MTB into a Tourer (Rigid Fork)

Agzee

I am in the process of converting my Mountain Bike into a Tourer (2001/2002 Scott Voltage MX1) and need advice on suitable rigid forks.

The original forks that were fitted to the bike are "Top Gun -006E" with 75mm of travel, since replaced with forks with 100mm of travel.

I would like the new rigid fork to have a similar 'axle to crown fork' distance as the Top Gun forks, which on full extension is 436mm, if I allow a figure of 14mm for 'Sag' this then gives me an overall figure of 422mm.

The current issue of "Cycling Plus" has an article on converting an MTB into a Tourer and in relation to a rigid fork they quote 420mm as about the right size for a frame that has been designed to accept a 80mm travel suspension fork, so my figure of 422mm is pretty close.

On checking online dealers for possible suitable forks I have shortlisted:-

Surly 1x1 - axle to crown 413mm - Suspension corrected for 80mm travel suspension fork.

Salsa Cromoto - axle to crown 425mm - Suspension corrected for 85mm travel geometry.

Kona Project 2 - (cannot find tech details on these forks)

I assume that the Surly 1x1 which has an axle to crown figure of 413mm is suitable because it is 'suspension corrected' although the ideal axle to crown figure appears to be 420/422mm.

Any fork suggestions would be appreciated, but whatever fork I fit needs to have eyelets so that I can fit decent SKS type mudguards.

Cheers - Agzee

nicklouse

what is your current sus fork? make model year. and how much sag do you run?

Agzee

The current fork has only been on the bike for a couple of weeks! It is a 2007 RockShox Dart3 with 100mm of travel, it has hardly been used, there is virtually no sag on the forks, I assume they need time to bed in.

To test for initial fork movement when just sat on the bike; I placed a tiestrap on a fork leg adjacent to the fork seal whilst fork was at full extension, then sat on the bike and then got off the bike to measure the sag, the tiestrap had not moved!

That is one of the reasons that I have quoted 'axle to crown' figures for the original Top Gun 75mm travel suspension forks. On these forks they are non-adjustable in relation to sag, the sag range is 12-15mm, therefore I just measured axle to crown distance whilst the fork was at normal extension and subtracted a nominal sag figure of 14mm resulting in an overall figure of 422mm which corresponds closely to the figure of 420mm that 'Cycling Plus' published.

Unfortunately I cannot get any further information on the Top Gun forks (Shen Shye Metal Mfg Co.).

Cheers - Agzee

nicklouse

Sorry totally missed the Top gun infos,

Re the darts it does sould like something is wrong. is the lock out on?

and you want to run "full length" mud guards.


http://www.ison-distribution.com/ison/e ... um_rows=14
as most of the ones you have mentioned and some exotica. and some that you should not even consider.

425mm does sound like what you will be using.
Mmm....

supersonic

The Top Gun forks are bloody awful, the Dart much better. Production quality seems to vary, and some have a lot of stiction to start with.

I think the P2 can be got 420 and 440 c2a length.

alfablue

The Kona p2 is sold in two suspension corrected lengths, for 80mm and 100mm travel. I have a triple butted canti-only one, for 100mm which measures 440mm from crown to centre of dropout, and its fine. There are various versions - canti or disc mount, plain, butted or triple butted, I am not sure if all types are available in all formulations.

I suppose being straight and fairly sturdy the forks are really built to take off road use, however as I am currently using the bike as a commuter and tourer I would have preferred a curved fork to offer more compliance, but suspension corrected curved steel forks for 26" don't seem to be available.

A couple of minor issues, the packaging claimed a weight of 795g however that must apply to non-suspension corrected ones, as it actually weighed about 1050g.

I have informed the UK importers Paligap Ltd and they said they would notify Kona to revise labelling - I'm not really obsessive about weight (honest) but it is a Ti bike and I was comparing it with possibly a carbon or Ti fork - 795g was within the ball park of those, 1050g was not, though of course the weight reduced a bit (100g ish) when I cut it down, and I paid about £100 less than carbon or Ti.

