Fork offset

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neilob
Posts: 698
Joined: 31 Jan 2008, 3:58pm
Location: Notts/Lincs borders

Fork offset

Post by neilob »

I hope this is a sensible question....I have a really lovely titanium bike I bought recently which spends most of its life now as a turbo queen. The majority of my cycling outdoors is on ebikes due to health issues. But today I decided to ride the titanium bike and covered (a fairly slow) 35 miles. It was really comfy, and I resolved to ride it more often until I discovered a fatal flaw. I almost came off when my toes caught the wheel due to overlap. The carbon forks are straight blade. Is there any way I can replace these with forks having a slight offset without compromising handling and safety? It needs about 10 to 15mm max to be sure.
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
Brucey
Posts: 46526
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Fork offset

Post by Brucey »

you can increase the fork offset by 10-15mm and the trail will reduce by about the same amount. There are two main problems with this

1) you will end up with 'low trail' steering which you will either love or hate and
2) you may have difficulty in finding a fork with the offset that you need; you might have to have one made.

FWIW toe overlap is something you can get used to. I rode for years on the road with bikes having toe overlap and a fixed gear, which is an altogether different scale of problem.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
neilob
Posts: 698
Joined: 31 Jan 2008, 3:58pm
Location: Notts/Lincs borders

Re: Fork offset

Post by neilob »

Thanks (as always!) Brucey. The concern I have is that my blood cancer has left me with brittle bones, amongst other things. I can’t afford any risk of coming off because of the damage I might do to myself.....selfish I know! And after 50 years in the saddle, getting used to a new technique might be difficult. Perhaps it should just go back on the turbo which is a sensible plan. The forks are 1” which compounds the problem of sourcing the right pair, and I don’t really want to invest lots into a bike that won’t get much use when I already have too many I don’t ride. N+1? N+5 more like.
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
Brucey
Posts: 46526
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Fork offset

Post by Brucey »

actually in 1" threaded you may be able to find a suitable fork reasonably easily, provided you are OK with used forks not new. You will also be able to have forks made to your specification. I'd suggest trying a low trail bike to see if you like it or not first.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
neilob
Posts: 698
Joined: 31 Jan 2008, 3:58pm
Location: Notts/Lincs borders

Re: Fork offset

Post by neilob »

Sadly, 1-inch threadless which I think are much rarer. But I’m sure that some of my other bikes will have lower trail anyway. Thanks again.
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
rjb
Posts: 7986
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 10:25am
Location: Somerset (originally 60/70's Plymouth)

Re: Fork offset

Post by rjb »

it is possible to use a threaded fork with a aheadset using a BBB aheadset adapter.
viewtopic.php?t=53559 look at crepello's post :wink:
Heres one but other shops have them as well, https://www.bikester.co.uk/bike-parts/s ... gJstPD_BwE
Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X2, Raleigh 20 stowaway X2, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840, Giant Bowery, Apollo transition. :D
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