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Going on to longer forks on my Sanderson HT and worried about the effect on handling - had a look at the geometry for a Soul (the benchmark LT HT?) and the only differences are 5mm longer headtube on the Soul and 1 deg slacker head angle. Top tube length etc is the same, yet folk talk about the Sanderson being too long and low and the Soul being just right.
5mm and 1 degrees?
My hankerings are put at rest.
1 degree is quite a lot in terms of head angle. Between full on XC race bike to full on DH race bike the range is something like 72/71 to 64ish degrees
I don't think a soul is a benchmark long travel hardtail at all. I thought cotic reckoned they run best with 100mm forks. The new ones have only just been 'okayed' to run 140mm forks too
almost always run my sanderson at 120mm. often ran it at 130mm for the downhills when living next to the alps last year.
i find the long top tube is a benefit when in techy spots and you need to move around on the bike.
don't panic. just ride it and see for yourself how it handles. you won't die, probably....
I also run mine at 120mm, in fact Tony at independant100 recommended it.
Yes,
Been using 115mm for a while. I just thought the Soul would be somehow significantly different as the Sanderson often gets flack for being long and low at the front. Clearly not.