More comfort with a carbon fork ?

JamesB

I`m thinking of changing existing steel, disc front fork for a carbon disc mount fork; existing fork does feel a bit harsh (Cotic)---just wonder if anyone has made similar upgrade to carbon and found a more comfortable front end to bike ? And if yes, what is recommended (not that`s there a great choice @ £150 market point

jordan_217

JamesB wrote:

I`m thinking of changing existing steel, disc front fork for a carbon disc mount fork; existing fork does feel a bit harsh (Cotic)---just wonder if anyone has made similar upgrade to carbon and found a more comfortable front end to bike ? And if yes, what is recommended (not that`s there a great choice @ £150 market point

I swapped the alloy Kona P2 forks on my Kona CX bike with some Kinesis Pure CX forks. I use the bike mainly for commuting. Its made a significant difference, the front end feels much smoother and more nimble. The bike feels much nicer now, especially at soaking up the lumps and bumps during off-road rides. Fat Birds in Norfolk are worth checking:

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/601/forks---c ... -700c.aspx

JamesB

Good to hear that made noticeable difference !; however teh pure CX fork doesn`t take discs and as with all other stockists the other Kinesis fork, with mudguard eyes is out of stock

Anyone tried Nashbar stuff from USA ? as their fork seems to fit my needs too (if I can convince myself that there will be improved comfort)

sungod

in case you hadn't checked, make sure the new fork has the same geometry as the old one - assuming you want the handling to stay the same

elderone

I changed to a carbon fork on my carrera winter bike and the difference was amazing tbh.well worth the upgrade.
I got it off a member here and was new for a great price.So check the adds,you never know.

JamesB

in case you hadn't checked, make sure the new fork has the same geometry as the old one - assuming you want the handling to stay the same

Yes, I`d been keeping an eye on this but alternatives are 5 - 10mm longer and with up to 3 mm less rake so not sure how eg a 10 mm longer form with 3 mm less rake would compare !

Monty Dog

The increased fork length will increase the headtube angle by half-a-degree, slowing the steering down a little as well as raising the bars. The reduced rake will increase trail and make the steering more stable too - whilst it may be noticeable to start with it's unlikely to make a huge difference to how the bike feels.

Sprool

I can't get my head round the comments that carbon forks soak up the bumps better - isn't carbon fibre supposed to be much stiffer? How does that work?

Daz555

Sprool wrote:

I can't get my head round the comments that carbon forks soak up the bumps better - isn't carbon fibre supposed to be much stiffer? How does that work?

Carbon can be moulded into forms which are stiff in some places/directions but compliant in others

JamesB

Went for Carbon Cycle Exotic disc fork, not the lightest but has really smoothed out front end and cut down teh road rattle with previous straight bladed steel fork.

I can't get my head round the comments that carbon forks soak up the bumps better - isn't carbon fibre supposed to be much stiffer? How does that work?

So carbon, despite its potential stiffness can be worked to be compliant where required as I have now found in a head to head comparison

Bar Shaker

A bent or swept carbon fork will be bendy, just like a bent ali or steel fork, just a bit less so for the same weight. Any flex (and compliance) will be down to the shape, not the material.

A good property of carbon is the lack transfer of high frequency road buzz (think of riding a Power Plate for 5 hours) but this occurs over the entire fame and just changing the fork will have limited effect. On a crosser, road buzz would be less of an issue anyway, due to the bigger tyres.

Emperor's clothes?

t4tomo

Bar Shaker wrote:

A bent or swept carbon fork will be bendy, just like a bent ali or steel fork, just a bit less so for the same weight. Any flex (and compliance) will be down to the shape, not the material.

A good property of carbon is the lack transfer of high frequency road buzz (think of riding a Power Plate for 5 hours) but this occurs over the entire fame and just changing the fork will have limited effect. On a crosser, road buzz would be less of an issue anyway, due to the bigger tyres.

Emperor's clothes?

Pollocks.

Contact points makes biggest difference, front forks, seat post, rear stays. Carbon forks and a carbon seat post will give you almost as much benefit in terms of road buz reduction as a full carbon frame/forks. The full carbon will gove you more stiffness and a bit less weight and more bling factor on top.

That said steel, particulalry good quality, does a similar job but flexex more, although OP may have had Alu rather than steel forks, or they maky have been low grade steel.

JamesB

Steel forks but straight with no curve built into them apart from an offset at fork crown.

Unlike olden days where steel forks were built with a pronounced taper and curve on lower quarter of fork, which if you watched them was where majority flex and compliance occurred, teh steel forks I replaced had very little visible flex, hence quite jarring. Carbon forks now in place have lower section swept and tapered which I believe mirrors better teh action of olden days steel forks.

And yes I agree material quality has a great deal to add too. Seeing set Gios steel forks last year in action on a really good steel framed bike just showed how compliant they could be, tips of forks moving up and down like a tuning fork

btw

On a crosser, road buzz would be less of an issue anyway, due to the bigger tyres.

using 25 mm road tyres as bike built for winter useage

cougie

t4tomo wrote:

Bar Shaker wrote:

A bent or swept carbon fork will be bendy, just like a bent ali or steel fork, just a bit less so for the same weight. Any flex (and compliance) will be down to the shape, not the material.

A good property of carbon is the lack transfer of high frequency road buzz (think of riding a Power Plate for 5 hours) but this occurs over the entire fame and just changing the fork will have limited effect. On a crosser, road buzz would be less of an issue anyway, due to the bigger tyres.

Emperor's clothes?

Pollocks.

Contact points makes biggest difference, front forks, seat post, rear stays. Carbon forks and a carbon seat post will give you almost as much benefit in terms of road buz reduction as a full carbon frame/forks. The full carbon will gove you more stiffness and a bit less weight and more bling factor on top.

That said steel, particulalry good quality, does a similar job but flexex more, although OP may have had Alu rather than steel forks, or they maky have been low grade steel.

I swapped my groupset and wheels from a 653 frame with carbon forks to a full carbon TCR - the difference was light and day. Whether this was to the design or the material - I'd not know but I was staggered by how much it smoothed out the bumps and grids.