Orange F7 fork a-to-c length

[renaldo]

Does anyone know if Orange F7 forks come with different axle to crown lengths, e.g. were later forks longer for suspension corrected geometry?
I have some with an axle to crown length of 390mm that came with a 97 P7 frame. Does anyone know of this is the correct length for the frame? The 97 Orange catalogue shows a range of fork options including Pace RC36 MXCDs and Rock Shox Indys and Judys that I believe have a much longer axle to crown length, I think 440mm in the case of at least the Pace, so is the F7 I have too short for the frame?

 

[xerxes]

Re:

390mm axle to crown is the standard length for 26" wheels with no suspension correction.

 

[renaldo]

Re: Re:

390mm axle to crown is the standard length for 26" wheels with no suspension correction.

Thanks, thats kind of what I was thinking, and 420mm rings a bell for suspension corrected rigid forks. I think maybe my question should have been whether my 97 P7 frame was designed for suspension or not? Is there a way to tell? Just try it and see what works?

The catalogue lists the F7 as the standard fork but wasn't sure if this came in different a-to-c lengths. I'm not sure if the fork that came with the frame is original as it had been refinished with a rattle can but the frame hadn't despite being in poor condition, but that might be due to ease of painting.

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

420mm isnt really suspension corrected when you compare the actual length of suspension forks, just a bit longer than 90s rigids.

The p7 i Doubt is designed for suspension forks, but with a 90s frame the question is more like; "how long a fork can i get away with using without messing up the geometry ?"

Sean

 

[xerxes]

Re:

I seem to recall that ~425mm A to C was a rigid replacement for early 50/60mm travel suspension forks, ~445mm for 80mm travel.

Some more numbers: http://framebuildersupply.com/pages/a-w ... ry-numbers

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

445mm is more the length of 65mm travel forks. My rockshox sid forks with 80mm travel were 455mm

With the frame in question and its geometry, you are probably best off sticking with the original forks, if your really keen on suspension forks then 420mm is probably about the shortest you'll find from that era, and probably the longest the frame will comfortably handle. Early rockshox judy i think were about that length

Sean

 

[renaldo]

Re:

Thanks for the replies. I asked this of Orange too and get a reply within a day which I thought was pretty good. Their view was that it was likely primarily designed to just run rigid forks as suspension was pretty new but should be OK with low travel suspension forks too, so pretty much as above.

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

Glad to be of assistance