Changing pinarello forks

pinarelloman said:

I have a Pinarello Galileo from 2004 which has a meta carbon fork on it and I have bought an Easton EC90 SL fork to go in it. The bike shop is suggesting that the forks are different sizes eg the Meta has a different diameter or something? Need advise as to how others have gotten round this or if there is a special fork or headset to buy to sort out this problem. Sorry for being little scetchy on the details.

A.

Forks will have a steerer tube diameter of either 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch. If the ain't the same you're SOL. I vaguely recall some weirdo adapter headsets to allow a 1 incher into a 1 1/8 headtube, but not sure if so.

capwater said:

Forks will have a steerer tube diameter of either 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch. If the ain't the same you're SOL. I vaguely recall some weirdo adapter headsets to allow a 1 incher into a 1 1/8 headtube, but not sure if so.

FWIW. The weirdo adapter (a glorified pair of shims) is available from PROBLEM SOLVER ... about $28US retail from your LBS ... they are available in sizes to adapt most conceivable/feasible combinations. So, if your fork has a 1" steerer, then you'll want to order one (you can get them on eBay ... about $25US, total, after including domestic shipping) because I'm pretty sure your Pinarello is designed for a 1 1/8" steerer.

Of course, if your Pinarello is designed for a 1" steerer (doubtful, since I'm pretty sure the Galileo is aluminum, and only a few aluminum frames were ever designed to take 1" steerers -- e.g., some FORT CX frames) and the fork has a 1 1/8" steerer, then your LBS is correct -- you cannot use a fork with a larger steerer than the receiving headtube [if that is what they were telling you].

alfeng said:

Of course, if your Pinarello is designed for a 1" steerer (doubtful, since I'm pretty sure the Galileo is aluminum, and only a few aluminum frames were ever designed to take 1" steerers -- e.g., some FORT CX frames) and the fork has a 1 1/8" steerer, then your LBS is correct -- you cannot use a fork with a larger steerer than the receiving headtube [if that is what they were telling you].

The bike is 1 1/8" steerer. I spoke to Sigma Sports bike store London and they suggested that the Pinarello fork has an oversized headset bearing system - from Pinarello! - that I could use or I would have to have an engineering firm cut down or do something to the fork in order to have the cup sit on it properly and fit into the frame???? Very confusing. Am talking to them Monday with the Pinarello Rep to determine how to do it. Errrrrr 😠

pinarelloman said:

I have a Pinarello Galileo from 2004 which has a meta carbon fork on it and I have bought an Easton EC90 SL fork to go in it. The bike shop is suggesting that the forks are different sizes eg the Meta has a different diameter or something? Need advise as to how others have gotten round this or if there is a special fork or headset to buy to sort out this problem. Sorry for being little scetchy on the details.

A.

I have an '02 Pinarello Surprise that came with a 1" cromoly steerer-carbon legged "Vela" fork. I switched it out for an all carbon Reynolds Ouzo Pro Aero (sweet upgrade, I must say). I am 100% sure that the Surprise (that Frame eventually became Pinarello's cheaper track frame) was the only one in the line that used a 1" fork. All the other forks were 1 1/8". The '04 Galileo used the Meta fork (1 1/8"😉 which is designed to work with an integrated headset. Integrated forks have a different crown race and the bearings are not the same as the outboard headsets. I'm not an expert on forks, but I do know some companies like Reynolds sell an Integrated aftermarket fork. I'm not too sure if you can use the Easton fork since integrate forks are designed for the fork's crown to fit just right with the bottom of the head tube, but that might be more of an issue of the shape of the crown race. Any fork experts out there?

PeterF said:

Integrated forks have a different crown race and the bearings are not the same as the outboard headsets. I'm not an expert on forks, but I do know some companies like Reynolds sell an Integrated aftermarket fork. I'm not too sure if you can use the Easton fork since integrate forks are designed for the fork's crown to fit just right with the bottom of the head tube, but that might be more of an issue of the shape of the crown race. Any fork experts out there?

This is, AFAIK, a cosmetic issue if you were to use a non-integrated fork with an integrated headset.

I commandeered an integrated fork (probably, Dedacciai) which came off a ~2001 OLMO with a 1" integrated headset to use with an older steel OLMO frame ... fortunately, I recognized that the Campagnolo race is the "same" as a Cane Creek race, so I simply installed Cane Creek headset -- it would have been all but impossible to remove the crown race without grinding/cutting it off. The integrated fork's shoulder actually looks fine as the fork shoulder mates nicely with the lower bearing cup.

The shoulder of the Easton fork, in question (integrated, or not), may not be a perfect COSMETIC match for the headtube on the Pinarello frame ... but, otherwise, I don't see why it shouldn't work.

Mounting a new/suitable crown race onto the Easton fork should make it good-to-go with the Pinarello frame.

alfeng said:

This is, AFAIK, a cosmetic issue if you were to use a non-integrated fork with an integrated headset.

I commandeered an integrated fork (probably, Dedacciai) which came off a ~2001 OLMO with a 1" integrated headset to use with an older steel OLMO frame ... fortunately, I recognized that the Campagnolo race is the "same" as a Cane Creek race, so I simply installed Cane Creek headset -- it would have been all but impossible to remove the crown race without grinding/cutting it off. The integrated fork's shoulder actually looks fine as the fork shoulder mates nicely with the lower bearing cup.

The shoulder of the Easton fork, in question (integrated, or not), may not be a perfect COSMETIC match for the headtube on the Pinarello frame ... but, otherwise, I don't see why it shouldn't work.

Mounting a new/suitable crown race onto the Easton fork should make it good-to-go with the Pinarello frame.

Good to know since I have an '04 Pinarello Opera which also uses an integrated headset/fork. I would actually prefer for manufacturers to go back to the non-integrated style. My 02 Pinarello has a King Headset with the Reynolds fork. It's a good looking set up and I have a lot of faith that the King headset will continue to provide many more years of trouble free service. Sure it was a few bucks more than the Cane Creek that came with the bike, but worth the added expense IMHO...

Mounting a new/suitable crown race onto the Easton fork should make it good-to-go with the Pinarello frame.