# Single front fork, why?



## Beebo (1 Feb 2012)

I followed a bike this morning with a single front fork.

What is the benefit of this, is it just a fad?

It can't save much, if any, weight, and surely the single fork and the wheel hub have to be over engineered to take the higher forces. in the same way a convertible car is heavier than a normal car.

If it was any good wouldnt we all have one?


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## col (1 Feb 2012)

Lighter? unlikely as you said. Give me a normal set of forks, I wouldnt feel comfortable with a single. Must just be trying to stand out to sell? Cant see any benefit?


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## RecordAceFromNew (1 Feb 2012)

It's the Lefty.


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## Beebo (1 Feb 2012)

Right I have now read that whole lefty thread, and I am still none the wiser as to why? It just seems to be more expensive and provide no additional benefit other than visual.

But seeing as the topic has been covered before i will leave it there.


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## Cyclist33 (1 Feb 2012)

Not that I understand or agree with the "science" but I was told yonks ago that it's because the compression acting on each tine of a conventional fork will always be uneven as the bike is never wholly upright, but as conventional two-tine forks aren't differential, then the operation of the fork suffers, ie one side will always be over compressed and the other under compressed, around any given corner.

The "Lefty" or any other like the Headshock supposedly negates that as only one spring is taking the compression so there is no uneven stress.

Stu


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## tyred (1 Feb 2012)

It would make it child's play to fix a puncture or replace a tyre.


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## Norm (1 Feb 2012)

tyred said:


> It would make it child's play to fix a puncture or replace a tyre.


I think that this is the main benefit.

As for not feeling "comfortable" riding one, have a look at each corner of your car (or bus or lorry or train or even aircraft) and ask yourself if you ever feel uncomfortable riding in one of them.

I think that bikes and motorbikes are about the only form of mass transport on which the axle is usually secured at both ends, either side of the wheel.


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## GrumpyGregry (1 Feb 2012)

single sided rear swinging arms increasingly common on motorbikes.

EDIT: LOL. My strida has single sided frame fork front and rear!


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## TheDoctor (1 Feb 2012)

Mike Burrows has long been keen on cantilevered wheels.


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## Alembicbassman (1 Feb 2012)

Checkout the Giant Halfway - Mike Burrows design http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/halfway.1/7851/45477/


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## Sheffield_Tiger (2 Feb 2012)

Nothing mechanically wrong with a stub axle or cantilever suspended wheel

The problem is more with perception
And adding front panniers....


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## slowmotion (2 Feb 2012)

It's a gimmick. A bit of fun.


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## ufkacbln (2 Feb 2012)

tyred said:


> It would make it child's play to fix a puncture or replace a tyre.





User14044mountain said:


> Looks different.....and catches the eye. But then so does Russell Brand.


 
Russell Brand and punctures...

You evil bunch!


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## ufkacbln (2 Feb 2012)

The Halfway was redesigned with standard forks and rear triangle....... the later "normal" version sold better



PS.......... All trikes have single sided hubs!


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## Doseone (2 Feb 2012)

It's a USP for Cannondale. A friend of mine has one and loves it, but they just don't look right to me.


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## snailracer (3 Feb 2012)

Sheffield_Tiger said:


> Nothing mechanically wrong with a stub axle or cantilever suspended wheel
> 
> The problem is more with perception
> And adding front panniers....


Doesn't work with V-brakes or cantis.
Allegedly more aero.
Also, some MTB "twin" suspension forks actually only have a dummy second fork.


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## Old Plodder (5 Feb 2012)

I believe it was Mike Burrows' origional idea so that commuters could fix punctures more easily.


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## palinurus (5 Feb 2012)

I'd certainly consider having a commute bike with a some sort of monoblade type attachment front and rear for ease of tube-changing. I like those jobs with the structural chaincase sort of arrangement at the back. Neat.

By god do I dislike cleaning the chain in winter.


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## BCHBMZ (3 May 2016)

Beebo said:


> I followed a bike this morning with a single front fork.
> 
> What is the benefit of this, is it just a fad?
> 
> ...



_I do not normally enter online discussions, but felt I did have something to contribute to this particular subject. So, if I've violated some proper etiquette, my apologies... _
_ I am not an authority on the subject, but I saw a video on this subject sometime in the early nineties. It was demonstrating the single front fork in a high speed racing situation. As I recall, the idea was to reduce front wheel "chatter" as they went into a corner at a high speed. Chatter of course, maybe resulting in loss of control and accidents. They compared the two different "fork" styles, and the single front fork did allow the rider to hit the corners faster._ BCHBMZ


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## tommaguzzi (3 May 2016)

do a search for chris boardman's 1992 lotus track bike.
that had single fork blades front and rear.
it was banned because it worked so well


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## Smokin Joe (4 May 2016)

tommaguzzi said:


> do a search for chris boardman's 1992 lotus track bike.
> that had single fork blades front and rear.
> it was banned because it worked so well


Everything that worked well was banned by the UCI of old. They are being dragged slowly into the modern era, however.


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