Fork Confusion

[guitar1234]

This is a confusing question...
I have an 09' Remedy with a U-Turn Lyrik 160mm-120mm, although it has only 150mm in the rear

I am looking at a new Fox Talas 180-140mm, and I was wondering whether it would be safe to go to 180mm considering the 20mm rule (Don't increase/reduce travel more then 20mm due to Geometry/frame problems) But is the 160mm of my stock fork already 10mm over its intended travel considering my remedy has 150mm of travel in the rear?

If anyone could shed some light it would be very helpful :help:

 

[Ivan]

There are two things you need to consider

• Changes to geometry
• Increased stress on the frame from a longer fork

To check how the fork will change your geometry, use this calculator http://bikegeo.muha.cc/ . I'm gonna go ahead and guess that the 180mm fork is going to make you BB too high and you HA and SA too slack.

To check whether the increased fork is likely to make a big increase in the likelihood of snappage, without having FEA software etc, then you can use the warranty guidelines of the manufacturer as a guide. The usually have a limit on the front travel in the warranty conditions.

The remedy was sold with the 160mm Lyriks, so 160mm is the designed front travel ( and AtoC length) for this frame.

IMO, If you think you need a 180mm fork, the remedy is probably not the right tool for the job. The Scratch or Slash would be a more appropriate bike.

 

[driftking]

As above it comes down to geometry changes and increased stress, however i will add two important additions

axle to crown - This is the primary measurement you need to consider with fork length you can have two forks the same size with different travel amounts. yes one fork will compress more so that needs to be considered but the axle to crown is essential to look at.

Balance - If a bike is designed to work with a specific travel it might throw out the balance of suspension between the front and rear. Id expect this is rare with today adjustments but might be a factor, hopefully someone else can shed some light on this.

 

[guitar1234]

Thanks for the info guys

I was really keen on the fork for the price($400 for 2012 fork w/Kashima), not the travel, I was just wondering whether it was worth it, But I think it'd probably be much safer to just look for a 160mm fork.

Anyway, thankyou for the help