Question about stems

[whisperdancer]

Well, this is my only bike. And for the looks of it, it will still be for a long time.
I know the newer bikes are much better, and I can get a better bike with much less I invested in this one over time.
I really drool with some of the newer bikes.
There aren't any with parallelogram forks though. In the front they are all looking the same. The back of them can be very different, and there are very few I really like. One of them was the now extinct LaPierre X-Race, a similar simple design like the Pro-Flex.
I like the Cross Links though. I like the fact they can absorb little bumps and are very sensible. And I like the looks, since they are different. Most people have never seen something like that.

Believe me this bike has gone uphill as well as downhill at speed. I remember when I had my 757, I would go as fast as everybody else, same as this one (a few years ago).

I still have a new K2 1000 frame, same design as this one, with a carbon swingarm and a new crosslink CS fork. The smartshock seems to be working! Just don't know what to do with it. I don't need two bikes...

[fyrstormer]

A wet-bath telescoping fork will absorb small bumps as effectively as a Crosslink. I can't argue with the unique appearance though, it's definitely got that going for it. My parallelogram fork was a Girvin Vector, so it's possible my experience would've been different if I'd had a Crosslink instead. All I really remember at this point is, it used to tuck the front wheel under the frame when I'd hit a bump or tap the front brakes, which made my already uncomfortably forward-biased bike downright scary to ride downhill. I think the big issue is not so much the effect of the "J-path" while riding in a straight line, but when riding around a corner, because it causes the front wheel to shift away from the direction of movement, which changes the left-to-right balance of the bike in the middle of a turn. Scared the willies out of me many times. Telescoping forks, while less exciting in appearance, at least follow a path that's very easy for the rider's brain to learn and anticipate.

As I said before, though, it's a great looking bike.

[whisperdancer]

A wet-bath telescoping fork will absorb small bumps as effectively as a Crosslink. I can't argue with the unique appearance though, it's definitely got that going for it. My parallelogram fork was a Girvin Vector, so it's possible my experience would've been different if I'd had a Crosslink instead. All I really remember at this point is, it used to tuck the front wheel under the frame when I'd hit a bump or tap the front brakes, which made my already uncomfortably forward-biased bike downright scary to ride downhill. I think the big issue is not so much the effect of the "J-path" while riding in a straight line, but when riding around a corner, because it causes the front wheel to shift away from the direction of movement, which changes the left-to-right balance of the bike in the middle of a turn. Scared the willies out of me many times. Telescoping forks, while less exciting in appearance, at least follow a path that's very easy for the rider's brain to learn and anticipate.

As I said before, though, it's a great looking bike.

Never ridden a vector, so I can't compare. Noleens are supposed to have an improved geometry, but I can't tell the difference regarding to my old Girvin Crosslink.
The 757 I had came with an advantage: it was a way big frame. Larger wheelbase significantly improved the descents. THe problem was at the more technical courses...The high BB doesn't hel either...
I almost never ridden a telescopic for (only a chubby I also had with the Animal and my wife's manitou fork, but both were low end forks compared to what there is on the market.
And yes, the path is easier, like a motorbike. But I can't help to think a non telescopic design could be great, and as there are Crosslinks, Fournales, USE forls (a variant of a telescopic fork), and s*cat (can't remember) that had the same principle as a parallelogram fork.
But all thing considered, If buying new, I wouldn't look back on a modern telescopic fork, of course.

Check this for some wacky suspension designs from the early days:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126808

[jazclrint]

The seat looks way too high to me, but seats that are higher than the handlebars always look too high to me. I suppose it depends on the length of your legs more than anything else.   . . .

The fork you have probably isn't helping matters. Compared to a lot of forks nowadays, the Vector/Crosslink forks are pretty short and cause the bike to lean forward, and you along with it. That puts more of your weight on your hands. It may not look like it's leaning forward in your pictures, but the bike doesn't have your weight on it; when your weight is on it the springs will compress and the bike will lean forward noticeably. A newer fork will feel more plush, handle more consistently, and hold the front of the bike up higher too -- especially if you get a fork with an air spring, because then you can adjust it to have the perfect pressure so the bike doesn't lean forward or backward when you're sitting on it.

[Que defender of linkage forks ]
 I am sorry, but that is some serious misinformation.  The Girvin forks have a shorter travel yes, but that does not mean that they sit lower.  And how much the fork compresses when you sit on it relates completely to how much preload you have set.  It's called sag, and on a stock CrossLink it is 10mm of sag of 50mm travel at the shock, vs 25mm of sag for a 100mm travel fork, or 20mm for 80mm of travel.  Now to get more travel in the telescoping forks they have to be longer, and the modern bikes are designed with that in mind.  The ProFlex's have what is now considered a pretty steep headtube angle.  A longer travel fork will raise the front end and slacken the head tube angle, and the bike will not handle as intended, unless you take careful measurements, do some easy math, and set the sag to get the stock ride height in the front.  However, if something else works for you, enjoy.  But to say the bike sits too low in the front because of the girvin fork is just not right.  Assuming he has the sag set as he should, then it will be as originally designed.  The Girvin or CrossLinks only weekness is the shock in the fork.  I've been running a Fox Float for years now, but I have had issues because I did not have the shock tuned for the application.  I am currently working on a re-design of my current mount, and I plan on putting an 8.5" X 2.5" shock in there, which should increase the travel to 90mm at the wheel.  Then I am most definitely paying to get it tuned!    FWIW, I have found the biggest effect on my CS's performance (other than rebound adj) was torquing the bolts to spec.

[Spokes]

Big up the Crosslink