Carbon Forks for Steel framed bike

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WrightsW5
Posts: 851
Joined: 1 Jun 2010, 10:37pm
Location: Saddle City

Re: Carbon Forks for Steel framed bike

Post by WrightsW5 »

Yes, I could never tell anyone to buy something that could maybe kill them. Also, there's the difference between the pro rider who only has to say the word and mechanics will fit a new fork and the everyday person who has to watch their budget and may ride the same fork for years.
Tonyf33
Posts: 3926
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 3:31pm
Location: Letchworth N.Herts

Re: Carbon Forks for Steel framed bike

Post by Tonyf33 »

My Raleigh Titanium had a very lightweight 1" straight bladed race fork (615g) swapped it for a pair of full CF Mizuno's (430g uncut) about 6 years ago. Identical rake but what actually made the real difference for me in terms of comfort was fitting CF drop bars (Done in part due to rugby injuries to both shoulders)
The only steel bike with CF forks I have is a Gitane Vitus triple butted with original fit Time Composite CF forks. The bike is roughly 17 years of age. I don't ride it that often and have only owned it for 3 years but I'm 100kg, I don't have any issues with them at all. So longevity doesn't seem to be much of a problem even with the less strong earlier CF forks?

Lastly my day bike is a spesh globe pro, ally triangle/CF stays, forks, seatpost as standard & I fitted a full carbon bottechia flat bar that certainly takes the buzz out of the road. Whilst the FACT carbon forks on the specialized are probably not much lighter than a heavy touring fork I have ultimate confidence in the bike and have come down very fast descents over uneven ground with a reasonable load.
I still like my all steel bikes too, they just ride differently and no less enjoyable :D

Lastly, 1" aheadsets are widely available despite an earlier caution, Tange & M-Part in a quick web search and there's a fair few new ones on ebay starting at £10 BIN including postage.
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