Road Cycling - which is the best carbon fork?

i'm planning to buy a new carbon fork.

there are so many brands to choose from, and they all say they are the best. local LBS just gives me their most expensive fork and say its the best there is..

So what's the best fork for you? make and model. Thanks.

call me a dinosaur, but the best fork
for me is a columbus steel fork. Soaks up the
bumps and vibration quite nicely, thank you very much.

As for CF, I believe the AME Alpha Q is a very good
fork, nice CF layup and "stout".

Marty

The Reynolds Ouzo Pro is generally regarded around here as the fork of choice. We've got lots of customers on that fork and haven't heard a single bad thing about it. Lately people have been saying good things about the True Temper Alpha Q Sub 3, if you're looking for an ultralite fork. Easton remains a fairly popular choice as well.

My bad, the AME Alpha Q is now
True temper, forgot that little tidbit.

Serotta F1 (hard to find) and F2 forks are
well thought of, but they are expensive.
They are a specially produced Reynolds
fork (I think its Reynolds, if not its Columbus).

Marty

Just from talking to fellow cyclists, I've actually had nothing but negative feedback about the Alpha Q and Easton forks. Nothing but good though about Columbus and Reynolds forks. I guess like most things it boils down to personal preference. I'm told though that heavier riders will not like the Alpha Q and Easton forks because of flex.
Talking from my own experience, I really like my Columbus Muscle fork.
Buying a fork is a little harder than most things as stores are not likely to cut a fork for you to test :)

I would say the Reynolds. Quality control and serivce is by far the best out there. There are a few others but that is what I would reccomend.

I have the Reynolds Ouzo Pro and I think it's fantastic! excellent steering control and still soaks up the vibrations.

The Colnago forks are also very good ( abit over priced IMO) and are made by Ferrari Engineering I believe.
Columbus Muscle and Mizuno.
Time's Avant Stiff+ and Look's HSC 3 & 4 are also worthy of note.

The best fork for you is going to depend on your weight and yor style of riding. These forks also come in varying rakes which will also affect heandling and feel.

I don't want to hi-jack this thread but to avoid repeating the topic, I would like to know which carbon fork would be good. It must be threaded 1 inch though.

^
I believe someone else was looking for such an animal not long ago, but can't find that thread right now.
As an aside, the Reynolds guys are great people to work with so my next fork is going to be one of theirs. Will have an update tomorrow on when to expect the Ouzo Pro Lite and Pro Peloton, though they haven't been so good about coming through on the last two "deadlines."

Waldo,
I see on some UK websites the Ouzo Pro Prolite Peleton And Pro Lite is advertised as available for £340 respectivley.
Ie they are taking orders. Looks like the release date should be very soon then.

Yeah, that's what Reynolds has been telling me since whenever it was we had this conversation in that other thread. Last time when I was talking to them they said the issue was that after 250,000 cycles the Lite deflects 1" more than the Pro (I love talking enginerd with these guys). They are trying to decide whether that is acceptable in light of its light weight. They didn't really specify what the issue was with the Peloton, just that they wanted to started production simultaneously. Unfortunately I ended up working 10-10 today so I didn't quite get around to calling back. Thanks for the info, Tim. It's always nice to see if they're telling me what they're telling the general public so I don't come off looking like a fool.

Well as you can see everyone had different opinions so why should I be any different? WoundUp is my selected fork. It has the best Torsional rigidity of any fork out there and thats the most difficult thing to build into a fork. I believe (though I could be wrong after all it's just an opinion) that the WoundUp is the best fork for racing.

Is the EC30 ok for a threaded fork at $200 CAD.

Was at the Birmingham Bike 2003 show yesterday Waldo and had a chat with the guys from AmericanBicycle Group (they do LiteSpeed, Merlin Tomac and QR) and they were telling mer that the Ouzo Pro Prolite will be an option on the Ghisallo from end May. Whether or not this will actaully happen remains to be seen but at least the communication from Reynolds seems consistent with what industry knows.

Incidentally when I spoke to Reynolds they said that the Ozuo Pro should still be the 1st choice for a road racer. The Peleton is really for the guy who wants an Aero'ish fork onhis road bike when he uses aero bars on the same bike. It's really for the guy who wants a jack of all trades, master of none bike. It's torsional stiffness will be the same as the Pro, it'll be a bit heavier and not as comfortable.

Idid'nt ask them if there is a weight limit on the Prolite though.:-(

The latest Velonews has an interesting article on the time/energy saved using various carbon forks. Also, considerable info in the Dec 3, 2002 Tech Q&A column in Velonews. Has a fair amount of info directly from the various manufacturers.

I am riding a three year old Time carbon fork (1" aluminum steerer/CK headset) and find it ideal for riding on the road with my lugged steel frameset. Am also riding a new Scapin steel (TIG) frame with a new carbon fork (CK headset). I don't know who makes it (has the Scapin name on it), but it is also providing an excellent ride. My 'opinion' is that any of the newer carbon forks will be an excellent choice and there really isn't a "best". I would pick the one that looks the best to me.

PS is right, it is difficult to select a best fork because the choice is subjective to rider preference and feel.

Any of these are fine

Reynolds Ouzo Pro and family
Time Avant stiff+
LooL HSC3 &4
Columbus Muscle
TT Alpha Q sub 3
Wound Up
Trek OCLV
Time Millenium
Reynolds Ouzo Comp and family

Take your pick

Hmm, good to hear that ABG is in the same boat as I am. I'll have to talk to our rep and see if he's hearing the same things. Either way, like you said, it's good that they're being consistent. The Reynolds guys were telling me the same thing about ideal applications for their forks. If I remember correctly, they said there is no offical weight limit on the fork but that they would caution heavier users that it might be more flexy than the pro (duh). I'll see what they say if I get a chance to talk to them tomorrow.

Well after these much replies.. i think I'll get the reynolds ouzo pro.. hope I can find one...

thanks!

All this said, I am wondering if anyone has heard of Advanced carbon forks? My LBS tells me that most private label carbon forks (Pinarello, Colnago, Scapin, etc.) are made by Advanced. Anyone know about this? Thanks.

No don't know but sound plausible as Time manufacture many forks for other company's as well.

Reynolds Ouzo Pro