Forum menu
Hello, thought I'd seek the collective wisdom of the forum on whether or not going for a 445mm rigid fork would make much difference to the handling on a frame (Soma Groove) designed for 80mm suspension (425mm equivalent rigid).
The frame is to replace my Flo, nicked a few weeks ago 🙁 , which was set up really well for off-road touring / bikepacking. I'm assuming that the longer fork will make the wheelbase longer/more stable (not a bad thing given its intended use), with possible downsides being to make the steering slower / maybe a bit wandery on really steep climbs.
Your views on any similar experiences gratefully received 🙂
pretty much exactly as above. Your call whether you like that or not!
I've run my Salsa Selma, which is designed for 80mm forks, with an 80mm rigid equivalent, and a 100mm sus. It's not a big deal to me but I prefer 100mm making the steering a tiny bit slacker.
Ta muchly, folks. Choices, choices....
IIRC, an extra inch of fork A-C slackens the head angle by 1 degree.
I run a 420mm fork on my Inbred.
Ta. Thinking that a longer fork might be No Bad Thing if it lifts the BB a tad too, as it's got a BB drop that's about 10mm deeper than I had on my Flo.
Also found a few build specs after trawling around on t'interweb a bit more, seems people mix it up between 80 - 100mm with no climbing no worries on the Groove.