Carbon forks on mountain bikes

[Yellow Fang]

Has anyone fitted carbon forks, such as these On-One forks, to their mountain bike in preference to suspension forks? I'm considering swapping over my steel forks on my On-One Inbred with either their carbon forks or suspension forks, but I'm not sure which to choose.

 

[Globalti]

Yes, I fitted some forks from here: http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=43& as temporary replacements for my Rebas, which leaked from the day I fitted them. The Rebas are repaired but still lying in my garage because I like the carbon forks so much.

I can ride anything reasonable that the others can ride with suspension, I just need to take care to pick a good line. They are remarkably comfortable on most trails and the only time I notice the lack of suspension is when I bump down a kerb or hit a biggish rock or a deep undulation on a smooth surface like a grassy field. They flex like a flexy thing to absorb trail roughness but don't feel sloppy or imprecise in their handling. The brake caliper simply swopped straight over, even the combination of spacer washers is the same. They cost about £85.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Good, that's want I want to hear.

 

[lukesdad]

I have had my pace RC30s for 10 years now on and off my XC bike. If you do long rides on stuff that isn t too technical Marathons for example they are excellent.

 

[BenDeason]

I also have a pair of paces and they've been great! I wasn't too confident about their strength but i took it for a spin the other day managed to hit a jump by mistake and i didn't snap it and eat dirt like i had thought i might have. mind you i won't be trying it again any time soon.

 

[KenG]

Got the On-One carbons on my Inbred, love em!, i was a bit dubious about fitting them but Ive never looked back, as long as you're not bouncing them off rocks or jumping them i reckon they'll be fine.

 

[hotmetal]

I've been out with some of the BOB club guys in Swinley Forest and some of the serious old-school XCers with more skill than me have ridden just fine on rigid bikes (think Jones Ti and the like). For me though, I like the benefits suspension brings enough to accept the extra weight and cost. My bike is a Jekyll with a Lefty.

The thing that puts me off carbon frames/forks for mountainbikes is what happens if you crash and a rock scores the carbon. Not so worried about the overall strength (my whole road bike is carbon) but it's just whether taking carbon into an environment where gashes are likely is ok. If the carbon fibre weave gets scored there's a weak point, and having snapped a fork before (not carbon!) I can tell you it's not something to be repeated. So the question really is "how likely am I to heavily scratch my fork?" If you think it's unlikely then why not - it's a really nice looking fork.

However, I therefore have NO direct experience of taking carbon off-road so you may as well take more notice of those above who have. The guy in the link you posted seems to suggest that his has been crash damaged and is still OK so maybe my concerns are unfounded.

 

[Bensbikespares]

I bet ill be able to break a set of carbons in a day (when i can be botherd and if you pay for them and i get compo) LOL

 

[Globalti]

The carbon forks I have fitted are pretty robust, doing endos or stoppies they feel absolutely fine and I imagine the walls are quite thick. If I fell hard enough to damage them I reckon they would be the least of my concerns.

 

[GilesM]

Last summer I fitted some Nuke Proof Carbon forks to my other halfs mtb, no problems, she isn't into serious off orad stuff, so they are perfect for her type of riding (lanes, tracks, fire roads, and none rocky paths), her only comment about the new rigid forks was that they don't sap her strength when she's climbing.

 

[GaryA]

What sort of weight difference are we looking at here?

Since I'm mainly XC these days I reckon thay would be a sane way to go when my present marro x-comps finally die (no complaints BTW; they are a cracking fork)

 

[GilesM]

What sort of weight difference are we looking at here?

Since I'm mainly XC these days I reckon thay would be a sane way to go when my present marro x-comps finally die (no complaints BTW; they are a cracking fork)

The Nukeproof are about 0.8kg, so approx half the weight of a good set of 100mm travel suspension forks.