Converting to rigid fork

kamil1891

Hi all,

About 2 months ago I bought my first mtb, coming from road cycling, I wanted something I can go play around offroad on a rest days, enjoy myself on a social rides with my girlfriend for example (on a racing road bike it was quite difficult and limited to roads only). I also bought it to use in winter, at the time when it's the coldest, there is snow and ice. However, to use mainly on the roads to do endurance rides and strength up the hills.

I've bought a Canyon 8.9 29er on a sale. It's really good spec for my needs but I could afford it at the time so why not treat myself to something good quality. The fork is DT Swiss XRM 100, which is also meant to be pretty good.

I've been trying to ride offroad as much as I could but every time I went out I found myself in a situation where the tracks were not really rideable. At least not for me with my current (lack of)skills. So I had to walk for some periods, I got really dirty etc I've enjoyed it to some extent but the proper mtb stuff is not for me. The fork is mostly switched off.

With everything taken into account I thought, I could be better off with some good quality rigid fork. I could still go offroad on those light terrains I really enjoy, I would save about a 1kg in weight and I would be better off when riding on a road in winter. Moreover, more power transfer when it comes to training hills which I'm looking forward to when the weather turns really nasty. I am right in thinking that and should I go for it given that I find the right size one that fits my bike etc ?

One more thing, what tyres should I use ? I presume that the ones I've currently got Rocket Ron/Racing Ralph are good enough for riding on snow and surviving ice or am I wrong ? Could I go for something lighter with less rolling resistance and still be fine ?

Thanks a lot for reading this post and I apologize if my thinking is bulls*it or something, but I'm newbie to mtbs :oops:

70\ʹspenguin

Racing Ralphs are one of the lightest tyres and have one of the lowest rolling resistance so i wouldnt swap. To get lighter you are talking semi slick and thats not going to be nice when it gets slippy.

There are a lot of 29ers that have a rigid fork. It seems more a US thing but its popular non the less. Depends what kind of money you want to spend. If you have a fair bit then the Niner carbon bladed is really nice. The cheapest is probably the Exotic carbon. Exotic make excellent forks and the fork will cope with most off road stuff.

The DT fork you have is nice and not too heavy. I would say you would notice a big difference if your fork was heavy and crappy but its not. I seriously doubt you would notice a difference in weight whilst riding aside from how easy it is to pop a wheelie when accelerating. I say this from my own experience going from a carbon rigid to suspension.

However if you want to go rigid then you will still have a MTB thats capable of a lot more than you ride or probably will ride for a long time.

mrmonkfinger

Your DT fork is listed at 1.5kg, the Exotic carbon fork is around 0.75kg

Its up to you whether you think that's worth the swap. You could probably sell on the DT fork quite easily, if you went that route.

I wouldn't swap tyres personally. You're already on one of the lighter/low tread/low RR tyres out there.

kamil1891

Thanks for advice guys, mostly re tyres as this was the area I've been most unsure with. So tyres will definitely stay.

Regarding the fork, another issue that scares me is servicing the suspension fork, therefore, I would be so much happier with a rigid one. It's not so much about the weight savings but if I go rigid route then I may think of doing some weight wennie project on a "budget" to get it down to below 10kg. It's now about 11.5kg with pedals. The current fork flexes too much for my liking and there is still 10mm of suspension even when locked, so that's why I think hours of training on the tarmac up the hills will be a bit of a pain in the neck. And honestly, this fork (not to say the entire bike) deserves some more abuse from someone more experienced than me.

I found that fork which I really like, http://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/niner ... orks/10561 .
I forgot to mention previously that I would need a rigid with 15mm through axle as I don't want to change wheels at that point. However, the niner fork is pretty expensive. If I could sell my current fork for a good price or if someone would be willing to swap then I would go for that one. Otherwise I would have to look for something more affordable.

Thanks for advices again.

scale20

I use those niner rigid forks on my niner AIR 9, They are very plush and with the 15mm maxle they point your front wheel exactly where they want to go.

Pair them with a set of carbon bars and the trail/road buzz is more or less non existent.

I have used the racing ralphs on a rigid before and found them crap, lots of punctures, if I were you I would go for a slightly larger tyre on the front (2.2) with some tread to it, that will cushion the ride a little given you have rigid forks.

