[mmik]

What I'd like is something with a lockout and a mid-range level of travel, but not for heavy riding, so a sleak design would be best. Something that'll handle firm and won't be too responsive and won't cause much pedal dive.

I was told .marzocchi is a good brand to look into, but there are so many choices I don't know what I'd want. The biggest I'd plan to go with the bike I'm putting it on is maybe a 2 foot drop. (rigid bianchi mtb at the moment)

 

[reptilezs]

way to be vague. your rigid bike means it probably was not designed for a suspension fork.

 

[mmik]

way to be an ass

 

[electrik]

:lol:

 

[bing!]

:lol:

+1

Non-answer does a face plant.

 

[mmik]

I forgot I had that other topic from earlier today and made this one. baha. I decided after some looking around that the 'brain' tech in fox forks isn't worth the money for me, and i'd be better off with something more simple.

like I said, I have a bianchi DISS frame, and I don't know what can be fitted to it, and if I need to measure out something on it I'll need to figure out how. I assumed someone who knows a lot about bikes can at least know where to look up info on the frame and get an easy answer for me, though...

 

[rlouder]

reptilezs is right. A suspension fork will jack up the front end. Not only will this affect the steering, many frames with a rigid fork aren't designed to withstand the additional force on the head tube joints.

 

[mmik]

ok thanks. : (

 

[electrik]

Measure the axle to crown(google), find a replacement suspension fork of similar length.

If a frame is designed for a rigid fork and off-roading it can handle a suspension fork of similar proportions.

Just be careful with hydro disc brakes if you plan to go that far.

 

[mtnbiker72]

Based on the pictures I can find, the DISS doesn't look like it came with a suspension correct fork. As suggested above you can measure the A-C but unless it's al least around 420-440mm it will not be ideal to put a suspension fork on it.

 

[mmik]

Well unless I'm mistaken, the bike IS classified as a mountain bike. Can someone explain what I'm supposed to measure please? Obviously I'm not very good at bikes.

What does that one guy mean by "jack up the front end"? does he mean raise it? And where's this additional force he's talking about coming from? I don't think he could mean from impacts, as the suspension's purpose is to absorb that, which would lessen the force on the frame.

Does he mean angular force on the front end due to a longer fork?

 

[mtnbiker72]

Measure from the axle to the top crown of the fork (B)

For approximatively every 25mm longer than what you have now, it will slacken the front headtube 1 degree and raise the bottom bracket. The slacker the headtube, the lighter the front end gets which can cause issues keeping the wheel strait on climbs. On descents, the slack headtube slows steering response so it may feel more stable. The fork also acts as a lever on the headtube. The longer the lever (ie A-C length) the more force it puts on the headtube. If the frame was only designed to handle a certain level of force and you put a longer fork that creates more force you could cause a failure.

 

[mmik]

So does that mean as long as I get a fork of "proper" length, I can use suspension? Or is it a really risky game to play? I really want to build this up to be my main bike if I can, and I'd benefit from some front suspension.

thanks much for the info, though.

 

[mtnbiker72]

So does that mean as long as I get a fork of "proper" length, I can use suspension?

Yes

 

[Dougal]

One of my bikes is a 92 marin that was never intended to have a suspension fork. It works fine with up to 80mm.

Sure a suspension fork is significantly longer than a rigid fork, but it's the fork length when it's sagged and you're riding that actually matters. An 80mm fork with sag is only a little bit longer than an old short rigid fork.

 

[norcalruckus]

tora

I say get a Rockshox TORA with as lockout, set up at 80mm. It should work fine, and most Toras can be set at 80mm with an internal spacer change

 

[mmik]

Is there a magic number for setting fork sag? Like a certain distance, like how people estimate for rear suspension.

 

[mtnbiker72]

I say get a Rockshox TORA with as lockout, set up at 80mm. It should work fine, and most Toras can be set at 80mm with an internal spacer change

That is terrible advice, until the OP knows what the stock A-C measurement is you can't just throw some fork on it an think it will be fine.

Tora set at 80mm is a 453mm A-C

A rigid non-suspension corrected 26" fork is ~390mm

That is a 2 1/2" difference:nono:

 

[Dougal]

Is there a magic number for setting fork sag? Like a certain distance, like how people estimate for rear suspension.

For a bike that used to be rigid, I'd start with 30% sag.

The other problem with Tora is they're very average forks. Heavy and poor performers.

 

[mmik]

bought a measuring tape because my old one went mia! time to try to measure stuff