Road Cycling - Aero Forks

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goggles
03-06-06, 01:07 AM
Are those straight aero/tt carbon forks legal for non time trial events? Aside from the aerodynamics, are there any characteristics which make them better for tt? Conversely, if used for for regular events or riding do they have any specific downsides-side to side stability?

Looking at them, being thin and wide, it would seem that they would offer more stiffness going in straight, flat lines. But what about out the saddle climbing or going around sharp curves downhill?

I would love to hear thoughts on the subject

K6-III
03-06-06, 01:19 AM
I would think the only disadvantage would be extra weight relative to non-aero.
Lectron
03-06-06, 01:37 AM
I put on an aero fork, and experienced better handling in high speeds.
It's also stiffer than my previous (Look) fork.

I can't remember the accurate numbers, but you'll save something in the area of four minutes for a rider traveling at 20mph over an Ironman distance.

Without getting overly involved in drag and axial force, you can get a good idea as to how a fork will perform aerodynamically by looking at its aspect ratio – a representation of how wide a fork is to how deep it is.

It has been shown that forks with aspect ratios of about 3:1, meaning that the fork’s blades are 3 times as deep as they are wide, perform best aerodynamically.

Forks like the Alpha Q Aero, Oval Concepts Jetstream and the Reynolds Ouzo Aero forks are designed close to this 3:1 ratio. To be UCI legal for any kind of events I think the ratio has to be sub 3:1