Not that I don't like the Rock Shox fork on this bike, actually I really like the colour matched red stanchions. But Syncros Powerlites are almost mandatory on this bike I think. Pretty damn hard to find one that has a headtube long enough to fit this 20" frame. Earlier I bought a one inch version for another build, but I changed my mind there so I had that one in the stash waiting for a decision.
Then I found another one here locally that was advertised as 1.1/8" with a steerer long enough for my frame. When it arrived it turned out to be a one inch as well. Bummer. The owner had removed the brake studs on it because he thought that looked better on a fixie... Can you imagine? Well, I was able to get it cheaply as the seller realized this was not a clever move. And I only needed the crown so I didn't care that much about the stanchions. Good news is that a local frame builder here in the Netherlands can braze on identical studs, so I have that done somewhere in the coming time.
Some people say one inch Powerlites are very rare, and I find myself having two that I can't use... So I decided to fit it on the Altitude anyway, using 1.1/8" to 1" headset reducers and the 1" Syncros stem I still had in my stash. An ultra low stack height headset was the only missing part but thanks to the guys here I found one in Taiwan and that arrived today. Great!
I've changed the steerer bar as well. A few weeks ago I sourced a Syncros Ti steerer here locally in the Netherlands, that's a nice upgrade I have to say. I think it's a '93 version, looking at the magnesium wedge with the holes in it, but this bike with its XC Pro kit and later Syncros seatpost isn't a catalogue spec anyway.
It's coming close to completion I think. An earlier Syncros seatpost is on the hunt list but they are not easy to find in 27.0. And changing all back to a Powerlite with 1.1/8" steerer tube when I manage to find one makes sense. Not that it looks bad with the 1" headset, but after all we should keep ourselves busy, right?
Some crappy iphone pics here: