Another fork thread

[martinn]

Similar to the poster in the spa crash damage thread, I have been looking for a new fork with mudguard clearance in 1 1/8 dimensions, and long drop brakes.
There doesn't appear to be a huge amount of off the shelf choice.
In full Carbon there is the Whisky 7RD, nice but pricey, or the Columbus "hive", which is cheaper, but not cheap, but both are not easy to find in stock. I suspect the Hive is discontinued
In mixed carbon/ Alloy, there are a few more, but most seem very similar in spec and looks, and if I was cynical I would say they are all produced in the same factory, or with the same plans... these are mostly around £100

Spa also do one to fit to their Audax bikes

in Steel there is cro moly forks, but most seem to have low rider bosses or are for V or canti brakes.
Then there is the offerings noted up thread from SJS/ Thorn, giving two options, the 853 steel being around twice the price of the other one.

My reason for needing a new fork are less catastrophic, but I am concerned enough not to want to ride the bike as is.

I have read much...... and tried to separate fact from fiction, which is difficult.
my choice I am trying to make is between
Steel vs Carbon
Carbon VS mixed
"plain" steel vs "enhanced" steel.

My issue I think is lateral flex. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117674&start=60 for the back ground,
but essentially I can cause my front rim to move greater than 5mm deflection from a center point, this was three different wheels, which were fine on an old 531 steel fork... The fork in question was a Kinesis dC07, alloy/ carbon blades, and even when new I could get a small deflection at the rim 2-3mm, this was with Mavic wheels with a low spoke count. The current wheels have a 28 hole spoke count and are hand built. The deflection with these was much less.

The bike in questions is an 853 steel frame, and gets used for hard and fast short rides, as well as audax style rides, with minimal kit. Mudguards and 28mm tyres required.
so my questions are do I need a stiffer fork, do I need a springier fork, and which materiel would give me that ?

Many thanks

Martin