Spacing fork travel - impact on stiffness?
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Purely a speculative question as I'm browsing forks I can't afford (yet..) 
but for forks when their stock travel is x mm but you can run them at x plus or minus 20mm by changing spacers, will extending the fork travel by 20mm affect the stiffness as there will be an extra 20mm of stanchion outside the lower body?
I'm going to get my current forks dropped to 120mm at some point in the next month or two and then later in the year / early next will buy some better, lighter forks if I like the 120mm travel on the bike. As I am weight conscious and ride xc I'd be looking at eventually getting some xc forks which mostly seem stock at 100mm but able to be spaced to 120. Clearly loads of people do this, just wondering if there is an impact on stiffness...
but for forks when their stock travel is x mm but you can run them at x plus or minus 20mm by changing spacers, will extending the fork travel by 20mm affect the stiffness as there will be an extra 20mm of stanchion outside the lower body?I'm going to get my current forks dropped to 120mm at some point in the next month or two and then later in the year / early next will buy some better, lighter forks if I like the 120mm travel on the bike. As I am weight conscious and ride xc I'd be looking at eventually getting some xc forks which mostly seem stock at 100mm but able to be spaced to 120. Clearly loads of people do this, just wondering if there is an impact on stiffness...
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Not really.
But if the forks are flexy they will still be flexy. If they are not flexy then it is unlikely they will become flexy.
Some makes seem more flexy than others. So with out specifics...."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0
