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bmx with front fork?

bballboy388

Monkey
Dec 4, 2004
812
0
if i bought a bmx bike that had 24" wheels and bought a front fork for it that was 100mm would it totally **** up the geometry or would it set it more like a urban bike?
 

dexter

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
3,053
99
Boise, Idaho
find a really low atoc fork like a specialized pstreet or my personal favorite the sherman jumper and from there figure out how to lower the travel even more
 

ioscope

Turbo Monkey
Jul 3, 2004
2,002
0
Vashon, WA
get a low fork.
Loowwwww

I've seen it done onm a 24" BMX

It would help if you had a raceish frame
Low bb, steep steerer.
 

bballboy388

Monkey
Dec 4, 2004
812
0
im trying to get it set up as much as i can like a urban bike cause thats what my friend needs and hes on a tight budget
 

Handlebarsfsr

Monkey
Dec 6, 2004
287
0
ct
ive got exactly what your talking about- a dk 24" crusier with a marzocchi z1 and a 26" front wheel. 5" is just way too much for the frame (it was an experiment), it makes the bike unstable (very high bb) and rakes the head angle way out. its a very odd handling machine. ive already got an 80mm psylo, and im looking for a 24" wheel to drop the front end and make the bike much more rideable. ill have the psylo on in a few days, so ill be able to give you a report on how it feels with 2" less travel.




 

sickid

Chimp
Jan 24, 2005
11
0
nj
i am currently on a brooklyn park frame it has the dimensions of a crusier (bmx with 24's) and i have 100mm dj1 on and it feels great. i would not put anything longer i would like it a little lower but not much maybe half an inch or so
 

Handlebarsfsr

Monkey
Dec 6, 2004
287
0
ct
i just put the psylo on... man what a difference. this thing is 1000 times better with the head angle now normal and bb down 2 inches.
 

bballboy388

Monkey
Dec 4, 2004
812
0
awsome cause all the 24" bmx bikes i saw with the purchase of a fork would be cheaper then buying a urban bike lol :D
 

kicknitLivE

Monkey
Jul 12, 2004
152
0
Boulder
Ive got a specialized vegas cruiser with the marzocchi D-streemt 24" specific fork. The fork rake isn't too bad (maybe 69*) but this is about as low as you can get with a sus fork. Downside is that the fork weighs a hundred pounds (steel freakin lowers!!!! :eek: ) BUT you can use a grind peg. The Jumper might work cause it has a relatively low axle-crown measurment. You'll also need a new bar. I custom TIG welded one for myself w/ about 3.5" rise. Pictures to come.
 

bballboy388

Monkey
Dec 4, 2004
812
0
cool thanks when if we get this going im make sure to post pics but if any come it probly wont be for a while
 

Tashi

Monkey
Mar 6, 2003
141
0
Cash-Money said:
a 2001/2002 z.5/exr from marzocchi would work too, they are coil/oil, not elastomer, and could be reduced to 80mm and would be sweet for a cruiser
I'd reccomend against using a Z5 for a bike that you're going to beat on. Mine (4" version) broke, along with two vertebrae when I hit the ground. Two friends of mine had theirs break (5" versions), they were far luckier. All the broken 'Zocchi's of this type that I've seen have broken the same way: slowly forming cracks where the stancion and crown meet (so you can't see them) and then complete failure when the fork is stressed once the crack has propagated through the stanction wall. I thought that I'd be OK 'cause I was using a 4" version, and I hear that I'm smooth but really:

A weak fork can kill you, get something overbuilt if you'll be tharashing around.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,773
457
MA
For urban you really don't need gobs of travel, 70 to 80mm should do the trick.

A fork with normal qr dropouts should be able to accept either a normal 26" wheel or a 3/8" axle 24" bmx wheel which will give you some variations in geometry. I would try to use a 24" front wheel though to keep the head angle steeper.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I would recommend riding your bike with a fork. Without a fork, the geometry is a little steep and the wheel seems to come loose all the time. That's just what I've found from personal experience. I hope that helps.
 

iridebikes

Monkey
Jan 31, 2004
960
0
seattle
I've seen a guy with a 24" bmx cruser around seattle. He has standard bmx riser bars, and a RST tripple clamp fork with an 8" hayes front brake and a vee brake in the back. it seems to work ok for him. he's a really good rider. so I'd say its possible, it will make the head angle super slack, but it would work
 

Handlebarsfsr

Monkey
Dec 6, 2004
287
0
ct
iridebikes said:
I've seen a guy with a 24" bmx cruser around seattle. He has standard bmx riser bars, and a RST tripple clamp fork with an 8" hayes front brake and a vee brake in the back. it seems to work ok for him. he's a really good rider. so I'd say its possible, it will make the head angle super slack, but it would work
i had a z1 on my cruiser, and it made the bike a really ****ty ride. the bike simultanously was very twitchy and unstable, but also very slack head angle so the steering was very slow. it wasnt much fun to ride. with an 80mm fork (psylo) thats on there now, its much much more rideable. that setup he has must have taken a lot of a learning curve to ride correctly, it just seems silly to me to force yourself to ride a poorly handling bike.
 

the mtn man

Chimp
Dec 6, 2004
8
0
poway, california
ive got a fork on my 20" bmx just for fun, and it kinda screws up the geometry... a lot. i had to put a 26" wheel though, because my back break broke, and i needed to run a front break.