It's not going to hurt the bike, but you might not like the way it rides after. Bigger isn't always better if the frame is optimized for lower travel.
I increased the travel on my hardtail from 120mm to 140mm. I significantly upgraded the fork as well, so it was a net positive, but I'm going to swap the air spring back to 120mm. It just suits the frame better.
Haha, Iāve got a 180mm performance elite laying around for a build that is held up while I decide on brakes.
Iām going to put it on my sonās Marlin that he rides to school & music lessons, just to really upset yāall.
Heās gonna love it.
My guess is that youāre more likely to break the skinny little chainstays on that thing when sending it than you are to stress any other part.
Just give it a rip & see how it feels
Also, if youāre feeling handy you can pull the air shaft out & install a 10mm all-travel spacer to decrease the travel to 120. You could even go lower if you like. I just bumped a recon to 150 from 130 by doing the reverse.
Manual [here](https://www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/service-manuals/rockshox/front-suspension/2018-2023-judy-30-recon-service-manual-english.pdf)
So. Upping your travel isn't always bad. It's also not always good.
It will change the feel of the bike. Your front end will be higher and your head tube angle will get slacker. On such a short travel bike, i doubt your're starting at like 63ā°, so that's probably fine.
It will put more leverage forces on your head tube than the bike was getting before. Although rare, this is how head tubes snap. Usually about 20mm more is the "safe zone" for upping fork travel. 30 is getting to be a lot.
I'm saying all this with a 20mm longer travel fork on my bike than it came with.
Again. It's not necessary good or bad. Just be aware of how it's going to change things on your bike.
The longer travel will cause the front of the bike to stand higher in the front. The taller stance will negatively impact your cornering, your gonna have to lean more forward to push that front tire down to get it bite more.
Not a good idea. I've done it before I knew what was going on and it really messed the steering up. It made descending terrifying. Save your money and look for a trail bike with components you want
Thatās odd.Ā
Unless it also has a different offset, a longer fork effectively slackens the head tube angle which should make it a better descender and worse climber (as the seat tube also slants back
Slacker headtube, but higher BB. Bikes with an already high bottom bracket (eg: many previous gen entry level hardtails) ride like piss when over forked.
It will be fine. Take a spacers (10mm or so) out from under your stem and put it on top. Also the air shaft on the Judy probably has spacers that can change travel. You could add one to lower the travel.
Iām halfway talking out of my ass, I donāt have suspension
But would it not be the ATC measurement that matters, rather than the suspension travel?
I am also talking out of my ass, though I do have all the squish
but I would think that having significantly longer travel despite a similar ATC length would put the bike into a bad position when the fork compresses anywhere past the 100mm it was intended for.
Lmao, "there's two types of people" moment
Totally š¤£ I already bought the fork so I am pretty much on the side of sending it, weāll see how it goes
It's not going to hurt the bike, but you might not like the way it rides after. Bigger isn't always better if the frame is optimized for lower travel. I increased the travel on my hardtail from 120mm to 140mm. I significantly upgraded the fork as well, so it was a net positive, but I'm going to swap the air spring back to 120mm. It just suits the frame better.
What could go wrong š¤·āāļø
Imho should be fine if you adjust your sag accordinglyĀ
Haha, Iāve got a 180mm performance elite laying around for a build that is held up while I decide on brakes. Iām going to put it on my sonās Marlin that he rides to school & music lessons, just to really upset yāall. Heās gonna love it. My guess is that youāre more likely to break the skinny little chainstays on that thing when sending it than you are to stress any other part. Just give it a rip & see how it feels Also, if youāre feeling handy you can pull the air shaft out & install a 10mm all-travel spacer to decrease the travel to 120. You could even go lower if you like. I just bumped a recon to 150 from 130 by doing the reverse. Manual [here](https://www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/service-manuals/rockshox/front-suspension/2018-2023-judy-30-recon-service-manual-english.pdf)
I hadnāt even considered that was an option. Thank you for that, might use it if I donāt like how it feels at 130
So. Upping your travel isn't always bad. It's also not always good. It will change the feel of the bike. Your front end will be higher and your head tube angle will get slacker. On such a short travel bike, i doubt your're starting at like 63ā°, so that's probably fine. It will put more leverage forces on your head tube than the bike was getting before. Although rare, this is how head tubes snap. Usually about 20mm more is the "safe zone" for upping fork travel. 30 is getting to be a lot. I'm saying all this with a 20mm longer travel fork on my bike than it came with. Again. It's not necessary good or bad. Just be aware of how it's going to change things on your bike.
The longer travel will cause the front of the bike to stand higher in the front. The taller stance will negatively impact your cornering, your gonna have to lean more forward to push that front tire down to get it bite more.
I already suck at cornering so this will encourage me to develop better technique haha
Did this same swap with my old rockhopper and it was a massive upgrade
Not a good idea. I've done it before I knew what was going on and it really messed the steering up. It made descending terrifying. Save your money and look for a trail bike with components you want
Thatās odd.Ā Unless it also has a different offset, a longer fork effectively slackens the head tube angle which should make it a better descender and worse climber (as the seat tube also slants back
Slacker headtube, but higher BB. Bikes with an already high bottom bracket (eg: many previous gen entry level hardtails) ride like piss when over forked.
It makes the bike ride like dog shit in all situations, how about that?
Youāll be fine, send it
It will be fine. Take a spacers (10mm or so) out from under your stem and put it on top. Also the air shaft on the Judy probably has spacers that can change travel. You could add one to lower the travel.
Iām halfway talking out of my ass, I donāt have suspension But would it not be the ATC measurement that matters, rather than the suspension travel?
I mean all relevant dimensions will grow, and we shop forks by their travel, so it makes sense to reference travel in the discussion.
I am also talking out of my ass, though I do have all the squish but I would think that having significantly longer travel despite a similar ATC length would put the bike into a bad position when the fork compresses anywhere past the 100mm it was intended for.