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The Bizango Pro comes with a 130mm fork. Does anyone know if it'd be good with the same Rockshox Gold fork but at 100mm?
I don’t know specifically for the Bizango Pro, but in general a reduction in fork travel of 30mm will significantly adversely affect the geometry and handling.
That bike comes with a 130mm 35 Gold - why would you be swapping it to 100mm travel? It’s quite a burly fork rather than an xc orientated one.
Shortening the fork will steepen both the seat angle and head angle - whilst that wouldn’t concern me for the seat angle (it’s 74.5 degrees and a bit steeper isn’t the end of the world - just might put more weight on your wrists etc) the head angle is 66.5 degrees and you’re going to steepen that. Where it is as standard you’re in the trail sort of category - you’re going to be edging firmly towards old style xc geometry with a shortening of the fork.
BB drop is 65mm as standard - you’re probably going to be dropping that a bit too (not sure how much). The lowest drop bb on a 29er hardtail I’ve seen is the Bird Zero 29 which a lot of reviewers say is very low. Good for cornering - less good if you ride a lot of chunky bridleways where you can find yourself riding in ruts a lot.
You’ll also extend the reach a bit - so just be wary of that too.
If you’re after a very short fork travel xc bike I’d probably pass on the Bizango. Personally I think a 130 or 140mm fork on a hardtail is great for all round use.
I'd say no, the 35 gets quite progressive as the spring gets shorter. I actually added 10mm to mine to get a bit more out of it.