Not many tyres will keep you upright on the ice however I have found a thin tyre is good on the snow. I tried using a thinner tyre on snow last year and found that it cut through to the hardpack underneath better.

The Rookie

Not sure if the DT Swiss 15mm is compatable with teh Rockshox which the niner uses.....also as thats designed for a 29er it has a long A to C height which may well be longer than your current fork and will make it horrid to ride.....

Have you thought about all of this?

jairaj

I think the OP has a 29er bike so the fork should be fine. But I think you will have to buy a 15mm rock shox maxle. to hold the the wheel in place if you go for a niner fork.

While both the RS and DT Swiss axles are 15mm and will fit your wheels fine. The way the axle locks into the forks is different. Also I think any prospective buyer of the sus forks would want the axle as part of the deal.

What hubs do you have? You maybe able to convert them to normal QR and use a different cheaper fork. While I'm sure those Niner ones are very nice I do think they are over priced. My Carbon Cycle ones are well made, have accurate steering come in at very reasonable weight and cost a quarter the Niner forks.

I think On One do a similar bladed fork to Niner ..?

jairaj

ah ha looks like they do two of them in the blade design.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FOOOCAR29RACE/on_one_carbon_29er_race_fork

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FOOOTCF4709/on_one_monocoque_tapered_carbon_fork

unfortunately they are QR fitting only and in tapered steerer too. Does that fit your frame?

scale20

I agree the niner forks are pretty expensive and you could buy a good set of 2012 sus forks for that, but anyway, who needs suspension

The Niner RDO rigids come with a Rock Shox 15mm Maxle.

Fitting the rigid forks will drop the front end of your bike a little, measure your fork height from axle to crown on the sus forks and compare that to the rigids to see by how much, dont forget you will have some sag on the sus forks too, take that into account.

Mine comes in lovely with the rigids, a 0deg rise 70mm stem and some carbon low rise bars.

kamil1891

Thanks everyone for the input. I really appreciate it.

Regarding tyres, I've got Rocket Ron on the front and Racing Ralph at the back. As far as I'm concerned the former one has far more grip and they are both 2.25'' so there should not be any issues.

The canyon frames have got tapered head tube so I think tapered fork would fit ? Do I have to look for any other dimensions ? The fork installation length according to website is 500.8 mm. So, any fork at 450- 470mm should be alright, am i right ?

The wheels are DT Swiss X1800 and I don't know anything about them so I don't know whether there is any chance of converting them to standard QR.

The one-one carbon race forks look like the best bet at the moment but only if I could convert the current hub to a standard QR. I would not spend that much on a fork like the Niner one, unless I sell my current fork for a good price.

...and if I'm still missing something could anyone enlighten me please :oops:

kamil1891

And what do you guys think about this fork: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=64390 ??

But I'm not sure whether it would fit. It looks like it's not tapered.

jairaj

Never heard of the brand but some of the carbon components are made in the same factory and re-branded . So if they have similar specs to the On One or the Niner chances are they are the same fork.

A non tapered 1 1/8th inch steer will fit inside a tapered head tube but you need a reducing headset.

You also need to check what steerer your current fork has to be certain what is a direct swap and what requires a bit more work.

If the fork is not a direct swap then you need to know what headset you have. As some headsets can be adapted while others can't.

kamil1891

The fork manual says that my fork is either straight 1 1/8'' or tapered 1.5'' at the bottom and 1 1/8'' at the top. It explains few other forks so I don't know what my is but I think is tapered. The headset is cane creek series 40. I don't know if that helps but I assume that the CRC fork would fit and may just need some adapter as you say.

Thanks!

I am really looking forward to converting!!

jairaj

take your forks out of the bike and take a look, its quite clear if you have tapered or not. Take a look on park tools for advise on how to remove the forks and info on the steerer standards too.

I think the Cane Creek 40 series headsets are modular and you can just replace the bottom cup if you want but not sure about adaptors.

70\ʹspenguin

Looking at the headtube id be 99% certain its tapered. The white monocoque On-One would suit this rather nicely!

kamil1891

Yep, one one looks good and it's relatively cheap! But not sure if the hub can be converted though

70\ʹspenguin

Ah bugger, i forgot the hubs.

kamil1891

Anyone willing to swap Niner RDO rigid for a DT Swiss XRM 100mm (with lockout etc) almost new ??