Is it safe to upgrade my 130mm fork to 150mm?

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    • #618080

      Hi, This is my 1st time posting and I would like to ask you guys for some professional advise. I own a marin rift zone 2 (29er) with a rockshox recon RL 130mm travel and rear is rockshox deluxe select R debonair. I’m planning on upgrading my fork travel to 150mm? Is it safe and will my frame be able to handle it? Thanks in advance for your answers.

    • #618431

      There are two issues.

      Is you bike strong enough to handle a 150mm fork? In general, increasing (or decreasing) fork travel by 10mm is fine. However, increasing by 20mm may make it more likely that you will break the frame. I would check with Marin to see what they think. They will likely say that using a 150mm fork will void your frame warranty.

      What will a 150mm fork do to your frames geometry? It will slacken they headtube by about 1* which I would say is a good thing. However, it will also slacken the seattube by about 1* which is a bad thing. This will make the bike climb less well.

      If it was me I would play it conservative and go for a 140mm fork like a Fox 36, Marzocchi 36 or Rock Shox 35, Pike, Lyric, or Yari. This won’t alter the geometry much while still giving you a bit more travel and will increasing the quality of the fork. The Recon is a pretty low quality fork. Choosing any of the above options should be a good improvement. Even a 140mm Fox 34 would provide a good improvement though not as stiff. If you’re a heavy person, I wouldn’t recommend the 140mm Fox 34.

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