Fork query

[gairym]

Morning!

I have a question that you guys will surely know the answer to.....

I'm currently investigating various 29er/69er possibilities and was wondering if any 26" rigid fork will take a 29" wheel???

I ask as I've found that On-one have their CroMo 26er MTB Fork on clearance for £29.99

I know, I know, I should be smart and get a carbon fork but this is for one of my build ideas - the 'create a 69er without spending very much' idea as I'm not sure I'll even like the 69er feel and so if I go for this option I don't want to part with much cash until I'm happy I want to commit to 29" wheels (at which point I'll get a 29er frame and either carbon or sus forks).

The spec says that it is:

420mm axle to crown

So.....if the average 29er wheel (including tyre - according to some internet factoid I found) is 740mm in diameter (or 370mm axle to edge) then theoretically I'll still have 50mm of clearance - no???

Can anyone see any flaw in my idea (other than steel forks being too rigid etc...)?

Any other technical reason why this wouldn't work?

As always your superior (I'm not too big to admit it) knowledge and experience would be appreciated.

Cheers, Gairy.

[Ray Young]

Hi Gairym, the fork I fitted is 425mm from the axle to top of the crown (top being where the lower bearing sits). With a 2.2 tyre fitted I have 35mm clearance so all being equal you should have 30mm clearance. What length fork is your frame adjusted to?, not that the on one fork will make a difference in the clearance but it will alter the steering angle if your frame is adjusted to a bigger travel fork than 100mm. Hope this helps.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Like Ray says ... 26" wheeled bike to 69er you'll be wanting a 26" wheeled rigid fork UNLESS your bike was designed for longer travel 26" sus' forks. If your bike is able to run 100-120mm suspension forks in it's normal guise then go for 26" rigids.

Oh and those steel On One forks are nothing if not rigid

[gairym]

Ok, good - all seems to be as I'd hoped.

The frame is an old 18" On-one Inbred and so should be fine as it's not designed for long-travel forks.

I certainly hear what you're saying about the 'rigidity' but before I very recently put some old Reba SL's on there I was riding some ancient Kona Project II's (and they were pretty rigid) and so it'll allow me to accurately figure out the difference that a 29" wheel makes without any pro/con possibly being related to another component (for example: if I loved it but it turned out I love the carbon fork and not the increased wheel diameter).

Thanks for the input fellas.

Think I'll get 'em ordered.

Stuart - this means I'll not be taking those forks off your hands any time soon but if you've still got 'em after I've conducted my 29" test then I may well get back to you about them.

Gairy.

P.s. Will post a nice shiny photo of the bike when it's fully undergone it's transformation.

[gairym]

forks ordered!

along with these:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... WHEELS.htm

i'm hoping they'll last but they were bought as they fit my criteria for this test set-up (they were cheap).

we'll see.....