Reynolds Compression Plug ??



mamboitaliano

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Aug 15, 2008
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I have a Reynolds Ouzo 1” carbon fork on my Italian steel and I was wondering, do you “have to” use their compression plug and if so why?

Thanks - Rino
 
mamboitaliano said:
I have a Reynolds Ouzo 1” carbon fork on my Italian steel and I was wondering, do you “have to” use their compression plug and if so why?

Thanks - Rino

No, you don't have to. There are other plugs that will work; however, if you have a steerer issue, I doubt you'll get any sympathy from Reynolds. FWIW, when I had a Reynolds fork, I replaced the Reynolds bung with an Extralite bung. It worked fine.

On my Look 595, the fork uses a Look bung which seems to be identical to that used by Reynolds. Those type bungs contact a larger surface area on the steerer ID, so methinks such bungs are less likely to cause steerer failures above the top headset bearing. There have been a few such failures of fork steerers in the past (not Look or Reynolds, but others.).
 
I have a Reynolds fork that has a carbon steer tube. I use the Reynolds compression that came with the fork.
I also talked with the people at Reynolds and they insist a compression plug is used if you have a carbon steer tube.

The "star" washer type cut grooves in the tube and weaken it.

Call Reynolds and give you mpre details.

Cood luck.
 
I have had a couple Reynolds forks. Nice forks, but I tend to dislike their compression plugs. They are heavy, offer little support and strip easily. I have used an FSA carbon model with some luck, but currently use an aluminum sleeve epoxied in there. Much lighter, stiff and offers a little insurance against my overagressive wrenching. The epoxying process is a little frustrating, but after a few tries, I have a nice set up (on my Reynolds fork). If you do go with another bunge, be aware that they can be inside-diameter specific. Reynolds id's tend to be a bit larger than other forks I've used.

FWIW, the best set up IMHO is the Cannondale SI system which involves a starnut in the steerer and a top cap with a long sleeve that offers support. It's light, strong and never slips.
 

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