Help me choose a cyclocross fork: $$$ vs. Quality vs. Clydesdale
I've done a good hour of research and haven't dug up anything. I was hoping someone experiended like you would hear things.
Basically, I have a Jake the Snake, and want to replace the steel fork with Carbon. I'm looking at two grades of forks:
1) High end: Reynolds Ouzo Pro, Alpha Q, Easton... $320-400 - will have to buy with my own cash.
2) Cheaper: Redline, Ritchie or Sella Azurra... $200 tops - have tons Amazon gift certificates to spend, so these brands are effectively free.
I'm a big guy - 270 now, aiming for 255 in the summer. I'm not afraid of carbon - both my other bikes are made of it - but I don't know the reps of any of the 'cheap' choices I have.
So, should I worry about getting a Redline or Ritchie merely because they're cheaper? Any good, or bad to speak of them? I know the founder of Reynolds, so he's told me a lot about Reynolds and Alpha Q, but I don't know about the rest of them.