Bicycle Mechanics - Forks Of A Dilema..............

I am considering moving the components from my Trek 1200 to a steel Soma frame and have been told by Soma that most things should transfer over, but the lbs is concerned my fork may not work.

Since the search function is disabled, how do I go about picking a fork? Is carbon better than steel in this application? What are the brands to be avoided, etc?

Thanks for any input.

http://folding.stanford.edu

As always,
LastPlace

Soma makes nice forks to match their frames. If you're not a weight weenie, chromoly forks are great on steel frames.

mattface,

Thanks for the reply. Are you saying that for a steel frame, a steel fork is best, or are you saying that esthetically(sp) they are good?

FWIW, I weigh 210 if that makes a difference with regard to a carbon/steel fork.

I'm not going to debate best, but a steel fork is very durable, and also works great both in terms of performance and comfort on any material frame. The main advantages of carbon are weight, and they cushion the ride a bit up front, but they are also expansive, and somewhat fragile. so if weight is not the most important issue, steel is a fine material for a fork. Some feel that aluminum frames need the damping of a carbon fork, but actually steel forks work well on aluminum frames as well, they are just heavy compared to carbon or aluminum.

In other words if cost and durability are your primary concerns steel is perfect, if weight is more important than cost or durability, go with carbon. Your weight shouldn't make that much difference in terms of the durability of carbon though. The main thing is that a carbon fork is unlikely to survive a crash.

Get a lugged steel fork if you can. And pretty much echo what mattface said. Weight should almost never be a concern for the recreational cyclist as long as it isn't preposterous 50lb/sq inch rebar.

Thanks for all the input and advice.

Good advice above, though what is the issue with the current fork? Going from threadless to threaded? Already cut too short? On the other hand, if you want to try to sell the trek frame, you'll get a lot more for it with the fork.

Oh yeah, and PM me if you actually know where to get a rebar fork :)

Landgolier,

Thanks for the response. If I get the new frame, the lbs owner is not sure the fork from the Trek 1200 will be long enough. The Soma headtube lenght is 155mm and I will have a hard time buying a frame and fork, so if I have to buy a fork I just want to be sure I make the right decision.

The lbs owner is out of town until next week so it will be a bit until he can take a closer look.

As for the Trek 1200 frame, I'm not really sure it will sell for much, if I get a chance to sell it.