Alloy forks

[neilob]

What is the truth about alloy forks if you look beyond the knee-jerk opinions of buzz, compliance, and ruining the world economy? I have just bought a pair of NOS Kinesis 1-inch alloy forks to convert my elderly titanium frame to threadless and at the same time lift the front end up to suit my ageing body. The forks are unpainted and will look the part at least but what do you experts think of its ride potential? I was careful about making sure trail was the same as the Ti fork it will replace. For instance, is a well designed high quality alloy fork better than a poorly designed carbon fork? I just had this thing that I wanted to keep at least one bike without carbon (apart from my Thorn tourer and retro 753 bike that is). I value the expert inputs I hope to get and hope my choice will not prove to be derided.

[fastpedaller]

I think I know the answer, but when you say 'lift the front up' I hope you mean the fork length from wheel centre to headset lower bearing is the same as before? and you're 'lifting the front up' by virtue of the threadless and spacers. I'd also avoid carbon, but then I'm a bit of a luddite.

[neilob]

Yes, my intention is to raise the bars while keeping the fundamental geometry the same as before.

[tim-b]

Hi
The truth is that nobody can tell you about the ride potential of those forks unless they have first-hand experience
Enjoy!
Regards
tim-b

[ANTONISH]

After an "off" a few years ago where I damaged the handlebars and buckled the front wheel the carbon front forks looked OK but I didn't feel confident in their integrity.
I changed the front forks for aluminium.
I don't really notice any difference in the ride quality - maybe because I changed to 28mm tyres.

[Si]

When you say 'alloy' do you actually mean aluminium (alu)? If steel i should get some paint on them before using them. Indeed i would also paint alu even though it doesnt rust like steel it can be damaged by road salt etc.

As to whether a metal fork can be better than a carbon one, certainly. Different materials can work better for different applications, plus, as others have said, design and build quslity as important as material.

[foxyrider]

A good Al fork can be good and not be noticeably that different to other metal forks. OTOH a bad one could make things pretty horrible. The extra height and drop bars may alleviate some of the potential extra road buzz.

Pretty much all metal forks suffer some buzz IME, how much and whether it's liveable will vary depending on material and fork design. Modern 'cast' Al forks can be very good, cheaper 'tubed' examples are often horrible.