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I've a frame that recommends 44mm but my forks are 51mm offset,will it make the world of difference 🤔
The world...? No.
It will make some difference though, it depends how perceptive you are to small changes or not.
Biggest thing you will note if you keep your 51mm offset forks vs going to a shorter 44mm offset is the bike will feel a little twitchier, it will turn sharper and be more inclined to follow any follow any small deviations in the terrain. With the shorter 44mm offset, the bike will feel more stable, will be less likely to be thrown off line by variations in the terrain, but will require a little more effort (or a different style that people are now adapting to using more lean angle typically) to get it to turn.
I can notice the difference on the same bike, but it's only like going to a 50mm stem from a 40mm... For some people it would be an absolute deal breaker though. 🤷🏻♂️
I went from 55 to 51 and noticed no difference
I’ll let you know - I’m on a bike that recommends a 37mm offset but I’ve currently got a 42mm on there I think. I’ve got a ‘spare’ Pike Ultimate (waiting for my new ht frame to be painted) in 37mm so I think I’ll try it to see how it goes. Current fork is a Lyrik so the weight difference might be noticeable too.
Stem length at the moment is 40mm, plus I've ordered a 50mm to try putting more weight over the front wheel, thanks for the replies
The other way to view this is, if you are building the frame up and those are the only forks you'll use, it will make absolutely zero difference as you aren't changing anything, it will just be that way.
I'm running a 51 on a frame designed for 44, it's all that's ever been in there and it's awesome. Do I want to spend 800-1200 on new forks to see if it's better?? Erm, no.
Build it, ride it, enjoy it.
What frame is it btw?
Stage evo 2021
What daver27 said.
So many things come into the equation (stem length and rise, handlebar length and rise, etc) i wouldn't get too hung up about it, unless you're at the extremes already (like running a 90mm stem on 37 offset), what you have sounds good, the big thing that folk used to say was to have your stem below or around the size of the offset, so you're already there with the 40, or even 50mm.
Have to admit i feel it more with a change of tyre than a change in offset forks!