Fork Length Between Brands Options

[FREAKAH]

While shopping for a new fork to go with my new Intense Podium LTD Cruiser frame I noticed alot of differences in length between manufacturers. From what I see in pics with wheels mounted it seems like the Answer and the Bombshell forks are the shortest, supercross and Risen in the middle and the Sinz carbon/aluminum, GHP and S&M the longest.

Seeing that the Podium frame was designed with the Sinz fork in mind(or visa-versa), would going to a shorter fork mess with the overall geo intended for the frame, especially the HTA and BB height?

Anybody notice any differences in feel when changing fork brands?


I'm actually set on getting the Supercross SLT fork but I just wanted to make sure first.

[justride]

While shopping for a new fork to go with my new Intense Podium LTD Cruiser frame I noticed alot of differences in length between manufacturers. From what I see in pics with wheels mounted it seems like the Answer and the Bombshell forks are the shortest, supercross and Risen in the middle and the Sinz carbon/aluminum, GHP and S&M the longest.

Seeing that the Podium frame was designed with the Sinz fork in mind(or visa-versa), would going to a shorter fork mess with the overall geo intended for the frame, especially the HTA and BB height?

Anybody notice any differences in feel when changing fork brands?


I'm actually set on getting the Supercross SLT fork but I just wanted to make sure first.

No different feel. I generally stack my bars to the same height regardless of how much extra there is, then I cut off the rest.

[FREAKAH]

Sorry if wasn't clear but what I meant was the wheel axle to crown length.



This post has been edited by FREAKAH: Jul 17 2011, 07:27 PM

[lumpy]

A longer fork will make the bike steer a little slower, but feel a little more stable.. When I switched from my old Sinister forks to the SX forks, it was a night and day difference. Made the bike(SX) corner way quicker.. The SLT's are a great fork!

Brian

[chase2wheels]

I thought the sinz fork made the head tube too tall even before putting on spacers/stem/bars - it was at least 6-8 mm taller than the sx slt if I recall.

[Brandon002]

I think the offset of the dropouts makes more of a difference then the height. I have used Standard race forks, S&M Race XLT's and Supercross in the past 3 years and all of them were great forks.

[bystickel]

The makers really blow when it comes to posting their fork specs. Every fork should have both Axle-to-Crown and Offset/Rake dimensions noted.

The industry needs to standardize the way they post dimensions.

[danb]

the rake of the fork also changes the steer reaction on the fork along with tires size, there are so many factors when it comes to forks.. I personally use aluminum Pro forks
as seen here

http://elfbicycle.com/newitems.html

[justride]

Sorry if wasn't clear but what I meant was the wheel axle to crown length.

Ahh that, yeah they all feel different. I rode the same bike as mine except with Daggers and it felt taller and easier to pull up (same bar height) than my bike which has DK race forks.

It's hard to tell you what is going to feel different since there's no specs for that measurement. I asked about this before too.

[chief]

yes the different length wit change how things feel. but theres no way you can tell the difference unless you try things out. sure you can come up with some rule of thumb ideas but the bottom line is you have to put the parts on and go testing.
the motocross boys do it all year long, but i never really hear of bmxers doing any testing.

This post has been edited by chief: Jul 20 2011, 10:25 AM