I have Kona Kula Deluxe 29er with Rockshox Reba SL forks which I believe can be set to 100mm. I tend to ride trails such as Llandegla, Lee and Cragg quarries, Cannock etc but am very new to all this (my first season). I'm tempted just to try it but would prefer to hear from those with experience as it's not the simplest of jobs to be swapping to and fro. Any thoughts?
I have 80/100/120mm on my 3 29ers. Can't say i can tell much difference between the 80mm and 100mm to be honest. Won't do any harm though and i shouldn't think it'd mess up the geometry too much? I probably have the same 80mm Reba SL's as you and don't find that i bottom them out on the type of riding i do. I've toyed with upping the travel but wouldn't know how to do it myself and didn't want to pay to get it done so i've left it.
If you are a decent fettler then i'd give it a try as it won't cost you anything but a bit of your own time.
I could probably do it myself but would need to buy a couple of tools. I'd rather find out people's thoughts who've tried it before going to expense and effort and taking the risk of making a balls of it.
I've reduced from 100 to 80 on my ventana 29er. Climbs better but the rider position feels s bit racey on steep descents. Think I will reverse the process for for the gnar.
do the forks need a service? You could get the shop or fork tuners to do it at the same time for probably no extra cost... I think I'm the opposite of some of the princess and pea types on here who can tell a 5mm difference in stem length or headset stack height and reckon it can make or brake a bike, I notice little difference in 20mm in fork length either in supsension terms or head angle slackening... On a Fisher ferrous 29er SS with fox 100mm for what its worth, rides very nicely and I probably wouldn't have wanted less travel on the weekends 6hr rock and root fest of a race!
oops that was 'break' a bike not 'brake'!
I was thinking I could just lock them off a bit if required. The effect on geometry is what worries me a bit. I'm still tinkering to get everything to fit right. I'm 6'3, evenly proportioned and have a 20" frame. I sometimes wonder if the 22" might've been better. When riding on the flat and on hills I have the seat pretty high and it's on a Thomson layback set pretty far back (and 120mm stem). I sometimes feel the bars are a bit low in this position but less so when the seat is lower for downhill sections. I'm so new to all this it's hard to judge what's right and wrong. I know one thing for sure though, it can feel pretty scary being sat so high up on sections with a steep drop off to one side!
I had 80mm rebas on a scandal, upped them to 100mm with no ill effects. It's a fairly simple job to do as well, so I say go for it!
Ok, first job, fit new drivetrain. Next project, increase shock travel. That'll keep me in the shed for a while!