Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - which threaded (and drilled) fork?

ok, i'll admit, i'm doing this strictly for looks, so flame away if you feel i'm stealing your culture for posing's sake:

I want to replace the threadless set-up on my track bike with a threaded one, so i want to buy a steel track fork, and yes i run a front brake on the street so i'd like it to come drilled.

any recommendations?

are we talking 1" or 1 1/8" ?

apologies. 1"

If you're doing it strictly for looks, it'll also help to know what frame you have...

Straight blade chrome from BikeWorks, $57, beautiful. Quite a few here have them.

http://bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

not sure why it'll help, but it's a pista. i dislike the look of threadless stems, and would prefer a quill.

If the fork is otherwise a-ok, you're happy with it - aside from it being threadless - and it is steel, you could simply have the steerer cut down and have a threaded steerer welded onto your current fork by a competent frame builder. There is someone on the forum who had this done to his Soma Rush fork and it worked out really well. I think it cost him a whopping $45.

m.

fork is fine, but that sounds like a lot of time and work, and i'd have to REALLY trust the welder to ride that. think i'd rather just buy a new one and ebay/cl the old one to be honest

Straight blade chrome from BikeWorks, $57, beautiful. Quite a few here have them.

http://bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

oh cheers. didn't see this. thanks absntr :)

bikeworks is a 5 minute ride from the crib too. holla!

If the fork is otherwise a-ok, you're happy with it - aside from it being threadless - and it is steel, you could simply have the steerer cut down and have a threaded steerer welded onto your current fork by a competent frame builder. There is someone on the forum who had this done to his Soma Rush fork and it worked out really well. I think it cost him a whopping $45.

m.

Bernie Mikkelsen: http://www.mikkelsenframes.com. Dukuoshoka did it. Mikkelsen is local for him.

Personally the Pista fork isn't pretty - that straight blade BikeWorks fork would look great on a chrome pista.

If the fork is otherwise a-ok, you're happy with it - aside from it being threadless - and it is steel, you could simply have the steerer cut down and have a threaded steerer welded onto your current fork by a competent frame builder. There is someone on the forum who had this done to his Soma Rush fork and it worked out really well. I think it cost him a whopping $45.

m.........then why not simply chop the steerer to the correct length and have it threaded? I had my steerer threaded for $10 at my LBS

This is what it looks like - auk's Paramount:

http://dcc.absenter.org/foto/misc/auk.jpg

Personally the Pista fork isn't pretty - that straight blade BikeWorks fork would look great on a chrome pista.

agreed 100%. looks like a bmx fork imo. this will look so good on there with a nitto drop quill. thanks again

If you're using your present pista bars, make sure they fit through the Nitto track stem...

I have the Bikeworks fork. had it for a little over a year. Good fork overall, looks great. You might want to grind off the lawyer tabs.

not sure why it'll help, but it's a pista. i dislike the look of threadless stems, and would prefer a quill.


This won't drill your fork, but you can switch to a YST GeForce headset.

It installs like a threadless, but you can use a quill stem (or a threadless stem, or both).

I have some GeForces. Email me and we can talk about it. info@kogswell.com

It would be a simple, sub-$20 fix.

Personally the Pista fork isn't pretty - that straight blade BikeWorks fork would look great on a chrome pista.

Agreed. I didn't see that we were talking about a Pista.

Grunk's Pista with the straight blade forks, as posted in the photos thread, looks awesome.

m.

colnago star

This won't drill your fork, but you can switch to a YST GeForce headset.

It installs like a threadless, but you can use a quill stem (or a threadless stem, or both).

I have some GeForces. Email me and we can talk about it. info@kogswell.com

It would be a simple, sub-$20 fix.


thank you for the post, but here's the thing: i really don't like the look of the pista fork (ps it's drilled anyway), so the bikeworks fork looks like a great solution.

please explain the headset to me anyway, it sounds interesting. i'm in LA on a work trip right now and using ther hotel's computer, so don't have my entourage to email you, but please email me the info at eddie@eddiebrannan.com. i'll get back to you thursday.



If you're using your present pista bars, make sure they fit through the Nitto track stem...


they are regular deda steel track drops. anyone know if they're a different size than nittos or any other? i mean if so no biggie; they'll join the current fork/stem/headset etc on ebay, but i had no idea that track bars came in different clamp sizes.



Grunk's Pista with the straight blade forks, as posted in the photos thread, looks awesome.

yea seeing his was actually what inspired me. then mine can be "top secret" too!

but yea the fork really lets that bike down i feel. and steel track bikes deserve quills (lugs too come to that but hey…)

but i had no idea that track bars came in different clamp sizes.Reason I asked is because you mentioned Nitto track/drop stem which has a 25.4mm clamp. Your Deda bars may be the standard 26mm road diameter...???

just checked and indeed they are 26mm. good call fixer. question: can you not justuse a screwdriver to expand the Nitto the needed half-millimeter? i feel i used to do **** like that back in the days i had old quill-stem road bikes and went through living hell getting anatomic bars in there

just checked and indeed they are 26mm. good call fixer. question: can you not justuse a screwdriver to expand the Nitto the needed half-millimeter? i feel i used to do **** like that back in the days i had old quill-stem road bikes and went through living hell getting anatomic bars in thereActually, since you asked, yes, as a matter of fact I've got Syntace 26mm bullhorns mounted in a nitto track stem currently.

they are regular deda steel track drops. anyone know if they're a different size than nittos or any other? i mean if so no biggie; they'll join the current fork/stem/headset etc on ebay, but i had no idea that track bars came in different clamp sizes.

