Hi Raymond, I only ride hardtails single speeded - if I'm going to sit and spin gears I might as well have all the benefits of a suspension bike as I see it!
The longest I've happily run on a Honzo sans angleset is the AC equivalent of a 150mm Fox fork. I found a 160mm fork made the handling strange and actually preferred 140mm overall.
I put the 170mm on for a lark knowing I could easily drop it and so far it's been great. The slacker HTA and longer wheelbase have an effect.
I'd guess it's 64° static as it sits and if anything a bit slacker with the 3" tire up front. I will try and work out the numbers when I have time.
There's a lot more movement out of the saddle than on my rigid Walt obviously, but with the Durolux set as I like it (fairly soft both in terms of air spring and compression damping) I don't find it any worse than running a 140mm really. The bar is a bit tall but I've been running my effective stacks higher and higher in the last few years and I've adapted to it quickly.
I'm running 44mm fork offset which helps with high-speed steering with the very short 35mm stem.
I wouldn't take it in an XC race (the 2.6" / 3" rubber would be working against that goal as well) but I ride it up No Quarter and I'm happy with the results. It's a bit like a modern take on an old freeride hardtail which I enjoy. I have it geared 32:22 for riding Fromme up No Quarter but I'm too lazy to change it for other local mountains just to drop a tooth.
Nov. 19, 2018, 1:42 p.m. - Andrew Major
Hi Raymond, I only ride hardtails single speeded - if I'm going to sit and spin gears I might as well have all the benefits of a suspension bike as I see it! The longest I've happily run on a Honzo sans angleset is the AC equivalent of a 150mm Fox fork. I found a 160mm fork made the handling strange and actually preferred 140mm overall. I put the 170mm on for a lark knowing I could easily drop it and so far it's been great. The slacker HTA and longer wheelbase have an effect. I'd guess it's 64° static as it sits and if anything a bit slacker with the 3" tire up front. I will try and work out the numbers when I have time. There's a lot more movement out of the saddle than on my rigid Walt obviously, but with the Durolux set as I like it (fairly soft both in terms of air spring and compression damping) I don't find it any worse than running a 140mm really. The bar is a bit tall but I've been running my effective stacks higher and higher in the last few years and I've adapted to it quickly. I'm running 44mm fork offset which helps with high-speed steering with the very short 35mm stem. I wouldn't take it in an XC race (the 2.6" / 3" rubber would be working against that goal as well) but I ride it up No Quarter and I'm happy with the results. It's a bit like a modern take on an old freeride hardtail which I enjoy. I have it geared 32:22 for riding Fromme up No Quarter but I'm too lazy to change it for other local mountains just to drop a tooth.