Forks

[baldycyclist]

Stripped down possibly for a respray for a winter commuter

I want to swap the sus forks for non sus ones

also - if I buy some for my 26'' wheels will they have the thingy in the top?

and the runner at the bottom of the tube at the top?

 

[HovR]

When replacing suspension forks for rigid ones you want to make sure that you get forks which are corrected for the amount of suspension you are replacing (i.e. if you are replacing 100mm suspension forks, you want to make sure your new rigid forks are corrected for this). Otherwise your headtube angle will be altered, effecting the steering of the bike, and the bottom bracket will be lowered making pedal strike more of a possibility.

If you have very low travel suspension you may get away with using regular rigid forks, although this is dependant on your frame geometry.

When you buy a new fork it won't have the crown race fitted. You can take it off your current fork using either the proper tool, or a flat bladed screwdriver and a hammer, carefully tapping the bottom lip around the whole circumference until it is free. You can either re-fit it with the proper tool, or "tap" it back on making sure not to damage the bearing surface. Your LBS will have the proper tools if you don't want to do it yourself.

You will almost certainly have to cut down the steerer tube of your new fork to the correct size (same as the old one). To do this just clamp the steerer tube carefully in a vice (might want to wrap it in a protective cloth) and cut it with a hacksaw, making sure your cut is as straight as possible.

The star nut also won't be fitted in the steerer tube. You can get a new star nut from Halfords for under £2, probably similar at your LBS. You can fit it yourself by putting a bolt in the centre and hammering it in (making sure you are fitting it as straight as possible), or you can take it to your LBS and they will use the correct tool.

 

[baldycyclist]

cheers H
The travel on the forks was not much - certainly not 100mm
glad I can buy a star thingy.
crown race (thanks for the terminology) Was not sure it was meant to come off so will have a go now.
the outter diamter of the steerer is a little more than 1 inch at about 42 mm - is this standard?
Steerer is 200 mm
crown to drop outs is about 16.5 inches/42 cm uncompressed if that helps anything

 

[HovR]

cheers H
The travel on the forks was not much - certainly not 100mm
glad I can buy a star thingy.
crown race (thanks for the terminology) Was not sure it was meant to come off so will have a go now.
the outter diamter of the steerer is a little more than 1 inch at about 42 mm - is this standard?
Steerer is 200 mm
crown to drop outs is about 16.5 inches/42 cm uncompressed if that helps anything

The trick with taking the crown race off without the proper tool is lots of little taps, evenly around the circumference.

Your current fork is the 1 and 1/8th of an inch size, which is the standard for most threadless forks - You'll need to make sure your star nut is the correct size for this size of steerer (should say it on the packet).

If you haven't already got a new fork, it's best to try and get a fork with as close of an axle-to-crown measurement as you already have for the sake of retaining the bikes geometry, although being a little bit off either way shouldn't affect things too much. On-One do a 420mm axle-to-crown rigid fork which should be a perfect replacement if you've taken the measurements correctly.

 

[baldycyclist]

crikey they are expensive!
I think the steerer is a little too long
will have a look on ebay
thanks for the advice so far

 

[HovR]

crikey they are expensive!
I think the steerer is a little too long

The forks designed as mountain bike replacements will always be a bit more expensive than your cheap-from-china ones I think. Also, the steerer tube will almost certainly always be too long on every new fork. They're made long and you cut them down to your size when you receive them.

Here's some 20 squid cheaper, only 7mm off the axle to crown measurement. You'll have to wait for shipping from China though.

I got a pair of rigid forks for £30 from my LBS about a week ago. Might want to ask in-store and see what they have.

 

[baldycyclist]

they look quite nice
I take it there are plugs on the brake bosses?
Now - white or black? depends on what I paint my beast?
Do you think a normal hacksaw will be good enough to cut down the steerer?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Nice to see a workbench that's as big a sh!thole as mine.

Well done.

 

[baldycyclist]

yep Joe
the great thing is the wife stays away from it so at least I know that everything is on it that came off the bike!!!

 

[HovR]

they look quite nice
I take it there are plugs on the brake bosses?
Now - white or black? depends on what I paint my beast?
Do you think a normal hacksaw will be good enough to cut down the steerer?

Yep, those plugs are covering the brake bosses. A normal hacksaw should work fine to cut down the steerer tube, that's all I use - Just make sure the cut is nice and straight.

 

[baldycyclist]

ok - might take them into work for the use of a proper vice
I have spacers on the one I am taking off - is it best to keep it longer than shorter?

 

[HovR]

ok - might take them into work for the use of a proper vice
I have spacers on the one I am taking off - is it best to keep it longer than shorter?

If you cut it longer than your current steerer you'll have to buy more spacers. If you cut it shorter you'll have to use less spacers. Cut it exactly the same and you can use exactly the same amount of spacers. I'd personally cut it exactly the same length as your current steerer unless you felt your riding position was too aggressive.

Using a proper bench mounted vice is advised.

 

[baldycyclist]

cheers H
two weeks delivery - not bad I suppose from the far east!

 

[02GF74]

if you want to save money, you can knock the start nut out of the fork steerer using a tube and hammer.

 

[baldycyclist]

i have to find a tube of the right diamter