[Veero]

Hello there,
Being from across the pond I have noticed a worrying trend in you lot putting enormous forks on tiny little hardtail frames. These include forks such as shivers, monsters and boxxers going on frames like Evil and 24 Bikes Le Toy.

An example is here:
http://www.pinkbike.com/modules/photo/?op=view&image=63103

So why do this?? Doesnt it make the bike handle like a bag of spanners? My hardtail feels slack and its only got 5" on the front not 7"+

Any help clearing up this strange phenomenon is greatly appreciated. Can we please put it to bed?

If not show me pics of your tiny HT frames with gigantor forks.

Cheers
Veero

 

[allsk8sno]

i would hope people putting those long travel dc forks on their hardtails are using the bikes for downhill racing.
i can't imagine riding urban/park/dj with more than 5" on a hardtail cause like you said just be too slacked out.
but people do strange things...

 

[Tenchiro]

You like to watch the Angry Beavers, right?

 

[T0mo]

Originally posted by Veero
Doesnt it make the bike handle like a bag of spanners?

whats a spanner?

 

[Silver]

Originally posted by T0mo
whats a spanner?

An adjustable wrench, I think.

 

[Echo]

Originally posted by Silver
An adjustable wrench, I think.

Not adjustable that I know of. This is a spanner:

Or this:

 

[bomberz1qr20]

Originally posted by Echo
Not adjustable that I know of. This is a spanner:

Or this:

A spanner is any wrench, usually non adjustable.

The bottom pic is a lock ring spanner.

 

[Silver]

D'oh! I always though that spanners were crescent wrenches....

 

[bomberz1qr20]

Originally posted by Silver
D'oh! I always though that spanners were crescent wrenches....

They are.

Spanners:

 

[D_D]

I hate long travel forks on rigid frames. 80 to 100mm is about the optimum, not as much feel as a rigid but saves your wrists.

I had a 130mm fork but it lifted the front up too much and made the bb too high. The only advantage is that the extra weight means you can turn really tight during whelies/manuals.

edit, spanners are english for wrench.

 

[holelotanutin]

i think 130 is as big as you should go!

well to each his own!

 

[narlus]

well i typically run a 4" z1 on the evil, but when i took it to bromont for some DH action, i threw the monster on it:

it actually handled really nicely. the bike was not slacked out like no tomorrow (the monster tends to be a lower fork anyway, at least compared to a shiver or something like that).

 

[SwisSlesS]

That bike is even goofier because it has a much smaller tire on the back than on the front, which makes the front end even higher than it already is. I don't even want to think about what riding that bike would be like. Seems like a wheelie machine to me.

 

[Nd4spd]

Ive been looking for my Monster now i know where it is Narlus Someday

 

[Shortbus]

Funny thing is, when suspension first came out everyone used to bash it the same way you are bashing hardtails with dual crown/long travel forks.... I personaly own one and love it. To each his own. Stop worrying about what other people ride!

Seems like things never really change....




Christian -

 

[narlus]

Originally posted by Nd4spd
Ive been looking for my Monster now i know where it is Narlus Someday

the zokes are like a fine bordeaux, getting better w/ age. can't say that about a rock shox or manitou!

 

[PaulE]

Originally posted by Shortbus
Funny thing is, when suspension first came out everyone used to bash it the same way you are bashing hardtails with dual crown/long travel forks.... I personaly own one and love it. To each his own. Stop worrying about what other people ride!

Seems like things never really change....




Christian -

Very true. One of my friends is running a 1998 boxxer (the 6" travel ones) on the front of a P3. While it looks a touch odd, the handling is really good, and the bike is nowhere near as "choppered" as you'd expect.

A dual crown fork with 6" travel will almost always be shorter than a singlecrown one with 6". the bottom crown on a SC fork needs to be deeper as it supports all the bending moments which are carried by 2 crowns in the DC forks. 6" Boxxers are only 10mm longer than 130mm travel Z1s. (sorry to mix up metric and imperial measurements throughout the post)

 

[Shortbus]

I even called up one LBS this past week end looking for a longer steerer tube and explained how I was putting a 6" superT on a HT and the guys freaked out and said that was absurd and I would so much better off with a single crown 6" travel fork....

go figure