Hi all,
Hopefully a quick question. New to wrenching on MTBs, all experience in the past has been on relatively retro road bikes.
I'm building up a bike based on a 2018 Orange Crush frame, and am looking out for a bargain set of used forks.
How much (or little) steerer tube should I be looking for if the previous owner cut it down? The frame I have is an XL so the head tube is 130mm (from HERE), and I haven't made a choice of stem or spacer height.
Any input would be gladly received!
Cheers!
I’d get a stem/headset sorted first. Or buy a fork that hasn’t been cut down
Headtube length + stack height of headset + stem + a small margin for measuring error.
Of course, that assumes a slammed stem (ie no spacers). So, if you don't know what bar height you will need, which, coming from road, you probably won't know until you sit on it, it is better to go a bit longer than you think you need to allow you to find the right position. So beware of 'bargains' that take you too close to your minimum. You can cut down the steerer easily enough later, it's a bit harder to make it longer.
I go for about stem height, headtube length, headset height plus 30-40mm... normally works out in the 18-20cm range for me. Figure if its too short but forks are bargain, i could use high rise bars or stem
130 headtube
30 Heaset (hope externalrough max)
40 stem stack height (hope)
30. Max amount of height for spacers
Max 230mm
Min 185mm with a lower stack headset a 30mm stack stem and no spacers at a squeeeze
Thats how I would work it out