Hey
Im building up a Santa Cruz Stigmata and have an option to get a Rockshox Rudy fork on a good deal. Only caveat - the suspension fork I can buy would have a 6mm longer offset (51mm vs the 45mm that is originally on the Stigmata). Would I honestly notice any difference?
Just convince yourself you are all in after the quicker handling. If you won’t have a comparison, you won’t feel any difference.
It’s definitely noticeable. I swapped forks on a bike once not knowing the offsets were different, but as soon as I got on the bike and took the corner out of my driveway it was immediately noticeable. I would not do it if it was my bike.
My comment assumes the current fork is rigid.
The fork may have a larger offset, but it’s probably a taller fork too. My bet is the extra height will slightly slacken the head tube, slowing the handling a little, and the larger offset will likely just reverse that. So all in, you may not notice that much difference. That all depends on how much sag you’ll run the fork at of course, as sag will lower the fork and thus steepen the head angle again.
Overall, you might find the steering a bit quicker, and the handling less stable, but the suspension will likely add a feeling of stability back in and/or you’ll just be moving faster.
The stock fork is the same height (crown to axle) as the rock shox’s rudy, so the only difference would be the fork offset
Many, many moons ago I replaced my 100 mm fork with one my LBS had on the parts bin. The offset was different and you could change the travel from 80–120 mm. I don’t know whether the offset was different.
I could tell the difference immediately, the bike never felt right to me again and I ended up selling it a few months later.
However, different ≠worse. When I went from 26” to 29”, I felt as if I was walking in clown shoes. I got used to it within a week and feels natural now.