Rigid front forks, 1x wide range drive, wide tyres... maybe drop bars. As you may see from my other videos it didn't quite work out for me because the frame was too small so I converted it to an e-bike for my wife.

I just measured mine - the carbon forks are 420mm axle to the crown race. - the suspension forks are 470mm - but compress an additional 20mm when sitting on the bike with my hands on the bars in a riding position - so 450mm when moving. I found the frame itself too small for me so the seat post was raised and I had a huge stack of spacers on the steerer post to get a comfortable position - in the end I gave up as too much pressure on my wrists and hands as I was too much facing down as you said. I ended up putting suspension forks from a Kona dew fs hybrid on as the original forks on the Crosstrail were completely rusted out/seized and added a cyc e-bike motor so my wife could use it for shopping. (Check my later video for details). I will be posting an overview of my Kona gravel conversion soon - that's where the Soma forks ended up. I too have noticed that some parts just aren't available in the UK. I live at my family's home in the Isle of Man for about 4 to 5 months a year. Fortunately I have friends in France where I stay for a month or so as I travel back and forth UK to US and get stuff from Germany delivered to their address. It's silly but the German and Dutch shops will only deliver within the EU -😡 another Brexit Benefit 👎🏻. I'd try and work out what riding position you want - put a 26" wheel in the suspension fork and check that position as it will lower the front end by 25mm

Thanks John. I’ll play around with measurements and see how I feel. Thanks for your reply

Make sure that the rigid fork is (a) wide enough for the tyres you want to use. Mine says it will take 40c but having measured I’m sure it will take up 45c. (B) the height from axle to crown needs to similar to the existing front shocks or you will be nose down. Do not saw off the steerer tube to length until you have ridden it around for a while. My frame is one size too small for me and I have a lot of stack to bring the handlebars up to a comfortable height as the corner bars have no rise. Best thing to do is go 1x for the drive

It’s a 2016. The forks are Soma Gravel carbon Forks www.modernbike.com/soma-carbon-gravel-fork-700c-1-1-8.