Fork height advice

Keando said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

Not a whole lot. Run it with a smidge more sag and you'll be plush 'n
happy.

You got to buy the parts or you got a stash box full of
parts? Stay in control. 80-100 mm fork will be fine. Not a RS or a
Answer. Take the Marzocchi or a Fox.

"Keando" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

TIA

Keando

Measure the axle to crown distance of both forks. Roughly an inch
difference equates to about a degree of change in the HT angle.

"Keando" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

TIA

Keando

I've changed my original 80mm to 100, and then to 130mm and I can't say
that I can tell a lot of difference.

I think I've read that it makes downhill handling better and going uphill
the front end wanders around.

One might assume that weight transfers could compensate for this? YMMV

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

Per Keando:

Quoted message said:

What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

When I flip-flop between 80/100 using my Marzocchi ETA it seems like the bike is
a little quicker to steer at 80 and more stable at 100. There's definately a
noticible difference, but it's not enough that it seems like it would make a
rideable/not-ridable diff in any bike. This bike's designed for 100. Whether
you prefer your bike at 80 or 100 might be a personal taste thing.
--
PeteCresswell

Quoted message said:

I've changed my original 80mm to 100, and then to 130mm and I can't say
that I can tell a lot of difference.

That's a pretty progressive change. If you were to switch back to 80mm, you
would notice the geometry difference immediately.

Quoted message said:

I think I've read that it makes downhill handling better and going uphill
the front end wanders around.

I find 80mm a whole lot easier to ride backwards on... yes, 130mm is a
godsend for downhill and high-speed runs and the front end wanders around
only if you're going SLOW! 😉

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Keando said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

Like most everyone else already said, it does make a difference, but
it'll still work fine. I mounted a fork that's adjustable from
80-125mm on my own MTB, and there's not a huge difference in handling
between 80 and 100mm (it just gets a little softer). Going all the
way to 125mm does produce a little tendency toward wheel flop when
going really slow, but it still "works" fine (particularly when going
down).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Mark Hickey said:

Keando said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

Like most everyone else already said, it does make a difference, but
it'll still work fine. I mounted a fork that's adjustable from
80-125mm on my own MTB, and there's not a huge difference in handling
between 80 and 100mm (it just gets a little softer). Going all the
way to 125mm does produce a little tendency toward wheel flop when
going really slow, but it still "works" fine (particularly when going
down).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

You do have to be traveling faster than 15mph to *really* feel the diff :-p

--
Slacker

Quoted message said:

You got to buy the parts or you got a stash box full of
parts? Stay in control. 80-100 mm fork will be fine. Not a RS or a
Answer. Take the Marzocchi or a Fox.

Got to buy the parts - just not sure if the long fork will affect the
handling etc...

"Keando" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

I've recently bought an 05 Kula Deluxe which comes with 100mm forks. I have
a suspicion they didn't modify the frame design from when it ran 80mm.
Seeing as this is my race bike I found it a little sluggish for fast tight
single track but I found running a slighlty lower than normal shock pressure
pretty much cured it.
On bikes I just ride socially I don't find the fork height / steering angle
is nearly as important.
Cheers,
Duncan.

They should reach all the way from the axle to the bike.

Shaun aRe - HTH, HAVVND.

Nobody mentioned climbing issues. My bike came with 100mm forks. I put a
80-125mm fork on it and height does make a difference. At 80mm, climbing is
easier than at 100mm and steering is quicker.
You may need to lower your bars to resolve any weight transfer with the taller
forks and accept the slower/more stable steering.

-Chuck

----------
Keando <[email hidden]> wrote...

Quoted message said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

TIA

Keando

Duncan said:

"Keando" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

I've recently bought an 05 Kula Deluxe which comes with 100mm forks. I have
a suspicion they didn't modify the frame design from when it ran 80mm.
Seeing as this is my race bike I found it a little sluggish for fast tight
single track but I found running a slighlty lower than normal shock pressure
pretty much cured it.
On bikes I just ride socially I don't find the fork height / steering angle
is nearly as important.
Cheers,
Duncan.

Hi All

Thanks to all for the info.

Duncan,

Had a look at the geometry specs for the Kula/Kula Deluxe frames - the
2003 frame had a head angle of 71° and the 2005 frame has a head angle
of 69° (this for an 18" frame)

Cheers

Ken

Duncan said:

"Keando" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have recently bought a 2003 Kona Kula frame to build up. I am
looking for front forks to use on the bike. The Kula originally came
with 80mm Marzocchi MX Comp air forks - What would the effect be on
the bike to put a set of 100/105mm forks on instead?

I've recently bought an 05 Kula Deluxe which comes with 100mm forks. I have
a suspicion they didn't modify the frame design from when it ran 80mm.
Seeing as this is my race bike I found it a little sluggish for fast tight
single track but I found running a slighlty lower than normal shock pressure
pretty much cured it.
On bikes I just ride socially I don't find the fork height / steering angle
is nearly as important.
Cheers,
Duncan.

Hi All

Thanks to all for the info.

Duncan,

Had a look at the geometry specs for the Kula/Kula Deluxe frames - the
2003 frame had a head angle of 71° and the 2005 frame has a head angle
of 69° (this for an 18" frame)

Cheers

Ken

Per Chuck Joga:

Quoted message said:

I put a
80-125mm fork on it and height does make a difference. At 80mm, climbing is
easier than at 100mm and steering is quicker.
You may need to lower your bars to resolve any weight transfer with the taller
forks and accept the slower/more stable steering.

Maybe the op should look into something like 'Zocchi's Pro ETA - which has a
little lever that toggles the forks between 80 and 100mm.
--
PeteCresswell