Bike Fork Interchangeablity

[Lavagasm]

If my bicycle has a 26" wheel, can I swap the fork with another fork from another bicycle? Also, can I put a springer fork on a non-springer bicycle? What other factors should I consider when choosing a new fork?

 

[scrumblero]

steerer diameter and length are pretty much the only 2 things that need to be the right size and even then theres adapters and such for some mismatches.. :roll:

 

[Art]

I remember when I was a kid and had a garage sale 20" canti I WISHED was a BMX (all the rage then) tried in vain to fid a tube foek to fit, but back then, tube forks didn't come in lengthd to fit cantis, or at least MY canti (Buzz Bike, 66 I think, sadly not loved at the time and replaced by the first actual BMX bike I encountered I could buy.
Buzz Bike was better, especialy stock with Naner seat and high rise bars, for general riding and comfort, but I wanted to do jumps and tricks, and the Buzzer didn't lend itself to that in stock form, or modified, for that matter, though it was better than I gave it credit for

 

[ozzmonaut]

If you switch to a springer, the new chrome ones come with a really long steer tube so that you can cut it to length. I'm constantly putting forks on bikes that they have no business being on. The better route may be to show the bike and the fork you would like to use, along with some basic measurements. But all in all, there's always a way to make it work. That's really what this site is all about.

 

[eddielives]

I'm still kinda new at this but the one thing I've found is that you should keep the bearings with the matching cups.
I changed a bunch of forks on my $100.00 deal bike trying to get the look I wanted & as long as the bearings matched the cups the forks fit with out any problems.

Hope it helps ... eddielives