29er sizing question

TD75

Retro Guru
So I got myself a used 2008 Kona Unit 2-9 20" with 100mm Tora forks. Reach wise it feels good, I feel stretched out which is nice. But top tube clearance is nonexistent on stand over. I've looked at the frame size chart for that year and I suppose I could go down a size but then I would have a 110mm + stem on it just to get comfy. On the 20" I have the seat is right on the front of the rails to get my position right.

Another option is to put a rigid fork on the front which would drop it about two inches giving me some clearance. Or is it best to just get a smaller frame size with a long stem on the front?

Does anyone else ride with no stand over clearance?
 
I'm 6' 2" with a 34" inside leg. Maybe 100mm is the wrong fork for it?
 

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Mm, doesn't look like you want anything shorter from seat to bars ;)

They originally came with a rigid fork, although it was a fairly long one to allow for a suspension swap -- I suspect they had 80mm forks in mind, but going 100->80 isn't going to make much difference to your standover. It's just unavoidably tall at the front, a lot of current 29ers have super-short head tubes to get the bars back out of orbit...
 
I know what you mean with the front feeling like it's in orbit. Feels comfy though. I'm thinking of putting a rigid fork on the front. Something like a 450mm, the current one is 510mm. So it should drop the front a bit to give me at least a little bit of stand over clearance.

Any ideas if you can get 80mm forks with a A-C measurement of 450mm? My back would appreciate something with a bit of bounce at the front.
 
Typical 80mm 29er forks are about 490mm static, so around 470 when riding. I suspect that's the length of the original rigid fork. I'd be wary of going really short on the fork on head angle/BB height grounds.
 
Sounds like the right size in theory, I'm the same size just still on LT 26, I expect clearance is no issue if you keep the front weighted a bit when hopping down to the floor, and running along that idea, how about wider low bars? Will the forks wind down at all?
 
That's what i thought about the size. Fits great apart from the standover clearance. Trouble is last time I went Mountain biking was about 20 years ago. Everything seems very different.

The forks are basic Tora, with no adjustment. To give me a rough idea I put a 26" in the front to see how it would feel with a lower front end with a shorter fork. I had about 2-3" of clearance. But I think I may have to swap the frame for something smaller.
 
I don't have a great deal of standover on the bikes I'm comfiest on (20" Karate monkey for example. 5'11", 33"). I don't worry about it. It has never been a problem for me yet. I've found I'm either right off, or I get away with the clearance thats there. Though one ride a few month ago I did catch the stem, but that would have been the same with a smaller frame too. :LOL:
 
It seems like getting the right 29er to fit seems like a bit of a lottery. Modern toptube lengths also seem quite compact compared with older frames back when I used to mountain bike regularly.

I either go for a smaller frame size with 120mm+ length stem and layback seat post or try a shorter fork on the current frame. There isn't many 29er I really like. Although I quite like the 'Karate monkey'. Maybe I'll wait and get a Krampus.

Lots to think about.
 
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