The second issue was the first one I had, after cutting and fitting, was out of true - the brake caliper clearances revealed this, they were way out. I got it from Wiggle and they swapped it and repaid postage very promptly so no real problem, just it surprised me that it could be out of true at all.

I think the P2 is probably the best bet for the money (I paid about £40 I think), though a Pace RC31 XC (Carbon)(£160ish, <700g) or an RC31Ti (carbon with Ti crown) at £199/<600g would probably be the choice if cost wasn't an issue.

Agzee

nicklouse wrote:

Re the darts it does sould like something is wrong. is the lock out on?
and you want to run "full length" mud guards.
.

Thanks for the link to 'Ison Distribution'.

Re the Darts when I tested them for sag the PopLoc cable was not connected to the fork leg, I have since connected it and it is working fine. I don't have the dial version just the ordinary one which is either on or off.

I would like some decent mudguards as the bike is used mostly on the road with the odd trip on good quality forest paths, one of the reasons that I have changed to road tyres.

Agzee

Agzee

supersonic wrote:

The Top Gun forks are bloody awful, the Dart much better. Production quality seems to vary, and some have a lot of stiction to start with.

I think the P2 can be got 420 and 440 c2a length.

The Top Gun forks are not the best! If it ever stops raining I might be able to get the Dart forks working to overcome the stiction, although hopefully they will shorlty be replaced by a rigid fork.

I have just emailed Kona for technical information regarding the P2 forks, their website gives no information on a to c length.

Agzee

alfablue

Agzee wrote:

supersonic wrote:

The Top Gun forks are bloody awful, the Dart much better. Production quality seems to vary, and some have a lot of stiction to start with.

I think the P2 can be got 420 and 440 c2a length.

I have just emailed Kona for technical information regarding the P2 forks, their website gives no information on a to c length.

Agzee

Supersonic is correct - as per my measurement of my 100mm corrected fork of 440mm, above, and therefore the 80mm fork will be 420mm.

Agzee

alfablue wrote:

The Kona p2 is sold in two suspension corrected lengths, for 80mm and 100mm travel. I have a triple butted canti-only one, for 100mm which measures 440mm from crown to centre of dropout, and its fine. There are various versions - canti or disc mount, plain, butted or triple butted, I am not sure if all types are available in all formulations.

Thanks for all the info on the Kona P2. If I bought a carbon fork it would most probably double the value of my bike!

If possible I would like a curved fork, that is the type that the Cycling Plus contributor Cass Gilbert used on their project bike, no doubt found laying around the workshop.

Pity that the article did not include other suitable new forks apart from the Kona.

My other quest is to find a decent pannier rack, at least my frame has mounting points to accept the rack.

So far have been checking the Tubus and SL Bike Components websites for info.

Agzee

alfablue

If possible I would like a curved fork, that is the type that the Cycling Plus contributor Cass Gilbert used on their project bike, no doubt found laying around the workshop.

Pity that the article did not include other suitable new forks apart from the Kona.

My other quest is to find a decent pannier rack, at least my frame has mounting points to accept the rack.

So far have been checking the Tubus and SL Bike Components websites for info.

I haven't seen the mag yet - is the curved fork actually a suspension corrected one? What is it / where are they available? (Or did they only name the Kona?).

I have a Tubus Cosmo

- It's the stainless steel version of the Logo - it's expensive but should last a lifetime. I particularly like the lower rail, keeps the pannier weight low (and improves heel clearance), and makes the upper platform more accessible for strapping stuff on. Tubus offer a 10 year warranty and for the 1st 3 years will even courier out replacements anywhere in the world!

For a cheaper rack of similar design the Tortec Expedition looks good at just £30!

Aux1

Agzee wrote:

The current fork has only been on the bike for a couple of weeks! It is a 2007 RockShox Dart3 with 100mm of travel, it has hardly been used, there is virtually no sag on the forks, I assume they need time to bed in.

