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Letter of the Month
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Dear MBT:
Cabin fever has me seriously considering some well-deserved component swaps and upgrades. The first area to get a makeover is my 3.9-inch fork. I was considering going with a 5-inch upgrade that’s currently on clearance but wonder if jumping up in travel like that would screw up my bike’s handling.
Ken Carrigan
Ken:
We generally use the rule of thumb that anything over an inch of travel in either direction (increase or decrease) is going to cause enough of a disturbance to the frame’s natural balance to make it a no-no. Of course, there are exceptions to this line of reasoning but they depend on a near-infinite number of factors, the likes of which simply cannot be determined here without knowing the model in question, frame size, fork features, etc.
That said, if you’re looking at a really great deal on a 5-inch travel fork, it might be possible if the unit offers adjustable travel. After installation, a savvy tuner should have little trouble tweaking the ride-height to achieve performance very similar to the optimal 3.9-inch mark that the manufacturer chose initially. If you are looking at over an inch increase of non-adjustable travel, our advice is to pass until a good deal comes along on something a little bit closer to what you’re running now.
That being said, there is one variable to consider: axle to crown height. Not all forks are created equal, and this can work to your advantage. Depending on the fork on your bike right now, you may be able to get away with a longer travel fork with a similar axle to crown height. Marzocchi forks tend to have a taller axle to crown height than their Fox counterparts. For example, Fox F100 forks have a similar axle to crown height to a Marzocchi adjustable travel fork wound down to 90mm of travel.
For making us think, we’re going to send you a $20 gift certificate to spend at Evomo. Go get yourself a kick ass shirt, and send us a snapshot of you rocking it out: www.evomo.com/
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Welcome to but another edition of ASK MBT where our editors tackle your pressing questions in effort to earn their keep. For whatever reason, our inbox has been filled with nearly as many comments as questions so we’ve decided to sprinkle these in with the usual Q&A (because, after all, Tell MBT isn’t nearly as catchy a column name).
Without further ado:
Dear MBT:
You guys always talk of long drawn out winters and ride-less periods. Why not run one of those bike to ski conversion kits and run the test for the rest of us to enjoy?
Katie LoGaralo
Katie,
Would it surprise you to know that you aren’t the first reader to suggest such a tactic? We’ve actually entertained the idea several times but have yet to find one of the few manufacturers of these snow-bike conversion kits willing to ship out a sample for testing purposes. A few friends of ours have gone through with the conversion and report that the added weight removed the fun factor of pedaling on the XC trails. They seem to offer the best results when used for downhill applications (an option we rarely have). That said, we’ve actually asked Rob what he thinks about slapping one onto his $5,000 Kona and he usually replies that if such a kit should find its way to our office, he would likely buy a cheaper bike to test it on. Tech Editor's note: You're damn right I would.
Dear MBT:
Why no Holiday Buyer’s Guide this year?
T. Halthoway
T,
The short and sweet answer is that since we made the move to the bi-monthly format, we thought it a bit excessive to run nothing but product reviews until February. If you are in the market for some gift ideas or wonder how a certain product happens to stack up, do check out our extensive Review Archives section which is at your disposal 365 days a year. You can also check out Rob's blog for his "best and worst of the year", along with his other...odd...postings.
Dear MBT:
First let me say that I thoroughly enjoy ASK MBT each month. It is one of the most informative mountain bike articles anywhere. I’m a beginner who just got involved in the sport last year and have been obsessed with it ever since. My question is this - do carbon fiber seat stays really increase the performance of a bike or are they just bling items to make expensive models more desirable to consumers? My friends insist that shaving every ounce helps but I still think they cater more toward style than function.
Paul Rowe
Paul,
Good question. How do we know? Because it sent us to several sources before we were able to come up with what we consider a suitable answer. In short, you are about 80% correct and your friends’ 20%. Salesmen will concur with your friends that any time a manufacturer can cut even a gram from the overall weight of a bike, they are making improvements. However, looking a bit deeper than the obvious, a carbon fiber section of seat stay really offers up no substantial improvements over a well-designed aluminum one. Since the main bulk of the seat stay does not occur in the beam but rather in the disc brake mounts and at the dropouts (which would still be made of aluminum even on a carbon fiber stay), the weight benefits are so miniscule as to be nullified. Worse still, these aluminum bits have to be bonded to the carbon fiber tubes which not only adds more weight, but lessens the integrity of one of the most stressed areas of the frame in the process. The final negative comes in the form of price as don’t for a minute be deceived into thinking the additional labor and cost of material is a freebie from the factory. A single aluminum piece would save the builder time and money, which can be passed on down to you.
Since carbon fiber seems to be the hot material of choice these days, it goes without saying that wherever and however it arrives on a frame is all part of the “ooh and aah” factor that companies hope will work as well as it has on your friends.
Dear MBT:
After reading CG’s most recent column, I have to say that part of his problem in waiting for 29ers to get decent rear suspension has all to do with his devotion to Salsa. Some of us big wheel junkies have been enjoying the benefit of modern linkages and 4 inches of rear travel for several years now.
Andrew Bressler
Andrew,
Oh dear...you woke him again...
CG Responds: Yes, you are right in saying that 29ers have certainly come a long way since my 1 inch of frame-flexing travel out back was considered cutting edge. And I have considered examples from Ellsworth and Titus along the road to bliss, which I’ve only recently discovered, is titled the Big Momma. See, I really like my Dos Niner on account of the fact that I’ve yet to encounter another out on the trails, it has held up really well to some serious mistreatment (especially in packing and unpacking), and I just love Salsa’s logo. Until now, I thought suffering with crappy rear suspension was just the price I would have to pay to for all this pepper-graced goodness. Then I met Big Momma. Stay tuned.
Dear MBT:
After reading Mike Sullivan’s review of the BBG bashguard, I wanted to drop a line to let you and your readers know that Salsa makes an aluminum 44t equivalent that lets you keep your big ring! Mines been going strong for 2 yrs. Cambria Bike Link
Scott Gross
Scott,
Thanks for the heads up and the link- we’re going to look into getting a sample for Sully to test out if he’s interested for review in a future issue.
Earn Money by Making Us Work
Attention ASK MBT fans: You’ve always got questions and we like to think that we have the answers but now you could earn some swag just for putting our collective melons to the test. In each issue we will choose a winning question or comment to become Letter of the Month and send its author $20 toward the Evomo online store. What are you waiting for? Get hammering on those keyboards.
Got a question? Fire it away to us and we'll do the best we can to answer it. Send your inquiries to Ask Mountain Bike Tales.
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