Fork position in triple clamps

[luke29ermtb]

Am interested to find to whether  there is a standard position for the forks in the triple clamps. My bike came from the dealer with about 10mm of fork tube showing above the top clamp. Is that how it is supposed to be or are the top of the fork tubes supposed to be level with the top of the triple clamp?

[jdub53]

Proper dimension is shown on the upper right part of the attached page of the OEM Shop Manual under "Installing The Front Fork Legs".

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by jdub53
Added 2nd page for bolt Tq

[williestreet]

That is right around 9-10mm above the top triple so your forks are correct, they do not get mounted flush.   There is no reason you can't change this though.  If you are a tall or shorter person you can certainly move the forks up and down to raise or lower the bike as needed.  Just keep the clamps on the smooth fork clamping surface.  I think you can go to approx 25mm above the triple or flush to suit you height or desired ride height.

[Tenerider]

I think this should be done with care, because the changes in trail and steering angle much more affect the handling than the height difference. So, for a more agile handling lower the front (rise fork legs in the triple clamps) and vice versa. "Small" changes of 3mm or so might make quite a difference in handling.

[r1superstar]

1 hour ago, Tenerider said:

I think this should be done with care, because the changes in trail and steering angle much more affect the handling than the height difference. So, for a more agile handling lower the front (rise fork legs in the triple clamps) and vice versa. "Small" changes of 3mm or so might make quite a difference in handling.

 

You are correct.  But I think what most don't realize is a taller/shorter rear tire does the same.  So small adjustments to the front height should also be considered when changing the rear tire as well.

[Tenerider]

6 minutes ago, r1superstar said:

 

You are correct.  But I think what most don't realize is a taller/shorter rear tire does the same.  So small adjustments to the front height should also be considered when changing the rear tire as well.

Thanks for pointing out! Completely true, I wouldn't have thought about it.

 

Especially, this might explain why I'm missing a little bit of stability at higher speeds since I've changed from STRs to Anakee Wild...

[Ray Ride4life]

5 hours ago, williestreet said:

they do not get mounted flush

Maybe not stock but if you like it better you can.

[luke29ermtb]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:33 PM, Tenerider said:

Thanks for pointing out! Completely true, I wouldn't have thought about it.

 

Especially, this might explain why I'm missing a little bit of stability at higher speeds since I've changed from STRs to Anakee Wild...

 

I found that the rear Anakee Wild squirms around on hard surfaces until it wears down a couple of mm. However, I ride pretty slow most times so I can't vouch for high speed stability.

[luke29ermtb]

It is interesting that I started this thread but didn't get any notifications for all your responses.

 

Sand is my No.1 enemy and I spend a lot of time riding on dirt roads and tracks so I prefer off-road stability. I've dropped my fork legs so they're flush with the top of the top triple clamp. Haven't had a chance to test it yet but am conscious that the difference could be quite significant. Will report back.

Edited April 15, 2023 by luke29ermtb

[luke29ermtb]

On 4/8/2023 at 8:25 PM, Tenerider said:

I think this should be done with care, because the changes in trail and steering angle much more affect the handling than the height difference. So, for a more agile handling lower the front (rise fork legs in the triple clamps) and vice versa. "Small" changes of 3mm or so might make quite a difference in handling.

I agree. I had a 1 degree offset headset installed in my mountain bike to slacken the steering and it made a very noticeable difference. I  don't think dropping the forks on the T7 by 9-10mm will make that significant a change but the proof will be in the riding.

[Tenerider]

2 hours ago, luke29ermtb said:

I agree. I had a 1 degree offset headset installed in my mountain bike to slacken the steering and it made a very noticeable difference. I  don't think dropping the forks on the T7 by 9-10mm will make that significant a change but the proof will be in the riding.

I meanwhile have added 7mm preload to my forks - the effect is the same as dropping the fork legs by 7mm, apart from its effects on suspension.

I found it to make actually a big difference in stability (positively), see my monstrous post here:

 

I'd go in steps of 5mm now for changes on the fork position, it's also what Race Tech recommend in their suspension bible.

