[DownbeatDave]

Why do so many forks on new bikes come set up as 80mm travel, instead of the 100mm most are capable of? What's the advantage?

I just spent 10 minutes and removed the 20mm spacer in a Fox F29 RL to give it 100mm of travel. The bike rides MUCH better now. Why was it restricted to 80mm to begin with?

 

[mtnbiker72]

Many, if not most 29er HT frames are designed around an 80mm fork still (though that is changing). So they sell the fork in the 80mm position for the same reason most coil spring forks come with a spring for a 140-160lbs rider...it's the most common.

 

[DownbeatDave]

The conversion to 100mm I just did was on a 2009 Fisher Ferrous HT. After adjusting the sag a bit more, I was able to give it the same geometry as before, but the travel has now gone up over 25%. Since it bottoms out at the same place (leaving ground clearance the same) why would anyone want less travel?

 

[crisillo]

Because the handling changes....unless you are running 20mm more sag than before (so that you use all the 20mm that you just "unlocked" as sag), the handling will be different and angles of the bike will be slightly slacker. Some people might like how it handles, some people don't.

Try it and see if you like it.