[jiggerjake]

Just curious as to what category do you feel a 140mm travel hardtail with 65.5 HTA and 74.5 STA falls into ? I'm looking for something more trail oriented as opposed to an enduro type ride.
There is a particular frame I'm interested in that's specifically specked for 140mm and I've got it in my head that I had to have a 130mm for the type of riding I'll be doing.
What disadvantages does a 140mm have over a 130mm for basic trail riding ? No steep drops or climbs like out west.
Would I be creating too steep a HTA and too low a bottom bracket by putting a 130mm on a purpose built 140mm frame?

 

[justwan naride]

If it's designed for 140mm it will probably feel more balanced as such. Just as overforking removes weight from the front wheel, underforking may load it too much. Also the bb height can be an issue depending on the design and the terrain you ride.

65.5 isn't such an extreme angle anyway and hardtails steepen at sag, so I'd ride it as intended.

If you already own the 130mm fork I'd make sure travel can be changed to 140mm before getting the frame. You can still try the fork as it is, maybe it's fine after all, but better be able to change it if it's not.

That said, I own a 140mm ht with a 66 head tube angle and I'd describe it as a fun trail ht. Choice of tyres dictates how it feels to a large extend. Currently with Assegai front and HR2 rear because they're better suited to the trails I ride, but it's seen lighter and faster rubber and the ride changes accordingly.

 

[Bluebeat007]

I own a 140mm Vassago Radimus that’s close in geo numbers which I ride at the downhill park and race endurance races on. I just swap tires accordingly. It’s a great all a rounder for me.

 

[cookieMonster]

Having 140mm of travel and a slacker head angle will not hinder the bike's ability at all in an average trail riding or XC setting, but having less travel and a steeper HA will surely be felt in a negative way when you enter steeper, rowdier terrain.

 

[834905]

Which frame are you talking about? Most companies will give you a range of forks for their hardtails. Running a 130 on a bike that comes with a 140 isn't going to hurt anything. If you're talking about a frame that's designed around a 140-160 I may do a little more math to figure out my bottom bracket drop and such, but I still doubt it would be enough to make a difference.

Just my experience, I ran a rigid Whisky fork on an older generation Nimble 9 that was designed around a 140 and it was fine. The bottom bracket was low, but it was actually fun to ride and I never had any issues with it.

 

[*OneSpeed*]

If the geometry is spot-on for what you're going for the "category" doesn't matter. (I'd call it a Trail hardtail or AM hardtail for the record) 10mm in fork travel is not going to bump a bike out of one category and into another, it's a pretty small detail and probably unnoticeable (the 10mm of travel) while on the bike.

Obviously changing the fork travel for a particular frame could negatively impact the geometry though. I agree with others if you're buying a 140 frame, use a 140mm fork to start ideally.

I have a 140mm fork on my Honzo ST, killer bike! So good!

 

[Guinevere]

Not OP, but I'm crunching a similar quandary on the Alchemy Argos frame. It comes stock with, and is built around, a 140mm fork.

I've heard 120-130mm are optimal for hardtails. Customer service says a 130mm will work with the geometry, and steepen the HA to 65 -> 65.5.

If one were to go 130mm, are they giving up more with the HA and 10mm than they'd gain from more consistent geo, weight, etc?

Currently I ride a 120mm SID and a 160mm Fox 36 w/MRP Ramp Control, which feel quite different. Haven't had a lotta time on anything in-between.

 

[jiggerjake]

Which frame are you talking about? Most companies will give you a range of forks for their hardtails. Running a 130 on a bike that comes with a 140 isn't going to hurt anything. If you're talking about a frame that's designed around a 140-160 I may do a little more math to figure out my bottom bracket drop and such, but I still doubt it would be enough to make a difference.

Just my experience, I ran a rigid Whisky fork on an older generation Nimble 9 that was designed around a 140 and it was fine. The bottom bracket was low, but it was actually fun to ride and I never had any issues with it.

View attachment 1961151

Stanton Switch 9er Ti. They specify "built around a 140mm fork" They don't mention 130-140 or 140-160 as some others do.
Thanks everyone for the comments.I don't think I have anything to worry about with getting the 140mm specific frame.After reading it again it does say they are designed to increase by 10mm but not decrease. So I guess it's a 140-150mm

 

[vikb]

10mm of fork difference isn't a big deal either way. A bike isn't enduro or trail because of the fork length it's far more about the geo. You can have a very aggressive 120mm forked hardtail and more relaxed geo 150mm forked bike.

 

[Harold]

stay away from the marketing-speak!

10mm of travel will probably barely be noticeable. if you look at actual axle-crown dimensions of forks, you'll find that looking at forks with the same travel from different manufacturers can vary that much between each other.

I ride a Guerrilla Gravity Pedalhead with a 140mm fork on it. It's still a very versatile bike (they usually come from the mfr with a 120mm fork) and I don't feel limited at all on mellower terrain. If anything, I appreciate the increased clearance under the bb and the slightly more slack STA that the longer fork supplies.

 

[HEMIjer]

This thread already about covers it but one more thing to consider that personally matter to me more than HTA is STA(Seat Tube Angle), going down 10mm will steepen it in your case and that could be a good thing, however might also need to some minor adjustment backward with your seat as well when do that. If going the other way increasing travel have seen too many times riders slacken the STA and IMO just kills the intended geo of the bike in many cases because not enough room to slide saddle forward.

BB also should be considered but sounds like doing that already and guessing if were to have pedal strikes already and constantly riding rocky terrain you would just go 140mm to start with. Another 130mm option to consider but not yet available would be the Canfield Yelli (Waiting on mine)