Looking for a steel fork - 26" wheels

[bgnukem]

Hi all.

Just looking for suggestions. I've decided to ditch the front disc brake and steel fork (Surly Disc Trucker) on my commuting bike as I'm fed up with the harsh ride, which is noticeably worse with the disc brake fork which I assume is a fair bit stiffer than normal.

Am looking for a replacement steel fork with a bit of 'spring', so something made of decent steel like 531, 631 or equivalent.

I need something for a 1 1/8" aheadset (same size bearings, not tapered), 380-390mm crown race to dropouts, with canti/V-brake bosses, At least 300mm steerer length, and conventional 9mm axle not thru-axle. St John Street make Reynolds 853 steel forks that might fit but at £270 they are a tad pricy I think for a commuting bike.

Does anyone know of anything else for sale at the moment, or perhaps someone has a decent secondhand fork for sale?

Cheers,

Ben

[thatsnotmyname]

Most bike shops should be able to source something like that pretty easily. I had a road-going 26" MTB that I replaced the suspension fork with a cro-mo steel fork with canti/v-brake bosses. I think I ordered mine through the RJ Chicken catalogue, or similar, via the LBS.

[531colin]

Hi all.

Just looking for suggestions. I've decided to ditch the front disc brake and steel fork (Surly Disc Trucker) on my commuting bike as I'm fed up with the harsh ride, which is noticeably worse with the disc brake fork which I assume is a fair bit stiffer than normal.

Am looking for a replacement steel fork with a bit of 'spring', so something made of decent steel like 531, 631 or equivalent.

I need something for a 1 1/8" aheadset (same size bearings, not tapered), 380-390mm crown race to dropouts, with canti/V-brake bosses, At least 300mm steerer length, and conventional 9mm axle not thru-axle. St John Street make Reynolds 853 steel forks that might fit but at £270 they are a tad pricy I think for a commuting bike.

Does anyone know of anything else for sale at the moment, or perhaps someone has a decent secondhand fork for sale?

Cheers,

Ben

You would be much better off fitting a light, supple tyre and using a sensible pressure.
I can just about tell the difference between a disc fork and a 631 fork....631 fork blades the taper starts just about at the canti. bosses, whereas 531 starts tapering lower down, and so is thicker for most of the length. From memory, 531 and 631 are the same dimensions to fit a standard crown, and similar diameter at the dropout end. I think the wall thickness is the same, but in any case stiffness is determined by diameter more than wall thickness. You can find all the numbers for Reynolds tubes on a website(?) called torch and file
You can make as much difference to the hand vibration by fitting a lightweight non-oversize handlebar as you can by messing about fitting a different fork.

[PT1029]

If you are after some damping, try one of these :
https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem ?
Also available here in the UK https://www.sigmasports.com/ but out of stock.

A friend in my club bought one (ache from carpel tunnel syndrome), as a result of his 2 other people in the club bought one too, all 3 very happy with it.
Probably an easier fit than forks and brakes!

[bgnukem]

You would be much better off fitting a light, supple tyre and using a sensible pressure.
I can just about tell the difference between a disc fork and a 631 fork....631 fork blades the taper starts just about at the canti. bosses, whereas 531 starts tapering lower down, and so is thicker for most of the length. From memory, 531 and 631 are the same dimensions to fit a standard crown, and similar diameter at the dropout end. I think the wall thickness is the same, but in any case stiffness is determined by diameter more than wall thickness. You can find all the numbers for Reynolds tubes on a website(?) called torch and file
You can make as much difference to the hand vibration by fitting a lightweight non-oversize handlebar as you can by messing about fitting a different fork.

Hi Colin.

I am currently running a Schwalbe Durano 1.35" front slick tyre at 58psi so already fairly soft. Unfortunately I need to use a riser bar on this bike to get the bars high enough (also with a 40° stem) which means I had no choice but to use an oversized 31.8mm diameter bar/stem.

