carbon forks

[bonj2]

how much difference do they make to comfort, riding on rough road surfaces over again aluminium? I dont' mean full on potholes, obviously you're going to feel that whatever, but just slightly rough surfacing. I noticed that I stop pedalling often when there's a bit of that 'mottled' tarmac that's a bit vibratory and wondered whether carbon forks mitigate it.
Is it a worthwhile upgrade, possibly might spend up to a ton, and any thoughts on carbon steerer yay or nay.

 

[Dave5N]

Very well worth it, bonj.

One of the best upgrades to a cheap bike. Wheels next.

 

[Tynan]

got them on the new bike, along with a steel frame and carbon seat post and it's brilliant, the roads are completely different even with rock hard 25 tyres

 

[redfox]

Swapped the steel fork for carbon and changed to lighter wheels and tyres on my tourer for Audax use last year. The difference was obvious and immediate, without any extra effort I was probably about 20% quicker!

There are downsides however. The bumps and vibrations (over steel) are noticeable and you get used to it, so switching back for touring was hard work.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

if you have alu forks get carbon ones. my summer bike originally had alu forks, the carbon ones have smoothed things out very well. their only advantage over steel is in terms of weight.

if the frames alu, best get an alu steerer (and seatpost), as carbon can sieze in the alu frame.

 

[Smokin Joe]

if you have alu forks get carbon ones. my summer bike originally had alu forks, the carbon ones have smoothed things out very well. their only advantage over steel is in terms of weight.

if the frames alu, best get an alu steerer (and seatpost), as carbon can sieze in the alu frame.

The steerer does not come into contact with the frame.

There is no reason not to use a carbon seatpost if you use carbon assembly paste, any type of seatpost will seize if fitted dry.

 

[mr Mag00]

whats carbon assembly paste and where do you get it and should i have some down my seat post?

 

[llllllll]

Just to confuse the issue a bit, it does depend on the carbon forks you buy. My first set were Look HSC1s, very light even by todays standards and they gave a magic carpet ride. Unfortunately they also flexed unbeliveably. I took my bike down a steepish hill that had plenty of twists and turns and I could actually see the front wheel moving around, quicky went back to steel forks after that one. Nowadays my prefrence is for Time forks, not the lightest around, but very stiff (much stiffer than the aluminium forks they replaced), the downside is the ride isn't so great. Personally I'm happy with that compromise, but I'd avoid them if you're looking to improve ride quality. The best all round fork I've had is a Monoc (I think it's someone elses rebadged, probably Columbus but I'm not sure), not quite as stiff as the Time but has a much better ride. Not sure if they're still in business, the website hasn't been updated for years, but new ones turn up on Ebay every now and then.

Wouldn't bother with full carbon unless you're desperate to save the weight. A carbon steerer won't improve ride quality.

 

[Smokin Joe]

whats carbon assembly paste and where do you get it and should i have some down my seat post?

This is the stuff you want -

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=A0083

 

[bonj2]

ah ok, so pretty much unanimous then...
question now is which forks, and when to order them!

Swapped the steel fork for carbon and changed to lighter wheels and tyres on my tourer for Audax use last year. The difference was obvious and immediate, without any extra effort I was probably about 20% quicker!

There are downsides however. The bumps and vibrations (over steel) are noticeable and you get used to it, so switching back for touring was hard work.

not quite sure what you mean by that - do you mean you get MORE vibrations with steel forks, so when you switch back from carbon to steel it's hard work because you notice the increase in vibrations compared to what you're used to with the carbon ones?

 

[redfox]

ah ok, so pretty much unanimous then...
question now is which forks, and when to order them!

not quite sure what you mean by that - do you mean you get MORE vibrations with steel forks, so when you switch back from carbon to steel it's hard work because you notice the increase in vibrations compared to what you're used to with the carbon ones?

Yeah it is a bit sorry about that it doesn't read that well.

I meant that I noticed a lot more more vibrations on switching to carbon forks, but that was from steel which tends to absorb more than aluminium, so maybe it wont be so bad in your case.

The getting used to it bit referred to the extra speed I found after switching. It made going back to steel forks and heavier wheels for touring really hard.

 

[Abitrary]

When you have installed your new fork, experiment with how bendy yet strong it is by going over speed bumps.

Take the larger ones at a diagonal, an absolute joy.