I am thinking of making version 2 of my fork. I am shooting for 7" travel. The rear of this bike is SO plush, and the front is good, but it could be way better!
I did some messing around last night with some scrap steel, and I can easily get the travel using a spare Fox Float R shock that I have and links that are 3 inches longer than the ones I have.
The problem with the longer links is that it will lift the front of the bike 3 inches higher than it is. And its already TALL! I have the room to shorten the legs about 1 1/2 inches, to bring the front down a bit. That means I would have to make new legs too!
SO Im thinking:
1. If I need to make new links AND legs, why not just make a whole new fork?
2. I can't weld aluminum yet, so would 1 inch .065 tubing be strong enough for the legs? It would be about 1.5 lbs lighter
3. Would 3/8 aluminum pins between the legs be string enough? Right now they are 1/2 inch.
4. Would 3/8 steel pins be strong enough for the shock mount pins.
5. Where can I get a steerer tube?
6. Is a linkage fork with 7" of travel going to be totally unrideable with the amount of rake its going to go thru during travel?
7. Are there any examples of long travel linkage forks? Should I do a total design change?
Sorry for the long post, but I need input.