Pyramid forks - boat anchor or inexpensive component?

Werehatrack said:

I ran across a deal on a wrecked Trek 1200 this past weekend with a
bent fork but a good frame. Shopping for a replacement fork, I ran
across the Pyramid unit from Bike Parts USA for under $35. Very few
details are given, but I figured that somebody here has probably used
these in the past. The main things I'm wondering about are whether
the fork is excessively heavy (the original equipment fork is steel,
maybe Cr-Mo; it wasn't super light to begin with) and whether it takes
standard-reach brakes. Anybody know?
--

Which one? BikePartsUSA lists six different 700C forks:
http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_info.asp?p=01%2D79316
http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_info.asp?p=01%2D79291
and a bunch of "hybrid" forks. They're pretty generic replacement
chrome-moly replacement items, so light they ain't. Excessive? What're
you building, the world's lightest garage sale bike?

I'd bet the forks are set up for short reach brakes. Another
complicating factor it that the crown race is 27.0mm diameter- JIS
size. If you've got a ISO headset in the Trek, you'll have to have the
crown race milled to 26.4mm.

Jeff

Werehatrack said:

I ran across a deal on a wrecked Trek 1200 this past weekend with a
bent fork but a good frame. Shopping for a replacement fork, I ran
across the Pyramid unit from Bike Parts USA for under $35. Very few
details are given, but I figured that somebody here has probably used
these in the past. The main things I'm wondering about are whether
the fork is excessively heavy (the original equipment fork is steel,
maybe Cr-Mo; it wasn't super light to begin with) and whether it takes
standard-reach brakes. Anybody know?
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

If it's one of the "Chromoly AeroU-Crown" ones I'm seeing on their
site, those are nice quality forks made by Tange, but they're typical
no-clearance road forks for short reach brakes. I put one on a bike
once.

Pyramid is the house brand of J&B Importers, either the largest or
second largest bike industry wholesaler in the US. The cheap ones are
some of the most atrociously ridiculous "dealer level" bike components
you could ask for. The quality on some I've seen is a joke - big,
visible voids in the welds, ugly, misaligned, spaced wrong, etc. I
don't know if current ones are like this (the ones of these I have
experience with were Pyramid, but they were older backstock). Actually
one of my favorite war stories is looking at one of these, noticing
awful gaps in the joint between blade and crown, pulling it apart with
my hands and seeing that there was hardly any penetration of the brass.
I would stay clear of the cheap ones (like the high-tensile ones also
on that page and probably all hi-ten pyr forks) - I dont know if
current ones are this bad, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I'm pretty sure all of the more expensive, chromo pyramid forks are
Tange, but not 100% sure.

On 12 Sep 2006 21:19:40 -0700, "JeffWills" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

... Another
complicating factor it that the crown race is 27.0mm diameter- JIS
size. If you've got a ISO headset in the Trek, you'll have to have the
crown race milled to 26.4mm.

Missed that; thanks. Yeah, that pretty much disallows them unless I
want to have the tube turned down, which pretty much eliminates any
advantage.

Oh, well; back to the hunt.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack said:

I ran across a deal on a wrecked Trek 1200 this past weekend with a
bent fork but a good frame. Shopping for a replacement fork, I ran
across the Pyramid unit from Bike Parts USA for under $35. Very few
details are given, but I figured that somebody here has probably used
these in the past. The main things I'm wondering about are whether
the fork is excessively heavy (the original equipment fork is steel,
maybe Cr-Mo; it wasn't super light to begin with) and whether it takes
standard-reach brakes. Anybody know?

FWIW- I needed a fork for an '04 Trek 520 and ordered a factory
replacement through my local Trek lbs, it was painted to match and was
$80.

Werehatrack said:

On 12 Sep 2006 21:19:40 -0700, "JeffWills" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

... Another
complicating factor it that the crown race is 27.0mm diameter- JIS
size. If you've got a ISO headset in the Trek, you'll have to have the
crown race milled to 26.4mm.

Missed that; thanks. Yeah, that pretty much disallows them unless I
want to have the tube turned down, which pretty much eliminates any
advantage.

Oh, well; back to the hunt.

You could use a "semi-JIS" headset, with ISO cups mated to a JIS crown.
Here's an example:

http://tinyurl.com/z3suo

Chances are good that the Trek needs (now or soon) a new headset,
anyway; this is a cheap solution to two problems.