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I have a currently redundant frame I'd like to build up as a lightweight tourer, so was thinking 700c wheels are better for this. Disc only frame so braking not an issue. Would like to use a riigid carbon fork if possible; wold I need a 'suspension corrected' one or just a shorter one/? Any issues with wheelbase length/handling etc?
Any advice/pics most welcome.
You'd want a mtb length rigid fork (so 440mm for most current mtbs though you could use 420 which would be a little twitchier) to keep the geometry 'normal'.
Otherwise, it'll work fine.
I've done this a couple of times.
Higher BB but worked well*
I used suspension corrected forks on the Kona (1999) and shorter forks on the Genesis:
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You'd want a mtb length rigid fork (so 440mm for most current mtbs though you could use 420 which would be a little twitchier) to keep the geometry 'normal'.
As long as you are using same sized wheel front and back geometry won't change bar the BB being higher and wheelbase slightly longer.
I used a shorter fork on the Genesis as thats [s]all I had[/s] I wanted a racier set up 😳
* as much as a compromise can 😉
bb wont be that much higher, outer tyre diameter is not that much different from 26" mtb tyre to 700c road tyre.
ive done it on my orange P7, worked fine, i used 32c tyres with no clearance issues.
Don't use drop bars, MTB TT's are far too long unless you go down a couple of sizes (i.e. a small MTB is about the same size as a large road bike)
No drop bars; bike needs to be able to do some off road stuff. Good to see examples of such conversions. Was planning to run 32c-ish tyres. Longer wheelbase is a positive for a tourer.
Worked well for me too with 32c tyres. As others have said you get a higher bb than on a road bike but that's not really a problem.
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700c is about the same size as 26" with big tyres so it works really well.
This was mine done a couple of years ago...
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Depending on your frame then clearance can get tight with big-ish 700c tyres. I could probably have squeezed some 32c ones into my commuter which is set up with 700c wheels but I went for mudguards instead. As peolpe have already mentioned smaller diameter 700c tyres come up about same as 26" with chunky tyres anyway.
Got for it!
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With cyclo cross tyres and 29 wheels.