[RossRMC]

my current bike, a trek 4900, has treated me well for the past year but I only have one complaint, the fork. Its a RS pilot c, and at times i wonder if its actually doing anything at all while i'm riding down the trail. It claims 80mm of travel, but i doubt if i'm even getting half of that. A new bike is currently out of my price range so now i'm looking into buying a new (used) fork. My question is this, would a 100mm fork like a black elite fit on my bike, and more importantly would it throw off the geometry real bad? Also, any suggestions on where to look for a good deal on a decent xc/all mountain fork are more than welcome. Thanks

 

[oldfart]

It will slaken the head angle a bit, but it's no big deal really. You might not even notice the steering changes, but you will feel the suspension benefits of longer travel.

 

[blue]

You'd be fine. The steering difference between an 80 and 100 is very hard to notice. I switched my 80mm Manitou on my Homegrown out for a 100mm Marzo and I noticed no change at all.

 

[SuspectDevice]

The 4900 frame is definetly worth keeping around, and as the othe folks have said, 20mm won't be that great of a difference. Go for it!

 

[pnj]

I switched from 80 to 130 and while it was a bit choppered feeling, the added suspension was well worth it. actually, it was too much and I dropped it down to 110 but that is more because I'm not used to the front end that is all squishy.

it will have the added benifit of lifting your bottom bracket up as well so you'll have more clearance down there as well.

for places online check out
pricepoint.com
performancebike.com
jensenusa.com

 

[-BB-]

Look into a 130mm fork with ECC or whatever it is called where you can lower the fork height for climbs and then extend it to a full 130mm for the downhills.

 

[blue]

Meh ECC is funky...Get 03 or newer ECC, the 02 stuff it has to be locked out to lower it.

 

[rockracing]

100mm will be fine (as above) plus with the extra sag, when seated, the geometry will be hardy affected.

I rode with a psylo on a trek hardtail a frew years back, bo problems with u-turn, rode at about 90mm most of the time and thencranked it up to 125mm for the descents, alot of fun.