24" fork on a 26" frame

[mybike1]

Here's the thing...
I ordered up an el cheapo chrome 26" bmx fork for a "BMX Cruiser" project.
While doing the swap I noticed that the fork that came off of the bike was
about 2 inches shorter than the new. I checked with a couple other older bikes
that I have and found that all of my old Schwinns, meads, rollfasts, monarks... etc
have fork lengths that are nearly identical in length to a pair of 24" SE Landing Gear
that I have laying around.
So then I get the bike put together and it rides great... well, almost great. It feels a
little chopped out. I blame some of this on the 75 degree head angle, most of my other
bikes have a 70 degree angle, but I feel like if I ordered up an el cheapo 24" fork, this would
shorten up the front end and would probably ride a little better.
There is plenty of clearance for a 26" wheel on the 24" landing gear fork (about a 1/8 inch)
but not sure about other brands of forks... like my el cheapo 26" sunlite replacement forks.
Has anyone else out there used 24" forks on they're bikes??? particularly BMX forks. :?:

 

[Daddyar]

Is a)the fork tube (the part that goes in the frame) longer than the head tube on the frame, or b)the actual fork legs are longer? If the fork tube is longer, your LBS may be able to extend the threads farther down the tube, and cut the excess off the top. If the fork legs are longer, I'd probably do as you did to make the steering response a little quicker.

 

[mybike1]

Yeah... it's the fork legs that are longer. My main issue is that I really don't want to order up a pair of 24" forks that may or may not have the tire clearance that I want. I would use my Landing Gear but the frame's head tube is too long for that fork. I'm kinda surprised that I haven't gotten more of a response on this subject. I figured this must have all been done before by more people ... guess not.

 

[deorman]

If it's one of those forks with the dropouts welded to the front of the legs, maybe you could cut deeper slots, or cut them off and get them welded higher up, EXACTLY where you want them.

 

[mybike1]

that's a good option... didn't think about that.

 

[stephen]

Forks longer than the frame was designed for can put a strain on the headtube and eventually break it unless a larger back wheel is put on to get the angle correct again.