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Evening all,
I've doing a frame swap and the new frame is an Orange Stage 5.
The forks on my current bike are a set of pikes, with a 46mm off set.
Orange recommend a 51mm off set.
New uppers equate to a whopping £360
Is there any point in changing to 51mm. Do you think I'll notice the difference in "trail"?
Thanks
No. 5 mm trail change will be hardly noticable IMO / IME but I am not the best rider around by a long way
I bought some X-fusion forks for my 29er which were marketed as 27.5+ or 29. It turned out they have a 46mm fork offset, which - as above - is supposed to result in instant death on a 29er.
In practice it was absolutely fine. I did initially find the steering a bit sluggish and changed a whole load of things, including putting a shorter stem on (changed 50mm to 35mm) which I think was the main thing that fixed it. It's now spot on, and feels pretty much the same as the 51mm offset on my other 29er.
I am not the best rider around by a long way
That may also apply to me.
it's totally noticable but you will re-calibrate either way. The human body and mind are wonderful things
It could be a good thing, judging by what Transition and Whyte are doing on bikes with very similar geometry.
I bought a Trek G2 geometry frame (for 51mm offset) and I fitted Rebas with 46mm offset. It was never right. Leaning into corners the front felt as if it wasn't supporting me, like it would wash out. As I leant and turned the wheel the bike didn't feel like it wanted to steer.
So I changed them for 51mm offset Foxes and it made a huge difference. Now, when I turn, I feel the bars pushing me round the corner instead of falling away under me. The difference between a rubbish handling bike and a decent one. And that means the difference between plodding nervously down descents and zipping confidently down popping off the features and having a good time.
So yes, based on that experience, I would. However, that was a different sort of bike and YMMV. Maybe look at selling your complete forks and getting another s/h set.
If you're doing a frame swap, try the current forks and see how it handles. If it's no good, sell them and get some with the 51mm offset.
Some people say they tell the difference between 175 and 170 cranks so I'd imagine those same people would notice the different offset.
The offset will affect the way the bike corners, that's an important part of mountain biking. If your spending money to get the right bike I would get the correct forks.
Try it and see. In these days of slacked out geometry a little more trail may feel good, bang on trend even.
Oh and try not to let placebo cloud your judgement (this is hard, I know) and believe the handling is rubbish just because you know the fork isn't the recommended spec. Go out there imagining you've just read an article in MBR where they say fitting a 46mm offset fork to a Stage 5 transforms it giving far more mid range support and improving the handling by 23% 🙂
Theres no such thing as the right offset, so as above I would certainly try it first. Shorter offset gives more predictable handling at the expense of extra flop, so the bike is generally better at higher speeds than low, but then it does depend on the trail (as in dirt, not fork trail) too. Only you will be able to judge whether it works for you.
I had a Codeine with 46mm offset pikes it was fine , thier now on my Starling Murmur -works for me .
I'm definitely not the best rider .
Thanks Guys.