Huge increase in price of Surly Ogre forks

[SimonCelsa]

I acquired a set of Surly Ogre 700C forks a couple of years ago to replace some cheap suspension forks. I recall paying around £70 from Charlie the Bikemonger, with similar prices listed by Triton Cycles & a few ebay sellers.

More recently I've been on the lookout for another set but see the price has increased dramatically to £160!!!

Did I get a lucky bargain, or are they making them out of platinum or similar now. £160, would anyone actually pay that for a set of steel forks. I'm quite happy with mine but would have lived with the old suspension ones if that were the price 2 years ago.

Any other bike components seen similar 100% increases in cost over such a short period, & why? Or am I just tight!?

[slowster]

Were the forks you bought were the older suspension corrected version? For the last couple of years the Ogre geometry and forks have been non-suspension corrected, which might not be what you need anyway. The latest version of the forks has a lot of extra braze-ons for cages and racks etc.

[SimonCelsa]

Yes,I think they were the older suspension corrected fork. However, they have all the same attachments it would seem as the non suspension corrected ones (disc brake caliper fitting, numerous mounts etc). Although I haven't compared the measurements accurately they look pretty identical. Glad I bought mine when I did.

[iandriver]

Doesn't look like anything specific to this fork. https://www.ison-distribution.com/engli ... type=brand
All surly forks appear to be into 3 figures, most quite comfortably. Doubt simple exchange rate differences could account for that kind of leap in price.

[simonhill]

For currency context.

I bought a new LHT frame just after Brexit vote, anticipating a sharp rise in price for new stock due to the pond slumping. Good call as the price went up from £400 to £480 - which was in line with the 20% drop in £ to $.

Your increase (c150%) is well outside this range, which may have risen to nearer 30% now.

[bgnukem]

Bought some Surly Disc trucker 26"-wheel forks myself about a year ago and cost £65 via a local bike shop.

[SimonCelsa]

So the next question is; does anyone have a 'used but good' Surly, or Kona P2, or similar fork with A-C of around 400mm more or less, 700C wheel size with vee brake pegs lurking in the back of the shed which they want shot of.........or does anyone know of a similarly strong offering from other sources? For a tandem with 250W hub motor.

[iandriver]

JDs tandem fork is 410mm axl to crown. https://www.tandems.co.uk/m4b0s7p232/OR ... -fork-700c

I know nothing about hub motors or their implications, sorry.

[brumster]

Surly stuff in general has increased in price in the last couple of years - Maybe the Trump effect? or import / export duties, or maybe just down to Ison Distribution who set the prices.

[pete75]

For currency context.

I bought a new LHT frame just after Brexit vote, anticipating a sharp rise in price for new stock due to the pond slumping. Good call as the price went up from £400 to £480 - which was in line with the 20% drop in £ to $.

Your increase (c150%) is well outside this range, which may have risen to nearer 30% now.

Early 2015 bought a new Surly LHT frame from Triton cycles for £249. They seem to have gone up a lot in four years - over 90%.

[Canuk]

So the next question is; does anyone have a 'used but good' Surly, or Kona P2, or similar fork with A-C of around 400mm more or less, 700C wheel size with vee brake pegs lurking in the back of the shed which they want shot of.........or does anyone know of a similarly strong offering from other sources? For a tandem with 250W hub motor.

There are loads of Kona P2 forks on ebay. I bought one for a Frankenbike I built for my son, witj massive clearances and 55mm tyres. It's a brilliant, superbly executed fork.

[SimonCelsa]

Thanks for the replies.

The JD Tandems offering looks good but is similar design to what I currently have.....the fork arms are a bit 'thick' and impinge on the OLN clearance. The Surly & Kona forks seem to be 'flatter' between dropouts which would give me a little bit more clearance for the hub motor;

I have about 1mm of clearance each side with judicious use of thin spacer washers but the rim is not quite central & I don't really want to faff around redishing a front wheel.

I check ebay for the Kona fork quite regularly & they don't seem to come up that often (in 700C with Vee brake pegs), unless I'm using the wrong search term.

[Canuk]

You could try ticking the 'worldwide' search box, I found plenty. Just remember if you're buying in the US you'll pay a small import tax, but not in Europe (not yet anyway!). I picked up a set from Hungary for around 35 euros plus ship. Its a good time to buy

[AndyA]

Identidi (house brand of Ison Distribution) make some forks that have a lot of clearance on the hub side. Not as pricey as a Surly but not cheap....
You could get a handbuilt fork from Bob Jackson for the Surly price!
https://www.identitibikes.com/products/Forks

[PDQ Mobile]

For currency context.

I bought a new LHT frame just after Brexit vote, anticipating a sharp rise in price for new stock due to the pond slumping. Good call as the price went up from £400 to £480 - which was in line with the 20% drop in £ to $.

Your increase (c150%) is well outside this range, which may have risen to nearer 30% now.

Early 2015 bought a new Surly LHT frame from Triton cycles for £249. They seem to have gone up a lot in four years - over 90%.

Interesting isn't it!
And yet only yesterday the official inflation figures were given as 2.something %.
It doesn't really add up, (no pun intended).