[prowlnS10]

Correct springs for your weight/kit, particularly at the rear & proper sag really balances out the front & rear & improves handling/stability & performance of the oem susepension...my forks were 1 mm different in height from the factory at about 8 & 9 mm to the top of the fork tube (not top of cap)...as mentioned by others many aftermarket tires, particularly Motoz & many 140/80 18 tires are taller than the oem Pirelli...some as much as  14 mm or 0.55"...which will not have as much impact on handling if the shock is sprung correctly & proper sag set.

[luke29ermtb]

1 hour ago, prowlnS10 said:

Correct springs for your weight/kit, particularly at the rear & proper sag really balances out the front & rear & improves handling/stability & performance of the oem susepension...my forks were 1 mm different in height from the factory at about 8 & 9 mm to the top of the fork tube (not top of cap)...as mentioned by others many aftermarket tires, particularly Motoz & many 140/80 18 tires are taller than the oem Pirelli...some as much as  14 mm or 0.55"...which will not have as much impact on handling if the shock is sprung correctly & proper sag set.

I've had both ends resprung and revalved to suit my weight and preferred rising surface. I'm running Anakee Wilds in the standard sizes so I should have a good base set up to test the change. It is very easy to go back to the standard fork height or part way back to standard if that is what turns out to work best.

Edited April 15, 2023 by luke29ermtb

[AZJW]

10 hours ago, luke29ermtb said:

It is interesting that I started this thread but didn't get any notifications for all your responses.

 

 

If you want to be notified on content you started or post on, be sure to check,  Account settings>Other settings>Notification Settings>Followed Content and adjust your preferences.  Let me know if that doesn't work.

 

[random1781]

13 hours ago, luke29ermtb said:

It is interesting that I started this thread but didn't get any notifications for all your responses.

 

Sand is my No.1 enemy and I spend a lot of time riding on dirt roads and tracks so I prefer off-road stability. I've dropped my fork legs so they're flush with the top of the top triple clamp. Haven't had a chance to test it yet but am conscious that the difference could be quite significant. Will report back.

I recently dropped my forks flush because I've been riding a lot of sand also and was surprised at how much of a difference it made, especially in the really loose/endless stuff. Wound up rotating my bars back a bit too since I was spending less time leaning forward.

[Tenerider]

2 minutes ago, random1781 said:

I recently dropped my forks flush because I've been riding a lot of sand also and was surprised at how much of a difference it made, especially in the really loose/endless stuff. Wound up rotating my bars back a bit too since I was spending less time leaning forward.

I've watched your recent vid - yes, that's deep sand! Good to know that adding trail makes such a difference. I've only encountered sand twice, not deep, but unexpectedly after some turns. Plain luck I didn't crash

[OK185]

I just experimented with the forks and moved them down, so it's almost flush with the triple clamp. Adam Rieman seems to have done the same in his suspension video and my mechanic suggested it as well.

The bike does feel great offroad, but it feels like it has definetly lost some agility onroad. (Harder to tip into corners. But I also have way too low pressure for road riding rn, so maybe it's that?)

 

Has anyone actually noticed a difference when changing the fork height? And what height did you end up with?

Maybe stock height is actually a good compromise. 

(I also ordered +25mm linkages, I guess they will screw up the geometry completely lol)

[random1781]

18 minutes ago, OK185 said:

I just experimented with the forks and moved them down, so it's almost flush with the triple clamp. Adam Rieman seems to have done the same in his suspension video and my mechanic suggested it as well.

The bike does feel great offroad, but it feels like it has definetly lost some agility onroad. (Harder to tip into corners. But I also have way too low pressure for road riding rn, so maybe it's that?)

 

Has anyone actually noticed a difference when changing the fork height? And what height did you end up with?

Maybe stock height is actually a good compromise. 

(I also ordered +25mm linkages, I guess they will screw up the geometry completely lol)

Moving the forks down in the triple clamps increases the wheelbase, and a longer wheelbase means more effort to turn.

 

Increasing the height of the rear tips the bike forward, and you would compensate for this by moving the forks down. Since you've already done that, adding raising links would bring you back to stock geometry, more or less, but with a longer wheelbase and no threshold to push the forks down further to be at the geometry that you are currently at.

[Tenerider]

I'm running +25mm travel both front and rear. My forks stick out exactly 10mm beyond the upper clamp. Handling is perfect for me both on- and offroad.