Rigid Lightweight Forks For Specialized Hardrock???

BlockABoots

Hi all, i have a Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc 2011 (grey & black) bike which has the front suspension forks as 95% of my riding (to and from work) is all path and road cycling i am looking at swapping out the suspension forks for some rigid forks to cut down on the bike weight. Im guessing that the fitted suspension forks are probably the heaviest thing on the bike (any ideas how heavy these fitted forks actually are?) and seeing as i have them constantly locked out there no point in having them and probably wont miss them.

Now i know you can easily spend over £250+ on forks but as im not a massive bike head im not wanting to spend anymore than that, under £100 and the cheaper the better but not at the expense of weight and quality.

Can anyone recommend me some forks that are lightweight and match the colour scheme of my bike (all black or black and grey) also any other suggestion for making the bike better for pavement cycling im looking at changing the tries but not sure whats a good type to go for!?

Thanks for any help

jimothy78

For forks look at "Mosso" ( on ebay), eXotic ( www.carboncycles.cc) and on-one.co.uk for various options from 50% to 150% of your ideal budget. Some are as light as 750g (whereas yours will be closer to 1900g, IIRC)

As for tyres, if it's almost all paved surfaces then full slicks will be fine, but if there's occasional rougher or looser surfaces involved then a semi-slick like the Schwalbe Furious Fred might be a good bet.

BlockABoots

thanks for the suggestions

I was looking at this, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/700C-Ultra-Li ... 1c3d54ee59

super light weight at 480g

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Road-bi ... 2a3814773e

at 399g

but not sure if its a fit for the specialized?, has 26" wheels but apart from that not sure on my dimensions i need??

jimothy78

No - neither of those are suitable - they're for racing bikes with no fittings for brakes. Also, they may prove too narrow at the top to accomodate a sensible tyre width.

You need to find forks that are designed for mountain bikes - disc brake fittings, ideally somewhere in the region of 420-440mm crown-to-axle measurement and wide enough to accomodate a 2"+ tyre if you're going to even think about taking it offroad at all.
like these: http://www.carboncycles.cc/?p=195&

jonmlloyd

I put some Trigon rigid carbon forks on my hard tail. Very light. Paid around £130.

Think they make the Ritchey ones but much cheaper.

BlockABoots

Sorry to dig this thread up again, but after the suggestions on here and me investigating more, it would appear the Exotic Carbon Rigid forks are indeed what im looking for they fit the look and colour scheme of the specialized the most whilst not breaking the bank.

Can anyone tell me where i need to measure from to get the correct length as i notice Exotic Carbon Rigid forks come in 42.5 and also 44.5?

What else should i look at to reduce the weight of the bike, im guessing the forks are the biggest culprit on the bike??

jimothy78

The measurement is from the top of the crown (where the crown race rests) to the centre of the axle. To minimise changes in the way your bike handles, you ideally want the new fork's axle-to-crown to be the same as the existing one ALLOWING FOR SAG.

So for instance:
If the old fork meaures 450mm from axle to crown, and has 100mm of travel, you'd normally be riding with 20-25% (20-25mm) sag, so the ideal new height would be 425-430mm. Of course, 10-15mm either way isn't going to be out of the question - more increases straight-line stability, less makes it steer more sharply.

As for other ways to lose weight, the single easiest (and cheapest) is tyres - something like this might save you 500g or more, depending on what your current tyres are.

The next biggest weight saving is going to be on wheels, in all probability, but that's a bit more expensive...

BlockABoots

So you measure from the top of the crown before the crown/stem goes into the bike frame?

Well, ive had my factory suspension forks locked out since ive had they bike, so there shouldn't be any sag!?

I just have the factory fitted specialized tyres on my bike....i wouldnt have even thought that the actual tyres would weight more than other tyre types? Is there a lightweight road tyre that keeps the majority of the width of a normal MTB tyre....im not a massive fan of the super thin tyre look

jimothy78

BlockABoots wrote:

So you measure from the top of the crown before the crown/stem goes into the bike frame?

Yes.

Well, ive had my factory suspension forks locked out since ive had they bike, so there shouldn't be any sag!?

Locked out forks should still have sag in them - they don't actually become rigid, the movement is just highly damped.

I just have the factory fitted specialized tyres on my bike....i wouldnt have even thought that the actual tyres would weight more than other tyre types?

You'd be amazed - according to the info I can find about your bike, they're Specialized Fast Trak LK, which in the cheaper wire-bead version you'd have as stock tyres weigh around 745g each.

Is there a lightweight road tyre that keeps the majority of the width of a normal MTB tyre....im not a massive fan of the super thin tyre look

Yep, plenty that are the same size or bigger than yours - Schwalbe Furious Fred 2.0" can be as little as 315g - saving you 860g! Continental Speed king at 2.25" is still only 430g, etc, etc. Check http://www.nextdaytyres.co.uk as they have a wide selection and show the weights of all the different variants, unlike some suppliers.

BlockABoots

Nice, thanks for the help man. Will i need the get new inter tubes if i get narrower tyres?

Just one more thing i have just (tried) to measure the length of my current fork with them locked at there 'resting place', the reading im getting from my tape measure is 47cm surely that cant be correct, i guess im measuring from the wrong point??

Am i supposed to be measuring from the red arrow or blue?......

jimothy78

BlockABoots wrote:

Nice, thanks for the help man. Will i need the get new inter tubes if i get narrower tyres?

need, no. Could, yes, and could potentialy save a couple of grams if you downsize or get lightweight versions.

Just one more thing i have just (tried) to measure the length of my current fork with them locked at there 'resting place', the reading im getting from my tape measure is 47cm surely that cant be correct, i guess im measuring from the wrong point??

Am i supposed to be measuring from the red arrow or blue?......

Red arrow is correct. No reason to suspect 470mm is wrong. Assuming you're measuring when the forks aren't compressed, then allowing for about 20% sag, that would give you something like 445mm, which would be perfect for the larger of the two exotic forks, wouldn't it?

supersonic

Red arrow.

The Rookie

I have Mosso forks on my commuter, great on road but very whippy so wouldn't use them off road at all......also fairly light.

There are a few fairly lightweight city tyres availalable for MTB's.

Giraffoto

If your budget will stretch to On-One monococque carbon forks, it's well worth it. They're strong, comfortable and very light, I can't recommend them highly enough! Just make sure you get the non-tapered steerer version and you'll be fine. Note that many of these forks have tab fittings for the brakes, so you'll need to get an adapter (cheap enough) and you'll also need an expander bolt for the headset. I think I got mine from Exotic. The Hardrock's a great bike with an awful fork on it, you'll be amazed at the difference when you swap it out.