Advice needed for 1" Carbon Fork

ebg 1.8T said:

It is now time for me to upgrade from my 1" threaded fork to a new 1" threadless carbon fork. There seem to be very few options out there for 1" threadless forks with a carbon steerer. I have been riding a woundup 1" threaded and i do not like the forward & back flex from the fork. I never noticed this till we built up my wifes Waterford this summer and we put the Reynolds Ouzo Pro on hers. Her bike tracks and decends like a dream. Mean while my Strong with it's old school front end wallows and feels disconnected. What forks should i be looking at and who has the best price for a 1" carbon threadless setup? Any Advice and opinions are appreciated. Thanks.

eric

Something is wrong here.The Wound Up is one of the stiffest forks around, unless it has a loosey goosey joint in it somewhere.You didn't notice it before you put it on a different frame,so maybe it's a mismatch to that frame with respect to rake and crown to dropout distance, or there is some other issue. Aren't Ouzo pros available in 1" threadless?

boudreaux said:

Something is wrong here.The Wound Up is one of the stiffest forks around, unless it has a loosey goosey joint in it somewhere.You didn't notice it before you put it on a different frame,so maybe it's a mismatch to that frame with respect to rake and crown to dropout distance, or there is some other issue. Aren't Ouzo pros available in 1" threadless?

Very true, the wound up is one of the stiffest out there (very stiff laterally, but not as stiff fore/aft), but combine a 6 yr old fork with a mid level quill stem and a regular cinnelli bar and it is not nearly as stiff and stable as i would like. My frame is a perfect fit for me and i have had the same setup (frame, fork, stem & bar) since 98 and it is just not as stable my wifes new bike. Our frames are almost identical in geometry (both custom), the main difference is the front end on each. Hers has the 1 1/8" ouzo pro w/ the 3T Forgie Xl bar and 3T forgie XL stem with a king headset.

I would like to find a combination that will utilize the stiffest steerer out there and still yet maintain good ride quality. But the problem is that i need to find a 1". Our local bike shop claims that Reynolds is out of 1" threadless ouzo pro's (long lead time), but they can get me a ouzo comp (not sure about this fork). They also informed us that using the Forgie XL stem on a 1" steerer is not recomended. Are there any other forks out there that are similar to the ouzo pro in stiffness and ride quality that will help me duplicate the feeling of my wifes bike? Also what bar stem combo's should i be exploring? Thanks.

ebg 1.8T said:

Very true, the wound up is one of the stiffest out there (very stiff laterally, but not as stiff fore/aft), but combine a 6 yr old fork with a mid level quill stem and a regular cinnelli bar and it is not nearly as stiff and stable as i would like. My frame is a perfect fit for me and i have had the same setup (frame, fork, stem & bar) since 98 and it is just not as stable my wifes new bike. Our frames are almost identical in geometry (both custom), the main difference is the front end on each. Hers has the 1 1/8" ouzo pro w/ the 3T Forgie Xl bar and 3T forgie XL stem with a king headset.

I would like to find a combination that will utilize the stiffest steerer out there and still yet maintain good ride quality. But the problem is that i need to find a 1". Our local bike shop claims that Reynolds is out of 1" threadless ouzo pro's (long lead time), but they can get me a ouzo comp (not sure about this fork). They also informed us that using the Forgie XL stem on a 1" steerer is not recomended. Are there any other forks out there that are similar to the ouzo pro in stiffness and ride quality that will help me duplicate the feeling of my wifes bike? Also what bar stem combo's should i be exploring? Thanks.

The forgie I have came with a shim for a 1" steerer, so I think the LBS if full of BS.And I still think it's not the fork,I got 2 of them and they are stiffer than an ouzo pro or several models of looks and times.

I have a Ture Temper Alpha Q Sub 3 fork in 1" threadless which is very stiff and stable. I had some instability in the original fork with its steel steerer but only in braking which caused my headset to pop. I swapped the fork out with a King headset and all those disappeared.

The Alpha fork has a very stiff steerer made of predominately axially oriented high modulus carbon fiber, trading hoop strenght for bending stiffness. As such, it cannot use expanding threadless nuts or standard star fangled nuts.

Alfred E. Bike has the Alpha Q for the best price.

ebg 1.8T said:

Very true, the wound up is one of the stiffest out there (very stiff laterally, but not as stiff fore/aft), but combine a 6 yr old fork with a mid level quill stem and a regular cinnelli bar and it is not nearly as stiff and stable as i would like. My frame is a perfect fit for me and i have had the same setup (frame, fork, stem & bar) since 98 and it is just not as stable my wifes new bike. Our frames are almost identical in geometry (both custom), the main difference is the front end on each. Hers has the 1 1/8" ouzo pro w/ the 3T Forgie Xl bar and 3T forgie XL stem with a king headset.

I would like to find a combination that will utilize the stiffest steerer out there and still yet maintain good ride quality. But the problem is that i need to find a 1". Our local bike shop claims that Reynolds is out of 1" threadless ouzo pro's (long lead time), but they can get me a ouzo comp (not sure about this fork). They also informed us that using the Forgie XL stem on a 1" steerer is not recomended. Are there any other forks out there that are similar to the ouzo pro in stiffness and ride quality that will help me duplicate the feeling of my wifes bike? Also what bar stem combo's should i be exploring? Thanks.

You might want to check out some of the sources from a search on:

qbike.combike.cgiOpen ↗

A couple I looked at quickly listed the 1" Ouzo Pro in stock in several different rakes (though that may not be the case). I've been very satisified with my Ouzo Comp (1-1/8"😉 though the Al steerer is a bit weightier, I can't discern any real difference in feel from a friend's similar frame with the Pro.

As Boud said, I find it odd that 3T would provide a 1-inch shim from the factory if it was unsuitable. Looking at their website it looks like they are still offering the shim on all stems. (not sure if the 4GXL or THE-XL is the closest current model to the Forgie XL)

One thing that you may try. I used to work at a shop where we were a Giant dealer. We had, and they still have, TONS of 1" carbon forks in the back. Brand new too. Their are 1" carbon forks with aluminum steers, and with carbon steerers. Try looking at a Giant shop, when they first started out, thats all they used. Not untill just a few years ago did they switch, so they may have a bunch lying around you can pick up for cheap.

boudreaux said:

The forgie I have came with a shim for a 1" steerer, so I think the LBS if full of BS.And I still think it's not the fork,I got 2 of them and they are stiffer than an ouzo pro or several models of looks and times.

thanks for the input. Do you know if Woundup will replace a threaded steerer with a threadless steerer? It's just epoxied in there right? Do you think a new bar and stem will make a difference?

ebg 1.8T said:

thanks for the input. Do you know if Woundup will replace a threaded steerer with a threadless steerer? It's just epoxied in there right? Do you think a new bar and stem will make a difference?

I would ask wound up.

boudreaux said:

I would ask wound up.

i already tried. I left a vm yesteday and shot them an e-mail. i guess i will have to wait and see.