Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tech-9
Black Market unveiled it's new rigid fork. Although I'm not sure how it will perform based on it's geometry.
When you have frames that are built around suspension forks, it's usually an 80mm travel fork or taller. Most companies like DMR, Identiti, NS, etc. have rigid forks currently on the market. I run the DMR Trailblade 2. It runs 440mm axle to crown. Identiti Rebate forks are 430mm axle to crown. All of these forks still make your bike feel low and long when running them. To alleviate this, most riders will leave the steerer tubes longer, add more spacers and run 3" rise bars. This helps the bike pull up like it did with the suspension fork.
Another fix is to use Identiti's xl fork which is 465mm. This fork (on a 24" bike) feels exactly the same as if you had a suspension fork on. Although it looks goofy as hell. NS Bikes also has a similar fork. No matter what, all of the above forks still make a 26" bike that was built around an 80mm or bigger suspension fork feel too low and long. This makes it very difficult to pull up for those much needed bunnyhops.
Tech9 rigid forks are available in either 415mm axle to crown or 395mm axle to crown. The 395mm forks will fit snugly around a 24" wheel. Note that it does not make up the much needed length that a 24" MTB is designed for. This will result in the geometry change mentioned above. The same applies to the 415mm fork with 26" wheels.
Black Market is a respectable company with an awesome product line! I'm sure these forks are lightweight, and bombproof. Just be sure you know what you are looking for before you buy any rigid forks! It is important to understand what the frames are designed for before considering any fork on the market. When I got my first pair of rigids for my 26", My bike was a new beast that was much harder to handle.
Have fun kids, and keep the shred alive!
Check out the bad ass new Contraband with the Tech-9 fork below!
When you have frames that are built around suspension forks, it's usually an 80mm travel fork or taller. Most companies like DMR, Identiti, NS, etc. have rigid forks currently on the market. I run the DMR Trailblade 2. It runs 440mm axle to crown. Identiti Rebate forks are 430mm axle to crown. All of these forks still make your bike feel low and long when running them. To alleviate this, most riders will leave the steerer tubes longer, add more spacers and run 3" rise bars. This helps the bike pull up like it did with the suspension fork.
Another fix is to use Identiti's xl fork which is 465mm. This fork (on a 24" bike) feels exactly the same as if you had a suspension fork on. Although it looks goofy as hell. NS Bikes also has a similar fork. No matter what, all of the above forks still make a 26" bike that was built around an 80mm or bigger suspension fork feel too low and long. This makes it very difficult to pull up for those much needed bunnyhops.
Tech9 rigid forks are available in either 415mm axle to crown or 395mm axle to crown. The 395mm forks will fit snugly around a 24" wheel. Note that it does not make up the much needed length that a 24" MTB is designed for. This will result in the geometry change mentioned above. The same applies to the 415mm fork with 26" wheels.
Black Market is a respectable company with an awesome product line! I'm sure these forks are lightweight, and bombproof. Just be sure you know what you are looking for before you buy any rigid forks! It is important to understand what the frames are designed for before considering any fork on the market. When I got my first pair of rigids for my 26", My bike was a new beast that was much harder to handle.
Have fun kids, and keep the shred alive!
Check out the bad ass new Contraband with the Tech-9 fork below!
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