Looking for new forks

cookiemonster

I had a back operation recently, alls well but I'll need to sit a bit straighter on the bike for a while. I've a Cayo which had a 6 degree stem giving a drop from saddle to bars of 8cm. I really need to get this up to 4cm or so. I've fitted a very nasty looking 35 degree/130mm stem from a hybrid, crafted from wrought iron, which will get me moving again, but its not a long term solution. The steerer on the forks is cut pretty low, even at an 8cm drop about 1/4 of the stem was above the steerer. I played with the idea of selling the cayo and getting something like the roubaix; thats probably the ideal solution, but it seems drastic and a bit of nasty financial hit given I've only lightly used the cayo.

I'm now thinking of getting some new forks that will come with a 30cm steerer tube. I can go back to my 6 degree stem and just use a bunch more spacers to get the height I need before sawing off the tube.

So, three question areas

First - this is sensible isnt it? I'm not going down a really silly route here? I need to raise the bars fairly drastically and that means either extreme angled stems, or getting a longer steerer tube?

Second, what am I looking for? From the wiggle site it looks like there's a 39mm trail on the forks with a 73.5 degree angle on the head tube. Fork manufacturers quote rakes for their forks (usually 42, 43mm); but how do they quote without a rake (or do they assume a standard 73 degree or something)? I'm happy with the cayo's handling - I could live with slightly more trail, but not less. Whats the measurements that I should be asking for?

Third: makes & models. This is used as a training / sportive bike, so I'm not looking for super aero forks. I'm not even sure I need full carbon - an ally steerer would be fine. But... as I'm changing I should probably upgrade The only fork I've heard about as a replacement is the reynolds ouzo - would that be too stiff? are there others I should consider? (maybe cheaper...)

Umm. fourth is - are there any tricks to replacing forks, anything to look out for or is a case of unbolt everything, swap them over and bolt it back together?

cheers

Jon

Garybee

Sounds pretty sensible to me.

I've not looked at the rake on any of the bikes i've built up. I just assumed that this was something that would be pretty standard between forks and left it at that.

One disadvantage of forks with a carbon steerer is that you can't use a standard star nut in the steerer tube, you have to use an expanding bung. These aren't quite as secure as a star nut but are still fine if assembled correctly. I fitted ITM 4EVER forks to my current race bike. They're light, stiff and only cost about £50. You can save another 100g or so but you will probably end up paying upwards of £200 to do so. Still, if you're not racing then the bike's less likely to get chucked down the road.

As for tricks, it's not complicated, just be careful when you cut the steerer down. To make fitting the crown race easier some now come with a small gap, you can fit these without any tools at all.

acorn_user

Actually, you need an alloy steerer*, because most carbon steerers limit how far the tube can stick out above the headset. My stem is on the limit for my Look fork.

*Alpha Q make a fork for tandems with no limit, but Alpha Q forks are pricey.

Monty Dog

How much extension of the fork steerer are you planning to extend above the headset? May be worth checking as anything more than 2-3" is getting pretty long and starts putting strain on the steerer. If keeping the old headset, then getting the crown race off the fork can be tricky - many have split races to make the job of fitting and removal easier. Most road forks are about 43-45mm rake - only track forks tend to come shorter.

cookiemonster

cheers folks

There's currently about 2" of steerer clear of the headset, I reckon I need maybe 3.5". So, tall but not silly so. Most forks come with 30cm steerer tube it seems - which would give 5" clear roughly on my bike, plenty of cutting down required

mmm... actually choosing a set seems to be a bit tough with no reviews to speak of. I guess bikes just come with their manufacturers fork and thats what people keep. Seems to be a toss up between ITM and kinesis in the sub-£100 bracket.

Tough one...

aracer

In actual fact, for a given bar position you put no more strain on the steerer having a flat stem and a load of spacers than you do having a high rise stem without spacers, since the steerer can't tell what's in between your hands and the point of maximum load on the steerer (the point where it meets the top headset race).

Of course the better engineering solution is a high rise stem rather than a load of spacers anyway (you can get decent quality stems like this). Though obviously the fashion police will get you.

gundersen

You could keep your present setup and just buy a "Look Ergo adjustable stem"

That would mean that you could lower it in the future.