous thread, yes I do, it's fine and doesn't even look odd.

Does anyone have the dimensional differences?
I'm guessing that the fork legs are around 12mm longer on the 650s?

If you're using 26" wheels now then I'd buy a 26" fork - live in the now, there is no future proof bike. Whats to say 650b won't be defunct in a couple of years, at least 26" has some proven heritage. 650b may be the ISIS BB of wheel sizes.

^^^ Just buy the 650b fork. That means which ever way things go (unless the whole world gets stuck on 29ers!) you'll have it covered. There is so little difference it's pretty much impossible to sport that difference imo!

(and you could also run with a 650b front wheel if you wanted to make the trails come alive,well, till you back wheel gets there and kills them again obviously.......)

as Stevet1 said [b]for me[/b] ..
"live in the now, there is no future proof bike"
the a-c length for 26" 160 pikes are 542mm, for the 27.5 version its 552mm..so just 10mm
but I wanted 160mm pikes for my BFe
the Bfe rides still on 26" (what was for me the reason to buy it..)so I bought 26" pikes..

When you finally build that 650b rig you'll want the latest and greatest forks anyway. Plus you might have cut the steerer to a point that isn't right for the future frame.

I went through these thoughts and because I needed new wheels for the new forks so I could run 15mm through axle, it was getting to the point of buying a 650b frame anyway. Then the PSA on cheap Pikes popped up and decision was made, 26" Pikes and make the most out of my existing c456 frame that has only had cheap forks so far.

I'll run with that for a year or two and see what happens then. My full sus is also 26" and much life left in that yet and want to keep compatibility rather than have a mix of 26 and 650b tyres and wheels around the house.

To be honest the Pikes on the c456 have been impressive and with the new wheels it's a whole new bike.

Oh Jesus H Corbett!!!! You have enough problems with forks that 'just don't work' at the best of times. As you relentlessly fanny around with pressures, rebound settings, stripping and reassembling them for no apparent reason. Add to that your also-well-documented apparent hyper-sensitivity to minute differences in head angles on your multitudinous frame choices, and I can see this little experiment going really, really, really well.

What could possibly go wrong? 😆

[img] [/img]

😆 the good thing is I'm happy with my frame and everything else 😀

Exactly!!!! The new forks will certainly unbalance the zen-like equilibrium, and then the whole thing unravels

Don't say I didn't warn you! 😉