[Lainger]

A question for the masses. I have looked for an answer to this question for sometime now. I have a SC superlight which is pre-2007. Santa cruz has told me that putting a fork longer than 100mm will be a safety concern as the head tube was not designed for such stresses....I have also noticed in the latest edition of MBA mag that this very question was asked. The answer didn't answer the question, only towing the "PC" line saying that if you put a longer fork on, you might want to start hucking off some crazy cliff. Can I put 120mm fork on this bike without having to worry about death if I stay on my regular hills? (I have 105mm in there right now) More importantly has anyone else done this, and if so, are you still alive?

thanks for the input!
Cheers

 

[arboc!]

your fine, just dont mention it if your bike ever breaks... the bike's angles will be affected too.

 

[zebrahum]

If it's not recommended then there is probably a reason. Every company builds safety factors into the recommended fork travel, so it likely won't break, or at least not immediately. But as someone who is currently exceeding their fork travel recommendation I can say it makes your bike handle less precisely (you can feel a bit of "flop" as the wheel comes past straight and the excess rake makes it more difficult to go back to pointing straight again).

 

[DesuL]

You CAN do that, but it may stress the frame and break it. Your adding the stress into an area that was not design to take that force. WHat kind of material is the Frame? Even steel would bad but if its Aluminum its a bigger iffy....

Why do you need a bigger fork may be what you should be looking to answer. Do you just need a new fork? Do you want more travel in general? Do you want to change your HT angle?

If you need a new fork buy the right one. Its the others you may want to look for a frame that is designed for it while keeping some of the tight handling charactersitics

Good question but you can get more out of the whole thread if we knew what you were looking for out of the bike.

 

[Lainger]

First of all, thanks for everyones input. In response to the last question, you are right. The more I think about it, I need to figure out what I really want my bike to do. I have a marathon sl (2003) currently and its near the end of its life. In looking at a new fork I've automatically gone in the direction that bigger is better. I have been looking to go from the 105mm of the marathon to 120mm. I ride what would be described as "swooping single track with a few drops (bumps really) of no more than 2 feet. I realize with a superlight I won't be hucking, and thats okay. I don't think I would ever change my riding style, rather, as the ol bones get even older, I am just looking for a more comfortable ride. I certainly don't want to give up any handling or climbing performance. I guess I've bought into the notion that I need more travel...maybe I do...maybe I don't.

Any comments would be appreciated!
Cheers

 

[ironmanok]

Also consider the ride height of the fork (axle to crown length). Some 120mm travel forks are shorter than others. You might be able to increase travel w/o altering the geo much.