Road Cycling - Need advice on aftermarket forks

I want to get a new fork for my 2000 Specialized Allez, but I have no idea where to start. Does anyone know of any FAQs or guidelines online about shopping for forks?

you need to know several things:
1) what is the steer tube diameter?
2) threaded or threadless?
3) steerer length?
4) rake of fork?
5) how will you move the headset race from one fork to the other?

Well, I am guessing you are looking for a full carbon fork.

First you need to know the headtube diamter (either 1" or 1 1/8")

Rake is really unimportant as many firms are offering the same 44mm rake. But if you have to have a specific rake then that will narrow the list.

If you have no idea what rake is, do not concern yourself too much. Some people may argue with me but many forks out there claim one thing but are actually another.

If going from a threaded fork then you will need a new headset and stem.

Brands? Stay with a brand name and buy legal. Beware of super low prices on carbon forks. Many are OEM that are not intended for sole sale. These are not as good quality as the normal models. I mention this because many mail order firms are illegallly selling OEM products that are inferior and usually are recalled w/o you knowing. So do not go for lowest price but for a fully legal fork.

At the moment I like the Reynolds, Columbus, Deda and Winwood forks.

Buy smart and if in doubt have a shop install it for you and listen to them on reccomendations. You will not be sorry.

by rake do you mean i should try to have the same rake as my current aluminum fork? i'm guessing there is no way of really telling how a specific rake length will feel without actually riding it for comparison.

Originally posted by Xavier
Well, I mention this because many mail order firms are illegallly selling OEM products................How does one know what is 'illegal'?

Originally posted by deliriou5
by rake do you mean i should try to have the same rake as my current aluminum fork? i'm guessing there is no way of really telling how a specific rake length will feel without actually riding it for comparison. You should match, or get as close as possible to the the rake you have.Check with www.specialized,com on what yours is.Same for crown to drop out distance if you are really anal retenetive.

I've actually seen mountain forks that have a sticker on them that say "OEM" and indicate that they're not for resale. As for legality, I dunno. I'd guess that the bike companies label stuff like that to avoid liability if a fork is recalled but doesn't make it in since it was sold separately, but I don't know about legality of selling an OEM fork in and of itself.

If you have no idea what rake is, do not concern yourself too much.

Umm....rake does make a difference in stability. If you buy a fork with too much rake, you'll know what I mean the first fast hill you come to. That is, if you survive.......
Unless you know what you are doing, make sure that the rake of the fork is exactly the same as the one you are replacing!

Legit? Well if the price is far lower than retail most likely the shop purchased OEM from a firm such as Trek or Specialized and are selling them separate. They are not suppose to do this but many firms do this.

It simply is not fair for other shops. Many companies do this with Shimano and components. Simply not fair competitive practice. In the end consumers loose as we have seen many items not sold or very limited to prevent such practices.

Something like a carbon fork I would never want to buy such a product.

For example. There is a case on some 3TTT Zepp stems being recalled by Cannondale. Well problem is many firms could have bought these same batch of stems under the table and sold to consumers cheaper. Consumers nowdays jump on low prices. However 3TTT is not making a recall as it is Cannondales responsability. 3TTT stems in question were OEM and should have never been sold separate. But I am sure they are and many shops now put consumers at risk.

Now how cool is that?

Originally posted by D*Alex


Umm....rake does make a difference in stability. If you buy a fork with too much rake, you'll know what I mean the first fast hill you come to. That is, if you survive.......
Unless you know what you are doing, make sure that the rake of the fork is exactly the same as the one you are replacing!

rake will change the wheel base of the bike changing the handling just as alex explained, however I am not exactly sure that you would die on a hill if you changed it :p but it will change the handling of the bicycle. if you have ever seen pictures of motopacing you will see that some of the bikes have a inverted rake to decrease wheel base so the rider can get close to the pacing motorcycle...... it does make a difference.

it would be wise to look in your owner's manual to see if there is a geomtry layout of the bike to figure out rake (or if you have any manual on the fork itself.) calling specialized would also be a good idea.


Legit? Well if the price is far lower than retail most likely the shop purchased OEM from a firm such as Trek or Specialized and are selling them separate. They are not suppose to do this but many firms do this

it may be illegal, but would anyone actually get in trouble for this? as I understand it OEM (at least with computer parts) means you get a discount for the product because you do not pay for packaging, instructions, or any other jazz you may get with it. if it says on the product 'not for resale' well then it is illegal. Anyhow I'd just take my business to a LBS to support them :)

I am re-building an older Trek 2500 (Had an Aluminum fork) that I installed an Easton EC50. ($100.00 threaded) Very happy with it so far! :D

The threadless version is only $20.00 more.



http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=86&subcategory=1182&brand=&sku=6865&storetype=&estoreid=

some of the bikes have a inverted rake to decrease wheel base so the rider can get close to the pacing motorcycle......

WRONG!!!! It has absolutely nothing to do with wheelbase length, but rather the amount of steering trail.You don't know squat about the subject. A fork with too much rake will have little or no trail, rendering the bike all but unsteerable at high speeds. Of course, without at least a little experience with system dynamics, an explanation of why this is so would be beyond your comprehension.
Please, leave the questions about vehicle dynamics to those of us that actually have engineering degrees.

Originally posted by D*Alex
WRONG!!!! It has absolutely nothing to do with wheelbase length, but rather the amount of steering trail.You don't know squat about the subject. A fork with too much rake will have little or no trail, rendering the bike all but unsteerable at high speeds. Of course, without at least a little experience with system dynamics, an explanation of why this is so would be beyond your comprehension.
Please, leave the questions about vehicle dynamics to those of us that actually have engineering degrees.

I really don't understand why you get so nasty when you reply alex, I've seen in many a time in various posts. A simple, 'that is incorrect' or 'actually you are mistaken' would suffice, but yet you insult people... this isn't a flame war.

and this information is from a picture I saw of a bicycle with an inverted rake so the rider can get their front wheel closer to the motorcycle. Now obviously the bicycle had special geomtry but it did have an inverted rake...

I checked Sheldon browns website and in his glossary...

In general, bicycles with shallower, "slack", "relaxed" angles (lower numbers) tend to be more stable and comfortable. Bicycles with steeper, more upright angles (higher numbers) tend to be manuverable, but less comfortable on rough surfaces. Shallower frames tend to have longer wheel bases than more upright frames; bicycles with shallower head angles normally have more fork rake. All of these factors contribute to the riding characteristics cited.

and


The distance from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel. In general, a bicycle with a longer wheel base is more stable and comfortable; one with a shorter wheel base tends to be more maneuvrable.

so if were to imagine a drastically large rake, the front wheel would be further out changing the measurement from the front axel to rear axel.