Rigid forks… 29er on 26 frame?

I’m sure this will have been done before, but I couldn’t see it from a quick forum search.

I’m thinking about going rigid on my SS. The frame is designed around 120mm travel at the front with 26″ wheels.

If I stick a 29er rigid fork in there, am I likely to achieve similar angles compared to a 120mm 26″ suspension fork?

Will I die?

Cheers

That’s exactly what I did, with my Soul (and the same forks then in a Ragley and a C456). Worked exactly as i’d planned, rigidhardcorehardtail. Just work out the numbers really and decide the shape you like your bike to be. I had u-turn suspension forks which was really handy for trialing stuff.

Got any piccies? Also want to see if it looks silly with the extra clearance.

Hi…. You need to check the axle to crown measurements. I ended up with a 69er using some on-one 26″ forks. Plenty of clearance with the 29er front wheel. The resultant AtC of the forks with the 29″ diameter wheel basically maintained the same geometry the frame was designed for with 120mm forks with 20 mm sag. Using 29er specific forks would have pushed the front end up too high.

Even now I have fitted a negative rise stem to compensate for the higher front end. It’s pretty much perfect.

I did something similar and found that a shorter 26 fork worked better as it maintained angles and handling. Eg I used a 420mm a-c fork in my love/hate with a 29 wheel and a 440mm a-c fork on my 456.

Actually reading your post again you make no mention of wanting to run a 29″ wheel so you actually may get away with the 29″ fork and a 26″ wheel.

470mm 29er rigid, with a 26″ wheel, worked perfectly on a second generation Inbred I had. It sat at exactly the same height as a 120mm Revelation. It rode ace.

IMAG0226 by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

IMAG0225 by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

(No, I didn’t run the seat that high, it was just popped in for the photo),

That inbred is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind. Got a pair of old bombers lying around for this build but they’re so heavy and I’ve got a “proper” bike for the really rough stuff, so I just thought it’d be nice to have something super simple – rigid, singlespeed, cable discs. Nothing to go majorly wrong, but should still be a hoot to get scared on.

Thanks for all the posts, very helpful!

Mind you, if I can’t source a rigid fork for buttons I’ll be sticking with the bombers regardless 😆

I’ve never run cable disks but I can’t imagine they’re very reliable for the kind of riding you’ll do on that bike. Better to get some deore hydraulics at 35 quid a pop unless you really are on a tight budget?

If you hit things hard make sure you get a burly rigid fork. I tried a singular one and had bent it after a few months.

Got a pair of carbon 29″ forks (~490mm i think) on my 650b Parkwood which is 120mm corrected, steers well & feels spot on with 60mm stem and flat bars. I actually tried risers and 40mm but it was too upright.

sideshow – Member

If you hit things hard make sure you get a burly rigid fork. I tried a singular one and had bent it after a few months.

Isn’t it just the original 490mm Swift forks that sometimes did that? I haven’t heard of anyone having this problem with the later 470mm versions.

I have a friend who went rigid on his old Whyte 19 using a 29er Exotic Carbon fork to match the geometry of the 130mm RS Revelation he had on before. He’s been riding that bike for years with no issues so I’d say you’ll be fine.