4" or 5" travel on my EVO?

[keen]

  5" travel forks seem pretty common for most aggressive XC, light freeride bikes. My 01' Disco monkey was spec'd w/ a 4" travel fork (18.5" axle to crown dimension). I tried a 5" fork (19 3/4" axle to crown) and didn't like the lazy steering. In order to run the 5" front I could mount an 8.5" rear shock w/ some mods to maintain geometry. My question- is it worth the effort for an extra 1" up front for aggressive XC- limited jumps, 4' max drops, rock gardens etc? Thanx

[Matno]

Your riding sounds a lot like mine. I find my 4" fork to be perfectly well suited for that kind of riding. I've got a 7.785" Stratos on the rear with about 5.5" of travel. Seems to balance out quite well. I've never tried a 5" fork on this bike, but I haven't been overly impressed with other bikes' 5" forks. They just feel different...

[Phillip]

Keen,
If you raise the back end to match the front, the center of gravity is going to be higher, but at least your pedals would have more clearance.

The question is, do you need the extra suspension travel? If you are routinely bottoming out your present setup, then you definately need more travel (or a firmer setup with the shock you have) . However, if you bottom out lightly once or twice a ride, you present setup is fine.

I would reccomend using the least amount of travel as necessary. Long travel slows XC handling and robs horsepower (human power). Less can = more.

[numbnuts]

 I bottom out with the 5" fork ! I definately prefer the extra inch but I get most of my pleasure going downhill so don't mind the more layed back geometry. Going up I use the ECC so don't have a problem unless it's steep AND gnarly---the reduced travel is also locked out ! Most of my trails involve steep but smooth climbs followed by steep gnarly DH not a lot of flat stuff, but  i don't have a problem with the steering on flat technical stuff. I have heard that the fox van 125 fork is a great choice even tho' it is not adjustable, because it doesn't raise the front end as much as other forks, but I ain't tried it, the Psylo should but good too but  i'm not a fan of Rock Shox.I have a 8" van r on + tried messing with the rebound on the rear and I still find that the rear suspension kicks up going off/over stuff so I don't think I'd like a bigger rear shock unless it was one of those new-fangled 5th/swingers. BUT if you're happy with 4" why change, don't fix what ain't broken  

[Shaggy]

I've got an 8.5" RC (2.5" travel) and a 5" Z1 FR up front on my EVO.  The bike feels normal in terms of steering (not too slow) and really plush as far as I've ever pushed it.  Phillip hit the nail on the head with his point about the CG being higher.  I feel that I'm a lot higher on this than I am on my hardtail.  I have a hard time putting my foot on the ground if I'm seated-I can barely touch my toe.  My first trail rides weren't on technical trails, so I had no problem.  But when I went to a technical trail and upped the pace, I definitely had some issues that didn't happen before.
On tight switch backs I got a little antsy b/c I felt that I couldn't get the bike turned down w/o going down the side of the hill.  On steep climbs I didn't feel that I could crouch forward and low enough to keep the front end from rising.  For those situations I would have been better off on my hardail.  But I went into this bike knowing it wouldn't normally be ridden hard XC, and that's the trade off I made for extra travel.

[Carbon_Angus]

the frame geometry was designed for ideally for four inches.

a bike with a 68 degree head tube angle will steer much better than a (EVO) 70.5 head tube w/ a 5 inch fork.

btw you can't change the geometry of the frame only it's position on the hubs based on suspension and wheel/tire size. that makes a huge difference in riding

[RED5]

Personally, I didn't like the 8.5 i2i fox on my Evo. So I swapped it for a 7.875 i2i. I still get more travel that the stock noleen, but nonoe of the weird geometry quirks that came with the longer shock. Like the raise BB or the shorter wheelbase, which I'm surprised nobody else mentioned.

Truth be told if a bike more travel is what you want, you should buy a bike that has more travel. That's why I now have a BigHit. Either way good luck.

TeamBigHit...get on it or get left behind.

[IFO]

TeamBigHit...get on it or get left behind.

hey i like that... mind if i use it...

[kiwi]

IFO surely the a line is open now....pump out your house and change your signature!!!!!

[Matno]

Hey, I just made an IFO sighting!!!

[IFO]

hahah shows how long its been since i "visited" here....

i spent a entire season on A-line already... 17 days in fact over the summer...