In article <
[email protected]>,
Michael Press <
[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> A Muzi <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > mtb Dad wrote:
> > >> Any suggestions for a CF fork for an older steel frame? Maybe one
> > >> that suits the older asthetic. I know I'll need a new headset unless
> > >> I go threaded. Also, should I look for a steel steerer? Hincapie's
> > >> fork incident made me wonder about the newer materials. Thanks
> >
> > Chalo wrote:
> > > That will be tricky to find unless you are willing to switch to a
> > > threadless headset and stem at the same time.
> > >
> > > What's your objective here? Do you just need a replacement, or is
> > > there some improvement you are trying to make? Old-fashioned lugged
> > > steel forks are hard to beat for ride quality and reliability, in my
> > > experience. They are also comparatively forgiving in the ways that
> > > they fail. CFRP forks are a lot lighter, though. For a 1" steer
> > > tube, steel is best-- aluminum is much more flexible and crack-prone,
> > > carbon/plastic is easily damaged by normal installation techniques.
> > > Both aluminum and carbon/plastic steer tubes are compatible only with
> > > threadless headsets.
> >
> > Mostly right.
> >
> > We actually weighed forks and found that a CrMo top/CF blade fork is
> > about average, not light, compared to handmade steel forks. An aluminum
> > column puts you among the lightest steel forks.
> >
> > So, yes, a carbon fork _can_ be lighter, not all are.
> >
> > Threaded carbon forks are no longer produced, suddenly rare.
> >
> > I agree that unless something's broken the original fork's best.
>
> What is the mass of recent forks? I'll start with a
> 5 year old Columbus steel, 1 in threadless fork at 850 gram.
My carbon leg/Al steer tube CX fork (Nashbar house brand) is listed as
722g with an uncut 1-1/8" steerer. 32g less in 1".
The high end of the market is roughly defined by something like an
Easton EC90 SL, which is 340g. I think there's an SLX model as well, but
I'd say that 450g (a pound) is a pretty decent dividing line between
high-end all carbon forks and run-of-the-mill all-carbon forks.
Nashbar's offering is 515g, for example, roughly defining the bottom of
the all-carbon fork market (er...).
Nashbar will also sell you a touring/CX steel fork with canti posts and
a disc mount. It's 1332g, which probably represents the heaviest
mainstream road fork available, though I don't doubt there are hi-ten
cheapie forks out there with even greater mass.
I'd go with the guideline that one pound forks are light, and three
pound forks are heavy.
--
Ryan Cousineau
[email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos
