Grafting

What is grafting?

Grafting is taking suspension parts from one bike and grafting them on to another to achieve a better performing suspension system or adjustability where there was none. What we have seen is riders doing this that are not quite doing all the homework they should before considering the swap or trying to implement it. Several issues come to mind when thinking of grafting from one bike to another, for example with the forks you could end up with longer or shorter forks and that will change the geometry and may cause handling issues that may even render the bike unsafe to ride. You might end up with spring or valving issues as the question that arises from this is are the forks both sprung and valved for your weight and skill level. Yes you may have added adjustability but if the internals are not valved or sprung correctly all the adjustability in the world is not going to make it correct.

In regards to the shock it is pretty much the same as the fork issues but we have shaft travel that plays a part here, You can have a shock that is the same length eye to eye but yet will have different shaft travel. This may either reduce the shock travel which in turn gives you less wheel travel or the shock travel may be too long and you need up driving the tire up into the fender and tearing stuff up in there.

There are several measurements and factors to take into consideration before going down this path, At NorWest Suspension we have experience performing grafting and being a retired machinist we have the knowledge that it takes to make sure you have a properly functioning bike that is both a pleasure to ride and safe with better suspension on it.

We are also able to get the geometry numbers of the bike including swingarm angle, trail, COG, rake angle, weight bias and wheel base.

Pricing for this type of modification is based off amount of work needed and if any rebuild/revalve needs to take place.

Give us a call and let's discuss your needs and which direction you are thinking about going with the grafting.