Upgrading fork

[RSR]

Hi guys, looking for some advice, I have a GT Zaskar, with a Recon fork 100mm travel. Would it be possible to upgrade and get a bit more travel, say 120mm ?

How will this affect the geometry and handling of the bike?

Thanks

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yes, and it'll make it better. 

 

Raise the BB slightly, relax the HA slightly, give you more squish and more confidence as a result of the changed HA. 

[RSR]

Thanks Myles

Appreciate the reply and advice.

????

[Grease_Monkey]

It will make handling better on the descents, but keep in mind it makes the seat tube angle slacker which will make the bike a less efficient pedaler - you'll probabaly notice it when climbing (the front end may wonder a bit or want to lift off).

 

In my opinion, keep a bike at it's intended level of travel. I have played around with teavel alot on a few bikes and have always come back to what was intended for the bike - that's the way they are designed and how they feel most balanced.

 

On the flip side, if you don't care to make that concession, it will be a better bike on the downs, and everything Myles said holds true.

[droo]

Depending on the model, you may be able to extend the travel of your existing fork by removing a spacer, which is a pretty easy way of testing it out instead of dropping a lot of cash on an experiment.

[stefmeister]

It will make handling better on the descents, but keep in mind it makes the seat tube angle slacker which will make the bike a less efficient pedaler - you'll probabaly notice it when climbing (the front end may wonder a bit or want to lift off).

 

In my opinion, keep a bike at it's intended level of travel. I have played around with teavel alot on a few bikes and have always come back to what was intended for the bike - that's the way they are designed and how they feel most balanced.

 

On the flip side, if you don't care to make that concession, it will be a better bike on the downs, and everything Myles said holds true.

Further the this,

Apart from the negative from a slacker seat tube angle, Increasing the fork's travel also slackens the head angle at the expense of shortening the reach and increasing the stack height. If it's a slacker head angle one is looking for it's probably best to look at angle set headsets along with a longer fork.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dexter-morgan]

Slight hijack, will upgrading to a Pike from Rockshox sector make a noteable difference on my Genius, is it worth the moolah?

[bertusras]

I honestly don't believe that it makes such a big difference in the real world. Perceived difference, sure, but in actual fact (based on a Large Zaskar geometry) you raise the BB by 7mm, slacken the angles by 0.9 degrees and reduce the reach by 5mm (until you re-do your bike fit to ensure your leg angles are corrected again). I refuse to believe that that minute difference will all of a sudden make the bike so much better. The extra 20mm of compliance, sure, but the minute geometry adjustment, nope. 

[droo]

I honestly don't believe that it makes such a big difference in the real world. Perceived difference, sure, but in actual fact (based on a Large Zaskar geometry) you raise the BB by 7mm, slacken the angles by 0.9 degrees and reduce the reach by 5mm (until you re-do your bike fit to ensure your leg angles are corrected again). I refuse to believe that that minute difference will all of a sudden make the bike so much better. The extra 20mm of compliance, sure, but the minute geometry adjustment, nope. 

 

A degree of head angle is basically in another world...

[Meezo]

A degree of head angle is basically in another world...

Agreed mine is mostly upside down! With me somewhere in the bushes

[droo]

Agreed mine is mostly upside down! With me somewhere in the bushes

 

That's a 180 degree change in head angle. Which is a whole different thing.