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  • nothingfuturenothingfuture@mastodon.social
    Oct 31, 2026, 12:10 PM

    @ascentale @enobacon @bikenite In the old days- before suspension forks were (effectively) a give on MTB’s, the general rule was that every 25mm of fork travel would slacken the head tube angle by about one degree, thereby slowing the handling of the bike a little bit. However: that’s not exactly true- it slackens the head tube angle one degree for every 25mm of travel *after sag*, and that should be 25% of the total travel. (Part 1) #bikenite

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  • nothingfuturenothingfuture@mastodon.social
    Oct 31, 2026, 12:14 PM

    @ascentale @enobacon @bikenite (con’t) However however, the longer the wheelbase the smaller the change to headtube angle and bb height & whatever- and you have a LONG wheelbase. So: let’s imagine the fork is nominally 80mm longer than the stock fork- that’s really, an effective 64mm useful travel. That means something like a 1degree slackening of your head tube angle- and I doubt you’d notice the difference in any kind of normal riding. #bikenite

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  • nothingfuturenothingfuture@mastodon.social
    Oct 31, 2026, 12:18 PM

    @ascentale @enobacon @bikenite (con’t) In short, it shouldn’t be a problem within any kind of reason (don’t put a 200mm suspension fork on, etc).
    Type of suspension has two reasonable answers, I think. Either use an air-spring fork (that can be adjusted to rider/cargo weight), or use a coil-spring fork (because they work). Elastomer sprung forks *suck*. They stiffen in the cold, thr spring properties are bad, they have bad damping. #bikenite

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  • nothingfuturenothingfuture@mastodon.social
    Oct 31, 2026, 12:20 PM

    @ascentale @enobacon @bikenite (con’t) If you’re thinking about elastomer forks because of maintenance or cost and you’re still worried about messing with the bikes geometry, my honest suggestion is to put the biggest fattest front tire you can on the bike. Biggest you can fit. You’ll get a better ride, better handling, low weight, and minimal maintenance. #bikenite

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