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Road Forks
Last Post 07/17/2014 10:41 PM by 79 pmooney. 5 Replies.
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KootnaMoots
Posts:47
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| 07/16/2014 12:57 PM |
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I ride a Moots Psyclox YBB and at one time I had a basterdized suspension front fork with about 3/4 " travel. I was happy with the setup until the seals and innerds failed and couldn't be repaired. I bought a carbon fork for cantis and was ok with it. We had a old bike ride so I took my Pinarilo off of the trainer and took it for a ride. The steel tapered curved front fork gave a much better ride than the carbon on my Moots. Any advice on a fork that would be better than what I have. This is a generic carbon fork thick towards the fork tube and with clearance for large rubber and cantis. Thanks for the help.
Jer |
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 07/16/2014 01:16 PM |
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| Maybe you answered your own question: "The steel tapered curved front fork gave a much better ride than the carbon on my Moots." Can you find a steel fork that will work? |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 07/16/2014 02:51 PM |
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Kootna,
Seriously consider having a custom steel fork made. Steel, with twice the stiffness and very similar to ti in strength is the logical material for the cantilever beam which is a front fork. (All the rest of the frame is made up of triangles which are inherently much stiffer.) Plus a good steel fork just looks "right" on a ti bike.
My two ti bikes both have steel forks. I got to choose the crowns. The rakes and clearances were my choice. (Both were patterned of bikes I loved the handling of. Quite different but right for the bikes they were.) And after 8000 miles on each, I still love the ride!
Think about coming to the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association show in September. Probably 20+ frame builders. TiCycles for sure. Vanilla (if you are in no hurry). A chance for some craft beer and exotic frames. Also a chance to get a feel for a number of builders. I'd try to get about a half dozen I felt comfortable with, then ask around here and elsewhere for other's experiences with them.
http://oregonframebuilders.org/obca-announces-2014-handmade-bike-beer-festival/
I found my two builders, Peter Mooney and Dave Levy by different means. Peter was in my racing club. I'd been seeing his frames for 3 years and knew he'd build my post-racing bike after my last season. A local fitter turned me on to Dave Levy after I asked him about local builders who could make me a custom (180) stem. In between, my Mooney has had work done on it by Ed Litton (Richmond, CA) and Mark Nobilette (Colorado, formerly Ann Arbor, MI) both of whom I would completely trust to build be a fork without face to face contact. (Ed is also a first class painter.)
If you go custom and you like your bike's current handling, have the fork dimensions taken by someone you trust: rake, length and steerer length. And if you don't, this is a great time to get it right. Choosing fork crowns is fun! And you get to pick paint or have it plated. Chrome or as I did for my fix gear; nickle plate, bead blasted. Also threaded headset or quill. You can change headsets to anything you want, just make the decision before the builder has to cut the steerer.
There is also the NAHBS show in Louiville next March.
Ben |
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zootracer
Posts:833
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| 07/16/2014 05:29 PM |
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| "If you find a fork in the road, take it". Yogi Berra. |
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jmdirt
Posts:775
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| 07/17/2014 02:13 PM |
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A friend of mine who is living in one of those micro houses had to reduce his possessions so he has a cross bike that he commutes to work, and rips single track after work. He replaced his genero fork with one of these:
http://ritcheylogic.com/cross/forks/comp-carbon-cross-fork.html
and he said that it is "plush". |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 07/17/2014 10:41 PM |
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Zoot, Yogi lived before the days of carbon fiber. If you found a fork in the road in his day, it was steel. A quick inspection would tell you if it was safe. Now-a-days if you find a CF fork in the road. you best leave it. I bet even Yogi would tell you that.
Ben |
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