Deda makes two clamp sizes. The ones that come came stock on your Pista are 26.0 at the clamp. I bought the exact same bar from BianchiUSA. But Deda's a pioneer in the oversized clamp area. They make most of their bars (strada and pista) with a 31.7mm (I think) clamp. Why they make two different clamp sizes is a mystery to me. Nitto's track stuff is all 25.4, IIRC. You'll have to find a 26.0 stem if you want to use your current bar.

EDIT: Just saw the above post about fitting a 26.0 bar into a 25.4 clamp. I wouldn't try it, but apparently it works in some cases.


but yea the fork really lets that bike down i feel. and steel track bikes deserve quills (lugs too come to that but hey…)

Agreed, track frames should be lugged with threaded fork tubes/headsets/quill stems. I'll say this for the NJS people- at least they aren't allowing technology to price the average daily rider out of the market. I mean, their stuff is pricey, but that's not because it's the Next Big Thing That Will Make You Faster- it's pricey because it's time-proven, and everyone seems to want it.

It's a shame how a lot of the great Italian builders have switched to AL, TIG-welding (or whatever method doesn't employ lugs), carbon bits, threadless stems, clipless pedals, etc.- all for the goal of a modern appearance. I've almost given up geared bikes because it's impossible to keep up, and even harder to repair/replace older componentry. Ah, if only Campagnolo hadn't allowed Shimano to lead them down the path of clickshifting and black (ano or carbon) parts...

I can vouch for the quality of Bernie Mikkelsen's work. He cut and replaced the steerer tube on a Soma fork I bought.

thank you for the post, but here's the thing: i really don't like the look of the pista fork (ps it's drilled anyway), so the bikeworks fork looks like a great solution.

please explain the headset to me anyway, it sounds interesting. i'm in LA on a work trip right now and using ther hotel's computer, so don't have my entourage to email you, but please email me the info at eddie@eddiebrannan.com. i'll get back to you thursday.

Ah. Well then get a threaded fork.

The GeForce headset is kool, but ugly. It looks just like any other headset up to to the top cup. (It has roller bearings at the bottom, ala the famous Stronglight headsets)

The top cup is a two-piece affair. The cup is on bottom and there is a collar above. The cup and collar are threaded and one screws into the other. You then:

- slide the cup and color on the fork and down into the bearing, loosely

- you tighten the collar onto the steerer, using a little bolt on the collar

- then you unscrew the cup and it screws down into the bearing and load the bearing

- finally, you tighten the cup against the steerer using another little bolt

I think they're kool because you can use a threadless fork and a quill stem. We use them here and we love them. They're very geeky.

The downside is that they aren't very pretty. And we appreciate how important beauty is, in all of its many forms.

I have a soft spot in my heart for YST products. The owner/designer is a krazy man who focuses on the technical and gets cash up front for all orders. My kind of guy.

http://www.ison-distribution.com/ison/image/full/hdys-541a.jpg

I found a 1" threadless road fork and just cut threads into it myself. It was time-consuming and had to be done very carefully, but IMHO is a much nicer solution than hacking and welding bits together.

That headset's a brilliant idea but boy, it sure is ugly. Perhaps a black anodized one won't stick out like a sore thumb..... :)

well thanks all. i think i have my solution. the bikeworks fork, a campy headset from ebay, a nitto drop stem and if i can't get the deda in there (which i'm sure i will) a new set of nitto bars too. and a perfect stem, fork and aheadset to sell on ebay. will look so much nicer. i'll post pics when done.

That headset's a brilliant idea but boy, it sure is ugly. Perhaps a black anodized one won't stick out like a sore thumb..... :)

We only stock black for just that reason.

You can do virtually the same thing w/ a 28.6 seat clamp and a 28.6 spacer if you're using a threadless headset. Best to have the quill stem in place when you start to clamp.

Think about it, and it will come to you.

And that method looks a little slicker.

But once you do that, the GeForce starts to grow on you. Sometimes getting the job done right is pretty. Know what I mean?

........then why not simply chop the steerer to the correct length and have it threaded? I had my steerer threaded for $10 at my LBS

I asked Bernie this very question when he plugged and welded my fork. He looked at me like I was crazy and said that they all eventually strip. I didn't get it right away, but, if you look at the thickness of the tubing on the steerer tube on a threadless fork and then compare that to a threaded one...

If you're gonna get your fork welded, get someone good. There are not many people I would trust to do this modification...

I asked Bernie this very question when he plugged and welded my fork. He looked at me like I was crazy and said that they all eventually strip. I didn't get it right away, but, if you look at the thickness of the tubing on the steerer tube on a threadless fork and then compare that to a threaded one...

If you're gonna get your fork welded, get someone good. There are not many people I would trust to do this modification...Ah...great point......thanks. In fact in my particular case, my threaded steerer tube was waaay too long to begin with so I chopped about 3" off and took it to my LBS for threading. I didn't realize tubing thicknesses were different between the two... :)

EDIT: On second thought, later on I'm going to look at steerer tubes of spare forks I have laying around to see how significant the diff in tubing thickness is.

I didn't realize tubing thicknesses were different between the two... :)


Steel steering tubes, in general, have 1.6mm thick walls.

So a 1" (25.4mm) steerer minus 3.2mm of walls turns into the famous 22.2mm I.D.

And an 1 1/8" (28.6mm) steerer has a 25.4mm I.D.

Our threadless 1 1/8 forks have thinner walls in the portion of the steerer that is inside the head, at least on longer frames. This saves a little weight.

if you win this auction, its damned pretty
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7174790730&rd=1&rd=1