Measuring Front Suspension Travel

[Vintage Veloce]

The manual says the 2020 should have 142mm of travel.
I've been watching the o-rings on the front and I have never gotten them 142mm down the tube (when compared to the fork with the front wheel in the air).
I wonder if there is a rubber stop inside that uses up some of that travel or maybe I really have just never bottomed the front?
Anyone know anything about how much travel is really available on the front?

 

[hannesd]

hit the biggest pothole you can find,you'll find the 142mm travel there ;-)

 

[Dan00Hawk]

Any railroad track crossings that you can jump should do the trick!

 

[Vintage Veloce]

You guys...
I guess, my point is that I think I have bottomed the forks, but they are not near 142mm down the tube when measured from topped out. Maybe there is a rubber bump stop in the tube that reduces this in reality to a smaller number, closer to 125mm?

 

[BISavage]

I bottomed out one time, hard.

Turning in on the brakes, combined with an elevation change and an overlooked drainage ditch....

According to the dust stripe there was alot more travel than i thought, and have ever used since.

 

[hannesd]

on a road bike i'm never concerned about bottoming out.
if you have this kind of travel left on a normal days riding then you're good, unless you hear and feel it bottoming it out on a regular base, then you should opt for a different spring rate.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

So on today's ride I did a bunch of stoppies, slammed the brakes on into the ABS, etc. I never felt a "hard bump".
I just lifted the front end up and measured from the fork seal to the o-ring: 125mm.


That leaves 40mm of exposed fork tube "unused" but of course there is no way the whole tube would be usable.
Using 125mm, by spec I should have 17mm left (142-125=17). Maybe...

 

[BISavage]

Just to put into words, when i bottomed it out, I also bottom my chin out on the bars... that's how hard it was.