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Need forks for my Maverick Durance. Previously had 140 & 130mm on it which felt fine. Would 120mm be a little short?
I once put forks that were too short on my Yeti 575. Wondered why it was a bit skittish and I kept crashing. Then realised I'd steepened the head angle and the new forks were a bit soft so they had too much brake dive.
My trusty Rize has 140mm forks and a few years ago cannondale bought out a 120mm version. Comparing the two side-by-side they're a bit different. The 120 has different frame geometry and a different shock link. It's not the same bike with shorter forks.
Also have a Commencal Ramones with U-turn forks the difference between 120mm travel and 140mm 'JRA' is quite noticeable.
Rode 115mm Rebas on my Ti456, it was pretty 'lively'. 150mm RC 41s suit it much better and feel right. Can't help but think with a full suss it'd be worse.. stepping up 10-20 mm seems OK, but down makes the bike no fun.
if you have run it at 130mm,i cant see too much of an issue at 120mm.
it also depends on the axel to crown length as these vary slightly between the different fork manufactures, also you could change bottom half of headset one with more stack?
I had a 140 pike on my ML7.5 and as an all round happy medium I would have said that 140 was a bit too much if you had no talas or u-turn. I wound mine down to about 120 on climbs and 140 for everything else but I'd soon get a bit sick of 120 on the front of it.
Will be great for the climbs on that frame, mind you!