I notice a lot more fore/aft movement of the front wheel axle of my old Dawes (531ST forks) and a comfier ride than with the Surly forks on the commuter bike, which led me to believe that a flexier fork might help the ride quality. The Surly fork is particularly harsh, even compared with the Mercian-built steel fork I had fitted previously, which had a solid crown and itself was pretty stiff.

[bgnukem]

If you are after some damping, try one of these :
https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem ?
Also available here in the UK https://www.sigmasports.com/ but out of stock.

A friend in my club bought one (ache from carpel tunnel syndrome), as a result of his 2 other people in the club bought one too, all 3 very happy with it.
Probably an easier fit than forks and brakes!

Interesting piece of kit! However, I don't think I'd be able to get the bars high enough even with their 100mm 30° version, as I currently have a 150mm 40° stem fitted, plus riser bars.

[hamster]

Carbon MTB fork from www.carboncycles.cc could work. It's noticeable more comfortable than a triple butted Kona P2 fork, which would be my other recommendation. There are plenty of P2s on eBay.
I've used one of their V-brake EXotic carbon forks for 3 years now on my singlespeed off road. It's stood up to everything - and I like hopping cattle grids and obstacles (but not the big air jump bike thing).

[RickH]

I am currently running a Schwalbe Durano 1.35" front slick tyre at 58psi so already fairly soft.

58psi doesn't seem "fairly soft" to me (also seems very precise).

I only use 35psi in my front with 38mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers. At least that is what I inflate them to & they are probably nearer 30 by the time I get round to checking them again. Additionally I'm probably the opposite to you in riding position - drop bars with the tops below saddle height - so probably greater proportion of weight on the front.

I would suggest trying around 40psi & see what that does.

[bgnukem]

Carbon MTB fork from http://www.carboncycles.cc could work. It's noticeable more comfortable than a triple butted Kona P2 fork, which would be my other recommendation. There are plenty of P2s on eBay.
I've used one of their V-brake EXotic carbon forks for 3 years now on my singlespeed off road. It's stood up to everything - and I like hopping cattle grids and obstacles (but not the big air jump bike thing).

Thanks. Will take a look. It's easier to get hold of carbon these days than decent steel.

[bgnukem]

I am currently running a Schwalbe Durano 1.35" front slick tyre at 58psi so already fairly soft.

58psi doesn't seem "fairly soft" to me (also seems very precise).

I only use 35psi in my front with 38mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers. At least that is what I inflate them to & they are probably nearer 30 by the time I get round to checking them again. Additionally I'm probably the opposite to you in riding position - drop bars with the tops below saddle height - so probably greater proportion of weight on the front.

I would suggest trying around 40psi & see what that does.

Crikey, 35psi sounds very low! I usually run 80-85psi in the 32mm tyres on my winter bike.

It's a compromise between rolling resistance and comfort (an no pinch flats, given the state of the roads). However, I would like the forks to flex a bit rather than relying on the front tyre for all of the shock absorption.

A lot of modern bikes seem to have straight bladed, stiff forks with oversized headset bearings and stem/bars etc. but my commuter bike's 20 years old and I don't want to follow suit!

[RickH]

Crikey, 35psi sounds very low! I usually run 80-85psi in the 32mm tyres on my winter bike.

It's a compromise between rolling resistance and comfort (an no pinch flats, given the state of the roads). However, I would like the forks to flex a bit rather than relying on the front tyre for all of the shock absorption.

A lot of modern bikes seem to have straight bladed, stiff forks with oversized headset bearings and stem/bars etc. but my commuter bike's 20 years old and I don't want to follow suit!

We only use around 70psi or do in the 32s on the tandem & that's with 2 adults aboard. Both that, a Cannondale, & my Kona Sutra have stiff, straight forks & both are comfortable to ride because I've no problem letting the tyres do the majority of the suspension work. The Kona does tend to see a lot more rough terrain than the tandem, to which it is well suited.