Fork Conversion Woes?

Question

Hello everybody! As the new season quickly approaches us, the annual tuneups/upgrades come to mind. I am curentlty wondering whether I should upgrade my fork. I am riding an '04 Trek 4500 with a Rockshox Judy TT fork. When I bought the bike, the sales rep told me that this fork is adjustable from 80mm (which it is set at now) and 100mm. The bike is set up for 80mm, but I would really like to get the extra bit of travel. If I was to do this, what could happen to the geometry, handling and/or frame (stresses)? Do you believe it would be worth it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks a lot!

Answer 1

Number 1, if Trek spec'd that fork for that bike, they knew that the bike would handle well in both instances.

Number 2, 20mm = 2cm= less than 1 inch. It is very unlikely that you will notice any difference on how the geometry of the bike has been affected, nor will you see a significant difference of travel. Most of the additional travel will be eaten up by "sag" or the ammount of downward pressure exerted on a suspension component with the rider sitting on the bike. To see a real difference, replace your inner components on the fork, i.e. elastomers/springs, oil, seals...

Answer 2

If you're going to increase your travel from 80mm to 100mm, consider the type of riding you're planning to do. With general cross country riding, an 80mm fork slapped on a hard tail will do the job. But if you're looking for more travel go ahead and experiment with your current fork. This would definitely have an effect in the bike's handling. With a higher fork, you would definitely need to put more weight in front during climbs to prevent the front from losing traction. As for my advice, upgrade your fork to Fox or Manitou. You would be surprised with the adjustability of these forks.

Answer 3

You know I just use a normal stainless steel fork approx. 15 centimeters long, and as a rule I try not to eat while on my bike, so I don't know that I have ever had a fork on my bike. But you sound all gung ho about it, so rock on. Can you eat noodles while riding?