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Fork Offset question


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flag aarchib6
Posted: May 5, 2021 at 21:42 Quote
If my bike frames specs call for a 51mm offset can I still use a 44MM offset fork?
flag R-M-R
Posted: May 5, 2021 at 22:12 Quote
Yes, absolutely. That's exactly how bikes evolve: people just make an adjustment and see if it improves things. Think of how awful bikes were twenty years ago. The handling we now perceive as awful was exactly how it was spec'd and exactly how the designer intended it to feel. And they were wrong. Feel free to step outside the recommendations.

In the case of 7 mm of offset, some people don't even perceive the difference, while others notice a small, but distinct change. I usually prefer less offset. In my opinion, there's a good chance you'll prefer the 44 mm offset.
flag Pigglet13
Posted: May 5, 2021 at 23:12 Quote
Yep, as said unlikely you’ll notice the difference. I found I preferred shorter offset on long travel forks on a bike with a headangle slacker than 63 degrees but on stuff 63degrees and steeper it’s not as noticeable .

It’s funny how things evolve , when 29ers came out they were spec’d with short offset forks then someone decided the way to improve handling was to increase fork offset and 51mm was the hot ticket. Slack head angles arrive and we go back to short offset to counter the wheelflop. Gotta love the fad cycle! If only we’d started with slack head angles......
flag R-M-R
Posted: May 5, 2021 at 23:32 Quote
Shorter offset actually increases flop. Offset decreased because we crave more of that sweet steering trail.
flag Pigglet13
Posted: May 6, 2021 at 1:47 Quote
I didn’t know that flop was an actual geometry metric, thanks for the correction.
What I meant was, with a longer offset fork, the steering on my really slack bikes felt very fast and twitchy which resulted in the bars flopping from one side to the other if you took your hands off them. It was actually fine once you got used to it and not really an issue as long as you didn’t want to take your hands off the bars!

On less radical bikes it wasn’t so noticeable.
flag R-M-R
Posted: May 6, 2021 at 2:02 Quote
There's a lot going on with steering geometry.

For bikes with slack head-tube angles, flop dominates trail at low speeds. This is why you can't walk with a DH bike by pushing the saddle or ride without hands at low speeds, despite the bike having a lot of trail. At high speeds, trail dominates flop, which is why the bike is super stable when you're riding it how a DH bike should be ridden.

Different story for bikes with steep head-tube angles: somewhat less trail and a lot less flop. Trail dominates flop at essentially any speed, allowing you to hold the saddle of a road or XC bike and push it along while walking.

The steering feels a bit "lighter" with more offset, which may be the "fast and twitchy" sensation you noticed.
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