Squishy geometry

I have mentioned that after riding my rigid singlespeed in the Blackwater Falls/Davis area of WV a few years ago I developed a ganglion cyst on my left wrist. After converting my monocog back to MTB duty this year I immediately irritated my wrist. While the cyst doesn't hurt in and of itself, it does cause stiffness and soreness due to the swelling. With that, I decided it was time to get a real suspension. I have an older White Bros Magic 29 (80 mm) fork, but have had some issues with it. A rebuild was going to be at least $125 if I shipped it in. I also wanted something with a bit more travel and the travel kits for this fork are no longer available.

The Redline Monocog Flight 29er has suspension corrected geometry for an 80 mm fork. The rigid fork has 47 mm offset and the frame has a 71 degree head tube angle. By installing a 100 mm fork with 51 mm offset it decreases the head angle to about 70 degrees with very little change in trail. The biggest problem? Finding a suspension fork for a non tapered head tube.

I searched for a used fork. Most were very used and required a rebuild. I searched for new but most of the straight 1-1/8" steerer forks were either low end or in the case of the MRP, really expensive. The only thing I could find that fit the budget and the level of spec I was looking for was the X-Fusion Slide RL2 29" fork. I picked one up for under $300 (significantly less than the $429 MSRP).

Installation was simple. I did peel about 3/4 of the stickers off of it though. Really, the thing was covered in stickers. I have one test ride on it thus far and can say that it was a lot easier on my wrist and arms. The decreased head angle will also (hopefully) add a little stability in more technical stuff like WV.

My back road bombing bike (Redline d440) also has a rigid fork, with a BMX style legs it is even stiffer that the Flight. So I rebuilt the White Bros fork myself. The seals and bushings seemed to be in great shape, just did a full service on both the air spring and damper leg. Then I moved the fork to my drop bar 29er.

It adds a little weight, but hey, the bike was no lightweight to begin with. Now it is ready to crush the rutted and washboarded back roads. The fork offset does decrease slightly which should add trail and make handling a tiny bit slower? But I doubt I can even tell. A little more stability on rutted up gravel descents would be welcomed.