Prepare for epic TL: DR!
So, despite 37mm offset CSU's not being available until mid-December - it turns out complete forks in the 37mm offset
were available.
Bike really wasn't great with just the angleset and standard 44mm offset fork, front end was
very floppy (climbs were a nightmare) and it was hard to get weight over the front generally. A jump from a 40mm to 50mm stem helped with weighting the front, but wasn't ideal in respect to handling (started to feel a bit of that gyroscopic effect) - so temptation and frustration ran a little wild and I ordered a fork. Got it delivered yesterday at work (got home late), cut the steerer, installed the star nut, put it all together with the 40mm stem back on it, setup the fork tuning, etc... Took it for a blast up and down the street. Reaction was
and it steered just how I'd hoped.
For those interested - Out of the angleset vs. offset changes - the angleset made the bigger change to bike handling feel, but offset made a way bigger gain to usable performance. The angleset really didn't help get through the choppier stuff that much better - there is a gain but it's marginal at best. It also made the front feel like it was hard to get enough weight onto. The offset change was very noticeable. Playing around in the street - you can feel it makes the initial turn-in a little slower (arguably a good thing on a squirrely bike like this as it holds a line better), and makes it easier to balance weight on the front as the contact point of the tyre doesn't turn inside of the bike as much when turning, so you weight transferring through the bike feels like it's naturally helping load the front, rather than wanting to tip the bike outwards. Realistically on the trails, the only difference you notice is it just feels more stable and very grippy without having to put in a lot of effort in for it. This is only one ride in, but it echos the difference in feel the Ripmo with it's short-for-29er offset fork it had, and it really is a surprisingly noticeable change. A lot more than I had expected to be honest...
Anyway - enough over-analysing! I took it for a ride at Mt Macedon with a couple of mates today. Was still dialing in the fork a touch the first couple of runs but had a blast. Bike is working really sweet and I'm bloody keen to give it a run at Youies as I've pretty much set it up for tracks like Cressy and Travs (you'll still be able to say G'day as you pass my slow ass on the trails though, lol).
This is the geo how it stands currently, with the exception that the wheelbase would be around 1207mm given the shorter offset.
(Link for geo nerds wanting to play with this calcualtor -
https://bikegeo.muha.cc/)
The few mm extra on fork height is because the angle headset lower cup was a bit taller than the one that came off.
The few mm extra on fork height is because the angle headset lower cup was a bit taller than the one that came off.
Also finally got the new decals earlier in the week, so they went on before the fork even got installed!
It's a little dusty post ride - but still pretty in my eyes...
Fork and angleset detail:
And not to be forgotten - also heard back from the wheel builder yesterday that the new wheels are built (Nextie rims and P321 hubs) and I should get them sometime next week. Despite being quite happy with how the Michelin Wild AM performs in most conditions, I'll jump back to the DHF 2.6 front for now (will shape up better on the wider front rim I'm guessing) and the Aggressor 2.5 rear for a bit more tyre volume and rear-brake grip. After roughly two months - That'll be the end of my "dream bike" build, and I might even take some decent pictures to celebrate!