Originally Posted by
ClydeClydeson
I read the title wrong - I thought it was a Felt Doctrine in size 4XL! 'That bike must be huge', I thought.
I think I agree with both of you. It seems to boil down mainly to an intended use thing.
For someone who doesn't ride anything technical with crazy drops, rocks and roots every step of the way, rigid could be a fine option.
For someone who doesn't spend a lot of time riding off road, maybe they don't live close to many trails, rely on riding the mtb to the trails maybe use it as a one off off road excursion type thing, rigid could also be a fine option.
gravel bikepacking type of bikes which are built for trail riding as well all have a rigid fork attached to a somewhat mtb style frame.
In my case, is it worth to switch to rigid? No, probably not. I want to be able to ride any or most terrain i have access to, even if I'm only on an XC bike. If I really want a longer steerer tube, it could be worth experimenting with.
Otherwise, it would make more sense to pick up one of those Kona Libre or similar style gravel/trail/pavement style bikes and be able to switch between a rigid or suspension as desired.
Originally Posted by
prj71
The website is stating fork length which I believe is the overall length of the fork from steerer tube to the bottom. 483 makes sense if you subtract a little to center of axle.
atc is measured to the middle of the dropout. (Middle of QR skewer)