Originally Posted by
fmac
Question -- what would be an appropriate rigid fork to swap? The 1996 spec manual shows that the 900 series of that era are spec'ed for an Axle to Crown of 408mm, with a tolerable range of 408 mm - 430 mm. Is it as simple as finding a fork with an AtoC in that range, such as that Surly Troll (even if it isn't suspension-corrected)?
Yes, a rigid fork with axle to crown in the appropriate range. To state the obvious, higher fork crown height means slacker head angle and more trail (all else equal). So you might also look at the fork offset of the original fork and of different current options.
I’ve had good experience with rigid forks from carboncycles.cc, which are available with different types of steerers, fork crown heights, and brake mounts. They’re made in Taiwan, relatively light (compared to steel Surly!), and pretty inexpensive (<$200 with carbon blades, close to $100 with aluminum). There was a recent review on Bike-rumor by someone who put one on an older Moots 29er frame.