Fork offset is a relative newcomer to the list of MTB measurement considerations, and its place at the proverbial table was cleared without much debate. Succinctly defined, it’s the measured space between the steering axis of the fork and the front axle, and that distance is adjusted by using different amounts of offset at the fork crown. Brands started designing their geometry with shorter offset measurements in mind, and today it’s hard to find a 29″ wheeled bike with more than a 44mm offset. The tide has shifted. But what happens when if we mount a fork with a 51mm offset on a bike that’s made for a 44 or 41mm measurement?
First off, let’s take a quick look at offset, and why a shorter one might be advantageous. Our Features Editor, Matt Miller, wrote a piece outlining offset not long ago, so be sure to hit that up for a deeper dive. In simplest terms, a shorter fork offset increases the trail measurement of the fork. It does so by way of increasing the distance between the tire’s traction patch on the ground and the point where the steering axis line intersects the ground. That increased trail measurement provides more stability and better handling at the front of the bike. An easy way to think about it is that the front wheel autocorrects more easily, tracking a straight line more naturally instead of feeling floppy. Look, mom, it’s easier to ride with no hands!
Slacker headtubes have created a push to reduce that floppy steering feel, and a more stable ride is often preferable on those same slack gravity toys, so now we have 29″ forks with 41-44mm offsets and most 27.5″ forks running around 37mm. The shorter offset also shortens the bike’s wheelbase, making massive bikes feel more manageable while also making it easier for riders to properly weight the front tire for maximum grip.
I recently started testing the new 170mm Öhlins RXF38 m.2, and they sent the fork with a 51mm offset. The Privateer 161 and Raaw Madonna that I’m testing with both call for a 44mm offset, yet both brands said the 51mm would work fine. Did it?
I have been pedaling both bikes with the Öhlins 38 and Fox 38 back to back, and my experience could be summed up to “it doesn’t matter enough to buy a new fork.” While you can feel the shift in handling, it’s slight enough that each time I swapped I forgot about it halfway through the first descent. I’m fairly certain that if I hopped on your bike and rode it a few laps I couldn’t say what the fork offset is without looking. I consider myself fairly sensitive to changes and nuances with my bikes, having tested a lot of different components and frames, and offset doesn’t seem to be a game-changing performance variable with this frame and fork combination.
What I can feel is that the steering is slightly lighter with the longer 51mm offset, flopping from side to side a touch easier than the 44mm fork. That flop isn’t so drastic that I need to climb on the nose of the saddle or grip the bars tighter in rough terrain. It’s simply a minor difference, like a 0.5° tilt in the head tube angle, quickly forgotten about. I could see some riders being more sensitive to the less self-correcting steering feel, which is something worth considering.
I haven’t had issues when weighting the front tire, as these bikes are long enough that I already have to actively place my weight forward. There’s no meaningful change there. Again, given the fact that I like long bikes, I don’t mind the difference in wheelbase length. A friend of mine who works as a full-time mountain bike frame engineer tried both forks on the same bike and agreed that they both work just fine. He too couldn’t remember which fork he was on after a run without looking down at it. We are fortunately adaptable creatures and this little shift was easy to accommodate.
If my goals were different, and every tenth of a second weighed against my professional racing career, I would undoubtedly roll with the shorter offset fork. For folks who need maximum stability and for whom the smallest performance gains keep the paychecks coming in, that difference I forget about is worth having. For a lot of average trail lovers like myself, the fork that you already have will most likely pair well with the bike you buy, provided it’s otherwise the correct size.
My offset-savvy colleague, Matt Miller, had a very different experience when mounting a longer offset fork on his partner’s bike, saying that it “Felt a little too floppy and slower to react with a 44mm offset on a 27.5″ bike made for a 37mm offset. This wasn’t an absolutely devastating ride experience, but since it was a new bike, I wanted it to feel optimal for her, so we ended up selling the older fork and buying a second-hand 37mm offset fork.”
Based on Matt’s experience, it seems this fork offset query can be greatly affected by the bike and rider in question. If you already own a fork with an offset that’s not recommended for your bike, the best move might be to try it out before emptying your purse on a new model. You might even like the mismatch more than the intended size.
