29" on Boxxer Team Forks
- Thread starter kgunzer
- Start date
alchemist
Manly Warringah MTB Club
D_Nine
Senior Member
Pretty sure it won't fit in stock lowers as they are already a bit tight.Dorado's or even Marz Shivers maybe ? as they have no lower crown arch.May still hit lower steerer crown on full compression.I believe that Kovaric tested a 29r DH with custom Dorado's .A 29r front wheel makes a bit of sense bigger holes,steps or tree roots required to trip it up.Until now most 29r rims have been XC width but Enve has some wider carbon 29r rims which would work but at about $800 a rim ! Expensive experiment ! Although the Santa Cruz Syndicate DH team ran the Enve carbon DH proto last season with no failures ! Funny how alot of people bag the 29r concept yet have never ridden one ? Don't get me wrong they will never replace the 26 yet they do offer a realistic option.
kgunzer
Likes Dirt
Yeah, it just got me thinking cause 29" wheels navigates small bumps much better than 26" resulting in a smoother roll for rooty or rocky terrain.
I was thinking 29" for just the front wheel (26" remains on the rear). Downside I know up front is increase in weight for the front end. I didn't expect it to be that expensive really but the idea of finding out how it handles gives me an itch.
My itch...
I was thinking 29" for just the front wheel (26" remains on the rear). Downside I know up front is increase in weight for the front end. I didn't expect it to be that expensive really but the idea of finding out how it handles gives me an itch.
My itch...
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whoateallthepies
Likes Dirt
The Lenz has a Dorado - full length USD fork, but travel reduced to 7".
It definitely will NOT work with a boxxer, you'd need way more tyre clearance than that.
There is a picture floating around on the net of a Fox 40 "modified" to fit 29ers.
I can't find it at the moment, but I found this picture of a 36 with the same mod...
CAUTION: VIEWING THE FOLLOWING PICTURE COULD CAUSE YOUR TOE NAILS TO CURL UP!
...
you have been warned:
Now keep in mind that the Fox 40 already has gigantic tyre clearance.
There are a few real, dedicated 29er DH forks, all somewhat questionable. I highly suspect that 8" of well tuned suspension and 26" wheel will do better in the rough than 6 or 7" of dodgy suspension and a bigger wheel.
It definitely will NOT work with a boxxer, you'd need way more tyre clearance than that.
There is a picture floating around on the net of a Fox 40 "modified" to fit 29ers.
I can't find it at the moment, but I found this picture of a 36 with the same mod...
CAUTION: VIEWING THE FOLLOWING PICTURE COULD CAUSE YOUR TOE NAILS TO CURL UP!
...
you have been warned:
Now keep in mind that the Fox 40 already has gigantic tyre clearance.
There are a few real, dedicated 29er DH forks, all somewhat questionable. I highly suspect that 8" of well tuned suspension and 26" wheel will do better in the rough than 6 or 7" of dodgy suspension and a bigger wheel.
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whoateallthepies
Likes Dirt
DH bikes with 29" tyres front and back AND 8" suspension have to have a very long wheelbase, otherwise the wheels collide with the seat, your toes or the frame. The top tube or reach have to be quite long, and so do the chain stays - most riders prefer the opposite.
One thing noted by people who have actually tested the 29er Lenz (which is a 6" bike I think) is that it is quite easy to accidentally buzz the rear tyre with your pants.
Also, a 29er DH fork with 8" travel would be ridiculously tall, resulting in a very tall cockpit.
In other words, I think there will be a few more FR/DH oriented 29er bikes in the future, but they will be 6 or 7" max, and they won't have any advantages on a lot of DH courses.
Nerf Herder
Wheel size expert
are those nevs ... and are they on backwards for extra traction ...
Sneebyl
Likes Dirt
On the topic of 8" 29er forks, the way I see it, you have two options: 1) you get a really high front end, and a less stable bike, or 2) you lower the front end by having a slacker head angle, and considering how slack DH head angles are with 26" forks, I can only imagine that an extra 3" would make it slack beyond common sense.
My 2 cents.
My 2 cents.
MrCove
South Shore Distribution
don't think i'd be filling the arch down on a pair of forks
however, you can apparently fit a 650b wheel/tyre on a standard Fox36
do a search on mtbr.com for more info
Or fox 40, white bros forks, x-fusion and the manitou dorados. The only problem is the widest 650b tire is the single ply nevegal at 2.35, which isn't very appropriate for DH.
I think the only way you could run a 29'' front wheel on a downhill bike is with the dorados. Anything else and its a little bit ghetto.
Dorados @ 7
Stans flow 29'' rim
Maxxis ardent dual ply 2.4 tire
zero stack headset + flat bars
The effective height of the front end should be somewhere near to a standard DH bike with a 26'' wheel. If I had the money and rode downhill it's something I would definitely do. I reckon we'll see more 29'' downhill bikes in the future, they make sense for steeper, faster and more rocky tracks.