[XC707]

is it ok if i use a 130mm travel fork for xc use, if so, what do i hav to expect with this kind of setup in terms of performance, i ride extreme xc with lots of uphills and downhill singletracks, my ride is a khs alite2000 ht, does anyone recommend this kind of setup?

 

[vermontbryan]

is it ok if i use a 130mm travel fork for xc use, if so, what do i hav to expect with this kind of setup in terms of performance, i ride extreme xc with lots of uphills and downhill singletracks, my ride is a khs alite2000 ht, does anyone recommend this kind of setup?

The answer is it depends. A rider who is sensitive to bike setup can notice a 5 or 10 mm difference in front end height, and an increase of 25mm or more can ruin your bike's handling characteristics. But some riders can ride anything well. It all depends on how you need your bike to perform for you. Raising the front end will slow the steering by effectively reducing the head tube angle by about 1 degree per inch of travel. At some point, depending on how sensitive you are to bike setup, you will notice while climbing or doing slow technical singletrack that it's hard to hold a straight line and that you don't have the same maneuverability or feel for the front wheel. Also, though you will be able to have more sag with a longer travel fork, this is a mixed blessing. More sag will allow the fork to extend more to follow the terrain better, but it may also result in more bobbing during climbing or hard pedaling. Hope this is helpful

 

[buffallodan]

The nice thing is there are many forks that allow for travel adjustment. So you would be able to set it low for climbs and high for dh. I am liking my Marathon S with ETA that allows me to lower it an inch for climbs from 120 down to 100mm I think. My bike is a f/s though with around 100mm rear travel - YMMV.