# Adding 26" suspension fork to cyclocross bike



## Erik_A (Sep 14, 2008)

I am considering adding a 100mm 26" suspension fork to one of my cyclocross bikes (Lemond Poprad disc) and ditching my MTB. If the fork with wheel is about the same with the 26" suspension (uncompressed) as it is with the stock CX fork and 700c wheel; is there any reason not to go for it?


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Wow.

Funny bike ring any bells?










If you really want to do something stupid to your 'cross bike, why not put a 29er fork on it?


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## Erik_A (Sep 14, 2008)

PlatyPius said:


> Wow.
> 
> Funny bike ring any bells?
> 
> If you really want to do something stupid to your 'cross bike, why not put a 29er fork on it?


29er with 100mm suspension would be too long. 26er is equal length.


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## limba (Mar 10, 2004)

Huh? What? Why ditch the mtn.bike? Why not put a rigid fork on the mtn.bike? What are you hoping to gain? Where are you riding?


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## Erik_A (Sep 14, 2008)

I just have too many bikes. My mountain bike is older and kind of looks like a huge 26" cross bike with a suspension fork. I would do the same on the Poprad as I do on the MTB - then take off the suspension fork during cross season and use it as my pit bike. I don't know - just thinking.


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## loona (Sep 28, 2012)

lemond had a rock shock on his road bike

https://www.worldonbike.org/wp-content/plugins/rss-poster/cache/ab3e7_lemond90-300x403.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3135/3067133172_bd2a11a0fe.jpg

PARIGI ROUBAIX 1994 TCHMIL.avi - YouTube!


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I remember seeing a Serotta with a 700 suspension road fork. Kind of cool.


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## E 12 (Jul 13, 2008)

I like it - I think you should go for it to see how it turns out. I mean, it's your rig - who cares what anyone here thinks? To be honest, if I had an extra frame lying around a 26" suspension fork that needed a new life, I might try it too. Sounds fun.

Definitely post pictures if you try it.


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

E 12 said:


> I like it - I think you should go for it to see how it turns out. I mean, it's your rig - who cares what anyone here thinks? To be honest, if I had an extra frame lying around a 26" suspension fork that needed a new life, I might try it too. Sounds fun.
> 
> Definitely post pictures if you try it.


It may sound fun, but I can guarantee you that it isn't. With lots of frames, old bikes, and suspension forks laying around, I've tried similar frankenbikes. A road/cyclocross frame is not made to work with a suspension fork; certainly not one with 100mm of travel. The road suspension forks talked about here - the Rock Shox Ruby - had, if I remember correctly, 30mm of travel. That is really about the limit of what I would want while riding a road bar. Add in the fact that he's talking about using a 26" fork with a 26" wheel, and you can imagine the front end dive that thing is going to have. You think it's easy flying over the bars on a mountain bike, this abomination would flip you if you hit a rock on the trail.

OP, if you absolutely insist on doing this (I still can't imagine why...just keep your MTB...there is no such thing as "too many bikes"), find an older suspension fork from the 90s/early 2000s with as little travel as possible. Or, here's an idea....just buy a cheap hybrid suspension fork.


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## wtfbbq (Apr 5, 2012)

PlatyPius said:


> Add in the fact that he's talking about using a 26" fork with a 26" wheel, and you can imagine the front end dive that thing is going to have. You think it's easy flying over the bars on a mountain bike, this abomination would flip you if you hit a rock on the trail.


Pretty sure you can run a 700 wheel in a 26" suspension fork as long as it's disc -- which this Poprad is. Depending on what fork we are talking about, you can reduce travel with easy to install and very inexpensive kits.

I'd encourage some experimentation. I'm not convinced it's a good idea -- meaning it will deliver the kind of results he hopes to achieve. But who knows? I think it really depends on quality of solution, desired experience, and terrain he rides on. Maybe he finds that sweet spot. Maybe not.


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## loona (Sep 28, 2012)

i remember seeing a fork at interbike in the 90's. 
it had just a tiny amount of travel ,right at the axle area. 
supported by thick rubber bumpers/bushings 
just something to take the aluminum ouch out of the bike.
but carbon has surpassed this need i think.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

try it
I never would
but I won't stop you


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Erik_A said:


> I am considering adding a 100mm 26" suspension fork to one of my cyclocross bikes (Lemond Poprad disc) and ditching my MTB. If the fork with wheel is about the same with the 26" suspension (uncompressed) as it is with the stock CX fork and 700c wheel; is there any reason not to go for it?


It's not the same length. You'll end up with a lot more A-C on a sagged 26" MTB fork than what a typical road fork has.

FWIW, a 700C wheel drops right into a 26" fork. I tried it a while ago on my mountain bike - easy way to satisfy my curiosity. Since you've got a 700C disc wheel and a 26" mountain bike, you can do this yourself. With my fork, I didn't get a lot of clearance even with a 23 mm tire. So you may find that you can't use a very large tire, even compared to what your current 'cross fork can clear.

I think people can be a bit alarmist about the risk of longer-travel forks ripping the head tubes off of bikes. Although I've also seen bikes it's happened to. But you're proposing to add a lot more fork, not a little bit.

Basically, I don't think you'll get better off-road performance, especially if it reduces your tire clearance, I think it'll slack out your head angle a lot and mess with your road performance, and I think the risk to the frame is real.

Figure out the biggest knobbies you can stuff in the stays and existing fork and do that. Panaracer and IRD have some funky intermediate sizes that fall into the territory between 700C 'cross and 29er. Trek had some too. I'm sure there are other options out there as well.


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## Erik_A (Sep 14, 2008)

OK, thanks for the reality check - I will just use a fatter tire (with lower pressure) up front, but forego the suspension experiment.

I just want to be able to do this with my CX bike: Local trails ala cx on Vimeo


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## ecub (Sep 2, 2011)

How about getting a hybrid bike, with suspension forks, and just switching over to drop bars?


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

He'd have to downsize a lot to get a short enough top tube for that to work. I think I figured out for me, it'd be 2-3 sizes. I was thinking about a MTB -> road setup for a while - thought it'd be a fun project.


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