Well I used to have the Dart and started getting the desired sag after some time, they need to bed in.

iamwill

hi

just found the website and saw you needed some ridgid forks at 420mm in length. i have been using Handsome Dog forks on my single speed for about a year now, they look very similar to on-one steel forks. just measured them and they are exactly 420mm to centre of hub. They take v brake or IS disc and you can get then delivered for about £30 from allteraincycles. They are not the lightest being steel but are very strong, also no mudguard or rack mounting points but hey if you are on a budget they are great

will

Agzee

alfablue wrote:

I haven't seen the mag yet - is the curved fork actually a suspension corrected one? What is it / where are they available? (Or did they only name the Kona?).

The curved fork that they fitted to the bike does not appear to be a new one looks as if it has come off an old mountain bike.

The only new fork they mentioned was the Kona P2.

I emailed Surly in the States regarding their 1x1 forks explained what I wanted to do with my bike and gave them the relevant details of my 75mm forks including the axle to fork crown measurement.

Although their forks axle to fork crown measurement is 413mm against 420mm.

I've just received a reply back from Surly and basically they say that they do not see a problem with me using the Surly 1x1 fork on my bike.

There is just a difference of 7mm in the 'ideal' axle to fork crown measurement which should have a negligible effect on the steering.

Thanks for the pannier rack suggestions, the ten-year guarantee on the Tubus range is impressive, I have just been on their website and download the catalogue, also have a copy of Cycling Plus from a few months ago in which they tested a range of pannier racks.

Agzee

Agzee

Aux1 wrote:

Well I used to have the Dart and started getting the desired sag after some time, they need to bed in.

Thought that might be the case, once the persistent rain we have at the moment stops will then be able to ride the bike!

Liked the images, are large plasters part of your riding kit.

Agzee

Agzee

iamwill wrote:

hi

i have been using Handsome Dog forks on my single speed for about a year now, they look very similar to on-one steel forks. just measured them and they are exactly 420mm to centre of hub.

will

Just checked the the All Terrain website and those forks are at a bargain price.

Did find another set of forks on there Kinesis Maxlight:-

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product.php?pid=2796

Over on the Kinesis Bikes website is a further set of forks the Cross Light 3 alloy:-

http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/product.php?id=25


Agzee

alfablue

Those Kinesis forks look good

The crosslight 3 even better - 400g lighter (Wiggle have it - here), except its a road fork so presumably 700c - this could mean they are long enough to provide suspension correction, but would the brake bosses be in the right place for 26" wheels, and would the width at the dropout be enough?

supersonic

The 700c forks may have different 'rake' or trail - ie the offset at the dropouts. You may want to look this one up - it will effect handling.

Agzee

I did not realise at the time of posting that the Crosslight 3 was 700c and for a road bike!

The Maxlight is the one for MTBs and looking at the 'Cyclestore' website there appears to be two versions of this fork:-

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productSear ... brandID=67

Have been doing some further checking on the Kona Project 2 fork and the 80mm version of the fork has been discontinued so that just leaves the 100mm version.

At the moment the Surly 1x1 forks are at the top of my list.

Agzee

Agzee

alfablue wrote:

I have a Tubus Cosmo - It's the stainless steel version of the Logo - it's expensive but should last a lifetime. I particularly like the lower rail, keeps the pannier weight low (and improves heel clearance), and makes the upper platform more accessible for strapping stuff on. Tubus offer a 10 year warranty and for the 1st 3 years will even courier out replacements anywhere in the world!

Hi alfablue, after reading what you said about the Tubus Cosmo and the improved heel clearance due to the positioning of the panniers decided to order a Tubus Logo.

I was lucky enough to find a cycle dealer on the web who is closing down so he has a 'clearance sale' on at present and managed to get the carrier at a decent saving!

Agzee

alfablue

Thats a good buy Agzee - they are excellent racks!

Aux1

Agzee wrote:

Liked the images, are large plasters part of your riding kit.

Agzee

Haha, it healed. I'm just chalking up rides without a fall since getting Formula K18 brakes!! 8)