Thanks for the feedback! Ok yeah probably not pushing limits of traction with a light load.
Fork I’m aiming for is the Rodeolabs spork 3. AC 396mm R 50mm.
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To address the toe overlap concerns, I would do a design with the ENVE adventure fork’s 55mm rake option. That would allow you to slacken the HTA to maintain your 70mm of trail. It would probably add an extra 10-15mm of front center to reduce toe overlap.
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I think toe overlap from the side drawing shown is fine. The tyre will arc forward and have a bigger gap to the toe. Other than that this design is ripe for a custom stem that does away with most of the spacers or extend the head tube above the top tube. Both would look more aesthetically tidy.
Other than that just build it. It really is the only way to hone your own spider senses in laying a bike out and having fit numbers to work with.
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Doing a a bit more testing, today groceries added 16.7kg of weight in rear panniers (to the Vagabond) and that was certainly too much as the bike started to handle strangly.
For day to day it doesn’t really matter as the distances are short enough, but for touring I think it would be annoying. So designing around ~10kg in the back before adding more in the front seems to work out.
10kg is a pretty good amount of gear for touring with modern equipment. How much do you plan to carry?
10kg is my ~3-season kit. So food and additional water gets added depending on availability, maybe 2-4kg additionally? Don’t have any experience carrying a lot of extra food, usually just what’s left over from the day before or comes in big packages.
Man those bikes are not a good choice for that route! It would have been even worse with all the weight in two rear panniers. If that’s the type of riding you want to do (which is the type I like…), please consider getting out of your comfort zone a bit with some more capable bikes. I will use a Jones LWB as a point of reference, which would have been perfect for this route IMHO.
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Hello community, I am new to this blog and came across this topic. I am currently building a bike for a person of small stature. She already has some bikes with 20‘ wheels. but i have decided to build her a “monster gravel touring bike” with 24’ wheels and 2.0-2.3 tyres.
but i need help with the fork, i.e. the trail from the fork.
i’m not sure if the trail of 65MM is too little for a touring bike with a front and rear rack. what would you say?
You could take a look at the trail of similar bikes, I just looked at the Surly Long Haul Trucker (first bike I thought of that is designed for front panniers) and it is 65ish although looks a little more in the smallest sizes. To me 65mm trail sounds okay for a bike with a front load, it’s what I’m going for on a bike designed for a front load, I’m no expert though.
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Small bikes are totally uncharted territory. I would say 65mm is safe.
For bikes that small, things like 24in tire availability, rim width, gearing, etc… are going to have a much bigger impact.
That’s a fun project, it looks like a really cool bike. Definitely let us know how it goes!
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thanks a lot for the answer! i think i will just build the fork like this! but it would be interesting to build a bike where you could try out all the dependencies of head tube angle, rake and trail. so that you get a feeling for it.
Yes, the project is really fun! but it’s also quite a lot of work, even had to build it in 3d. because everything is very tight. I’m also not yet a very experienced frame builder, it’s only my sixth bike
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nice too see you here birri, we met one time in Basel while me and my partner were touring.
dont be afraid to put an Angle-adjust headset in this once its complete to experiment!
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Continuing with the process, I’m thinking about the paintwork. So far two schemes have emerged, both quite bright. And I think maybe a bit too bright? I don’t want the frame to be so showy as to look unapproachable. Inconspicuous from afar, and amazing close up would be nice 
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Inconspicious? Hmm, we do have very different meanings to “inconspicious”, it seems. To me, both are very conspicious. One solid colour or metallic is what I think of when hearing “inconspicious”. But it’s yours, so it must please you!
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unfortunately i broke my hand a few days later. it will be a while before there is any new information. thanks for the answers. i hope to be back in the new year