Forks for mtb conversion?

Epoch

Hi I currently have a old saracen mtb which I am coverting to touring bike.

It has a very short travel suspension fork but good components I am looking to replace it with a rigid fork with braze-ons for front panniers plus solidness on the front.

Any recommendations for around £30?

alfablue

I have a Kona Project 2 triple butted. They don't have braze ons for a rack, but do have mudguard eyelets, and there are racks that will fit using brake bosses or clamps. The Kona comes in 3 different versions to match suspension (2 lengths to match 80 or 100mm travel) and non suspension frames (mine had 100mm suspension) so it is worth considering the impact of that, and whether you need the extra length for suspension correction. Without, it will obviously change the slope of the top tube and the steering geometry.

I think there may be a problem in finding a fork with both pannier braze-ons and suspension correction, but you may decide you don't need one or the other.

There are some Kona P2 Triple butted forks on eBay - click here that have been modified with lowrider bosses, and the length to the crown is 38cm, so these may do - compare this to the length of your current forks. If you reckon they will do I think they are worth paying maybe £30-£40 for - new ones would be around £50ish, but the lowrider bosses make them special. One curious thing is that in the photo it looks like the mudguard bosses are on the front not the back of the fork - a little strange, I can't quite tell if there are some on the back as well. I think it would still work okay with the mudguard stays inside the fork.

Anyway, I think the Kona P2 is a good fork, I have been very happy with mine - although it is straight you can see it flexing to absorb the bumps (which is what you want from a steel touring fork), though it is also very robust.