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So I have a 2015 Honzo which I love to bits but I'm also a huge fan of rigid 29ers and ideally I'd like to try the Honzo rigid. The downside is that the Honzo is designed around a 120-140mm sus fork and I don't think a rigid fork exists with a long enough axle-to-crown to suit the frame. So tell me, has anyone tried running a Honzo (or similar) rigid and are there forks available which might just about work?
Genesis do the Carbon fork from the Tarn as a spare part. Local Genesis dealer should be able to get you one.
Ideally I'm looking for something steel but that's definitely a possibility. Thanks for the suggestion!
Surly Krampus fork?
Yeah the Krampus fork is a possibility however the 483mm axle to crown is still not quite long enough I don't think. Potentially with a plus tyre at the front it would just about work. I have also seen that Identiti now do a rigid steel xc fork with the same a-c as the Krampus fork: https://www.identitibikes.com/product/FKITXTB83K/xct-boost-tapered-rigid-steel-fork
I'm tempted just to buy one and see what happens. If it doesn't work then it's not a big loss.
I’ve got a Tarn - I’ll measure the a-c length.
The kinesis fork used to be a 490mm ac. Alternatively Waltworks in the US will make you a suitable fork for what i recall was a reasonable price when I looked a while back, although it will be steel. Andrew Major on NSMB has a slack 29+ rigid made by him if you Google/Instagram that.
And if you want non-boost then the Bontrager fork they put on the stache may work.
The new Cotic SolarisMax is designed for 120-140mm travel suspension forks. Cotic website suggest a 500mm a-c crown rigid fork, but I couldn't find any for sale. So I emailed Cotic, and they said that a more commonly available 483-490mm a-c fork would be fine. I went for the Surly Krampus fork in place of 140mm Pikes that I use through the summer. I love it - works really well.
When you take into account sag then I guess a shorter a-c rigid fork should do the job. And in theory a 29er hardtail with a sus fork is still rideable even when the forks are fully bottomed. Any pictures of your Cotic with the Krampus fork? I'd be interested to see how it looks. I'm definitely going to try the Honzo rigid and will report back my findings. Thanks for the feedback everyone!
I've done a lot of scouring of geometry tables to see what could work for a rigid build.
The Honzo didn't look a good start for a rigid to me. Like you say, you need a very long rigid fork to match the standard one. If you went shorter the headangle would be fine, as the standard (68deg?) is slack for a rigid build so you could loose 40mm of length off the front end and still have a reasonable (70deg?) headangle.
However... that'd leave you with a seat angle of over 75deg... and the bottom bracket would potentially be far too low as well...
How about building it with a longish fork, like a Krampus or Salsa Firestarter, and going 650plus rear 29plus front?
Sure, I have a pic:
I do not deny that a long rigid fork does look a bit inelegant, but it rides like a dream.
How about building it with a longish fork, like a Krampus or Salsa Firestarter, and going 650plus rear 29plus front?
That was also a thought of mine. To keep costs low initially I'm going to try my current setup with Identiti's XCT 29er fork which has an a-c of 483mm. It may be a terrible ride but it's worth a shot and the forks are only £129.99 which is cheaper than the Krampus fork which was my other option. Regarding wheel size I'm going to stay with my current 29er wheels which are set up with A 2.5 Maxxis Minion up front and a 2.3 High Roller II on the rear. I wouldn't want to go for any less tyre volume in the rear as the short chainstays on the Honzo are mega stiff! So b+ will be the next thing to try when funds allow! Two other forks that have caught my eye are the Carver Trail 490 and the Niner Steel Boost 29er fork, both of which have a 490mm a-c length. I've seen a couple of Honzo's online with the Carver forks on and they look smart! Unfortunately both the Carver and Niner forks seem to be exclusive to the American marketplace so I doubt I'll be able to get my hands on them over here.
And Clink, I've seen that fat front Honzo before! A bit too Frankenbike for me haha!
I do not deny that a long rigid fork does look a bit inelegant, but it rides like a dream.
the00 I think that looks great! That longshot geometry sure does look slack! A friend of mine is waiting on his new Solaris, they really are stunning bikes. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks.
I also considered the XCT fork, but the listed weight is considerably higher. I wanted something light and 'springy', and the Krampus fork was the best I could find. It is still a sturdy fork though compared to the Salsa fork I had on my last bike. I don't think Salsa offer a steel fork for boost hubs yet though.
I run my El Mariachi with a Firestarter and 3” 29 front end, with a 2.8 x 27.5 rear. Slackens things about 1deg, but the 27+ rear brings the BB back down to where it should be. Works really well for me
So after a bit of internet trawling and plenty of deliberation I have ordered a set of rigid steel Niner forks from r2-bike in Germany. The Niner fork ticks all my boxes by:
- Having a relatively long a-c of 490mm
- It's steel
- It has a tapered alloy steerer
- It's boost spaced
- 29+ compatible
https://r2-bike.com/NINER-Rigid-Fork-29-Steel-Fork-Boost-black
It is going to cost me almost £200 to get it here but who needs money anyway. Pay more for what you want, not less for a compromise. I will let you guys know when it arrives and give my initial impressions of how the rigid Honzo rides!
Cool, would be nice to see a pic of it built up 🙂
That dirtrag Honzo looks great!
Too late for OP but I finally remembered to measure the Tarn Carbon fork - it’s 510mm if anyone else is in the same position.
Genesis Tarn also do the same fork in Alu 120mm Sus-corrected w/ Tapered Steerer and boost. I've currently got a 2.35 29er hans dampf in mine and there's plenty of space to go bigger.
They come up on ebay all the time for around £100 give or take depending on condition.