Source for steel fork

Sounds like a 1 inch, rigid, MTB fork to me. Custom makers like
Waterford could probably make you one..gonna be pricey tho-

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Thanks for your help.

Stephen Greenwood

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Thanks for your help.

Stephen Greenwood

Which fenders have you tried? Instead of looking for a new fork, you
might want to try fenders that more or less mount "above" the fork
crown instead of below. Perhaps something like the following:

http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/ACFENDSKS/FE1025

You could conceivably also try a "suspension corrected" fork (around
41cm hub to crown instead of 39 cm), but AFAIK those only come in
1-1/8", which will give you more vertical clearance, but may handle
detrimentally if the frame was made before the days of front
suspensions.

http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPFKMTNR/FK2445

No idea whether you can find a stock fork that meets your needs, but if
you need to go custom, I'd call JP Weigle.

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Thanks for your help.

Stephen Greenwood

Quoted message said:

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

IRD carries a line of carbon AND steel forks, including steel rigid forks
for mtbs. Price range from $100-130 for the steel forks :

http://interlocracing.com/forks.html

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Thanks for your help.

Stephen Greenwood

I don't know if these are the right dimensions, but Tange make inexpensive
replacement forks, including ones with 1" threaded steerers (which I don't
think are available from IRD or Surly):

http://tinyurl.com/yb2wqc

You could also use a threadless fork, though you'd have to get a new
headset and maybe a cable hanger.

River City Bicycles sells a bracket that lets you mount a front fender
without running it under the fork crown:

www.rivercitybicycles.com/product_info.php?cPath=130&products_id=613

Here's what it looks like:

http://www.rivercitybicycles.com/images/split1_lg.jpg

Gary Young said:

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Thanks for your help.

Stephen Greenwood

I don't know if these are the right dimensions, but Tange make inexpensive
replacement forks, including ones with 1" threaded steerers (which I don't
think are available from IRD or Surly):

http://tinyurl.com/yb2wqc

Those are available from any LBS with a QBP account. Available online
for less than $40.

However, they are unicrown forks, the OP stated he wanted a fork "with
a proper crown".

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

You could take your fork to a frame builder and have new, longer blades
brazed into your existing crown. A builder who knows their stuff can
set you up with the needed blade length while preserving the handling
the bike now has.

Quoted message said:

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Thanks for your help.

Stephen Greenwood

"bfd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559. So, I'd like to replace
the fork with one that has more vertical clearance. Does anyone know a
good source for steel forks, preferable ones with proper crowns?

I'm not sure if there is a standard way that manufacturers specify the
parameters of forks, but the following should be equivalent: The steer
tube is a 1-inch threaded type. It needs a slot for the front brake's
cable stop hanger. Bosses for cantilever brakes and fender eyelets are
needed. The distance between the top of the steer tube and the
"shoulder" on which the lower crown race sits should be 150 mm, or a
little more. If a line is drawn through the wheel axle and steering
axis, perpendicular to the latter, the offset of the axle from the
steering axis is about 50 mm. The point where that line intersects the
steering axis is about 387mm below the "shoulder", so the forks total
vertical height is 537 mm. The replacement fork ought to be a bit
taller than this, since it needs more vertical clearance.

Maybe my friends at Vicious have something for you.
http://www.viciouscycles.com/forks.php3

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Stephen Greenwood said:

The fork on my "new" commute bike, a 1986 Bridgestone MB-2, has
insufficient vertical clearance to use fenders and 2.1-inch tires. I
would simply use smaller tires, but that's about the narrowest it gets
when it comes to studded tires in size ISO-559.

What about the Nokian 26x1.9 Mountain and Ground tires?
http://www.suomityres.fi/w160.html

-Vee

"You could take your fork to a frame builder and have new, longer
blades
brazed into your existing crown. A builder who knows their stuff can
set you up with the needed blade length while preserving the handling
the bike now has."

Great idea! Even better to just replace or rejigger the dropouts. Much
cheaper and the results will be better.

velodancer said:

Great idea! Even better to just replace or rejigger the dropouts [ to
get a longer fork]. Much cheaper and the results will be better.

Whoa! Careful with this idea! This will raise up the front end of
the bike relative to the rear (in addition to the fact that you are
adding gigantic tires), and that may drastically change the trail, and
therefore the handling, of your bicycle. Since you have a
quasi-collectable bike (Bridgestone MB-2), i think a cyclocross fork
from IRD or Surley is probably your best option ~ inexpensive, and
preserves the original fork ~ no regrets by the next owner of the bike.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA