Mountain Bike Fork Offset Explained | What Is Fork Offset and How Does It Make Your Bike Feel?

Mountain Bike manufacturers have recently started playing around with fork offset, creating shorter offset forks and shouting about them on the spec sheets! Suddenly talk of offset is everywhere and we see more manufacturers speccing stock builds with shorter offset forks. But what exactly is it, and more importantly, how does it change the feel of the bike?

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[peterbeer]

Some very good info about fork offset and how it affects the bike, But if the fork offset does not matter to much to a rider like Neil then I think I will not worry to much about it

[julianw]

The videos Henry has been making lately have been very informative and answered lots of my questions about bikes.
Loving it

[sak]

I put on a 44 offset on my 2018 intense carbine 29.. it was 51 offset.. now at 44offsett i feel more stable and comfortable.. 44 offset rocks 🔥

[mijosipek]

I actualy dont care how mi bike feels i am sellfish.

[nwimpney]

fork offset is far less about increasing length and weight distribution than it is about reducing trail to keep the bike from feeling "over stable" and steering like a freight train, . And on a road bike, more weight on the front wheel isn't the cause for the stability, , it's more that you're leaning forward against it, effectively pushing the bars forward., and because you're applying the pressure ahead of the steering axis, it pushes them towards being straight forward. If anything, the extra weight on the front wheel actually makes the bike handle more twitchy.
The thing about fork offset is that it was kind of chosen to what worked well with the bike geometries at the time that they first started making them, and then when 29" got popular they increased the offset to maintain the same trail with the bigger wheels, but geometries are changing, and those old numbers probably aren't optimal anymore.

[manuelabella]

30 years ago when i first bought my bike color, scheme and sizing are the only thing that i worry about. Nowadays you add numbers, angles and the whole bike chart etc. -- stressful :D

[DZig]

A nice try at explaining this topic What I'm getting is : More fork offset = less trail, ie: less self correcting /faster (twitchy?) steering. Slacker head angle or less fork offset= more trail (more self correcting and slower steering) Shorter stem can increase direct feeling with steering, in effect counteracting a shorter offset/slacker hta with more trail.

[milktop]

On thing you people missed and literally ever video has missed is how increased offset slackens the effective HTA. So if 2 bike have the same HTA and one with a longer offset it will behave slacker at least in a straight line. It lengthens the wheel base and puts the axle further in front of your hands.

[treyblakeandrew]

Switching to a shorter offset fork brought an immediate difference in front wheel grip in turns. A strong improvement that I’m not keen to go backwards on

[Milessongs]

Brilliantly illustrated explanation at 6:00!

[graham]

good clear video. I wouldn't call the caster effect mysterious though...ever looked at shopping trolley wheels? It makes them track in a straight line. Also car front wheels have a set caster angle so that the front wheels will straighten up on their own when you release the steering wheel after a turn - try it.

[jackbeames]

When I went from a 50mm stem to a 30 I crashed twice. But my 50 back on and feel fine 🤣

[Velo]

So I upgraded to a Raceface 15mm stem. This video answers my question. I’m going to go with a 51mm offset to offset my shorter stem.

[FhargaZ]

I love the explanation with using standing on your feet as an example 👍

[divadjm]

The Rider is always the most significant variable. A good rider who understands this can focus his efforts on adapting to practically anything. We see this more broadly in the motorcycle road racing curriculum where the competitor, overly concerned with setup, often gets lost in the minutiae of adjustability. Casey Stoner famously won the MOTOGP title on the most un-ridable bike in the paddock. He’s an evangelist for this very philosophy.

[jeremyatkinson]

Back in the day a few cross country bikes had less offset; Zinn, the Cannondales with their integral suspension fork, and the first Fisher 29ers. They were steadier downhill and wandered excessively climbing out of the saddle. I had all these bikes and the steering felt a little lifeless to me. Gary Fisher thought so too and increased offset to 50+ to reduce the trail the 29er wheels and slacker head angles added. Recently adding 40mm of travel slackened my 29er Inbred head angle and using 52 offset brought the steering back to feeling the same. I remember Brant realising that putting a 52 offset 100mm fork on a 29er inbred he ended up almost exactly the same geometry as a steel Niner. The point I'm making is that having watched several vids on offset not one comment has been made as to how/if it affects out of saddle pedaling or indeed slow speed seated pedaling. And I'd like to know before buying a fork. Bikes are so different now that I can't depend on my experiences a decade or two ago.

[geraintwilliams]

So for the oldies amongst us it’s basically fork rake in a modern mtb guise. We’ll explained though 😊

[tamsheikh]

Nice video simplifying what manufacturers make complicated. Good for good trail talk and uneducated advise we like to dish out :). I would like to know how to setup your bike so it behaves more balanced/drifty like Neil mentioned - perhaps starting with a HT so it's dead easy and then on to FS. The outtakes will be especially entertaining no diggety.

[Herbybandit]

This is all second nature to those in the custom motorcycle world, yes there is a sweet spot, get it right you have a safe and stable bike at all speeds and environments, get it wrong and you've created a monster that will kill you without warning if you can't read the signs 😉

[savoirfaire]

*I have a 2012 Trek Cobia hardtail 29er. The 51mm stock offset lengthened my handlebar reach, which hurt my back and felt uncomfortable. To make matters worse, the fork was cut low before I bought the bike. To compensate, I am trying a shorter stem and swapping with a higher-rise handlebar. Seat moved forward.*