As an sidebar to the main Alpine Content thread, I'm thinking of converting my two '95 FSR frames for bikepacking / off-road touring purposes. This raises the question of suitable forks for relatively burly terrain and/or luggage carrying.
The first question appears to be "How much travel would be too much for the frame?". It looks like the original forks had 60-65mm travel, so how close to 100mm could I get without wrecking the performance, particularly when climbing?
Then comes the question of 26er fork choice with a 1-1/8" straight steerer. Contenders include:
* Marz Z2 BAMs - I already have one pair, 80mm travel - but how serviceable these days?
* Pace Evo II or III - around 80mm travel? Already have one pair, not sure how robust or serviceable.
* Magura Phaon - Coming out of leftfield, I have TWO pairs of these which I may be able to overhaul with some help. Adjustable 85-125mm travel, so should be fine at the bottom end of this, and would allow easy testing of longer travel forks. Built like brick outhouses.
* Rockshox Pike - older models have straight steerers but use 20mm axles… not necessarily a showstopper. Minimum U-Turn travel is 95mm, although there are fixed 100mm travel models I think. Still serviceable…?
Any other thoughts or comments welcome
The first question appears to be "How much travel would be too much for the frame?". It looks like the original forks had 60-65mm travel, so how close to 100mm could I get without wrecking the performance, particularly when climbing?
Then comes the question of 26er fork choice with a 1-1/8" straight steerer. Contenders include:
* Marz Z2 BAMs - I already have one pair, 80mm travel - but how serviceable these days?
* Pace Evo II or III - around 80mm travel? Already have one pair, not sure how robust or serviceable.
* Magura Phaon - Coming out of leftfield, I have TWO pairs of these which I may be able to overhaul with some help. Adjustable 85-125mm travel, so should be fine at the bottom end of this, and would allow easy testing of longer travel forks. Built like brick outhouses.
* Rockshox Pike - older models have straight steerers but use 20mm axles… not necessarily a showstopper. Minimum U-Turn travel is 95mm, although there are fixed 100mm travel models I think. Still serviceable…?
Any other thoughts or comments welcome
