Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - upgrading to a carbon fiber fork...what rake?

hello, i want to upgrade my current steel fork to carbon fork, will it make a huge difference which rake i choose? most of the 1" forks i'm finding on ebay and the like are 43mm. will this create a big difference in handlidg from my current ride? right now i'm riding an older italian frame with track geometry so i think the fork is 38mm. illuminate me!

thanks!

why do you need a carbon fork when steel is such a smooth ride?


-the aluminimalist

hello, i want to upgrade my current steel fork to carbon fork, will it make a huge difference which rake i choose? most of the 1" forks i'm finding on ebay and the like are 43mm. will this create a big difference in handlidg from my current ride? right now i'm riding an older italian frame with track geometry so i think the fork is 38mm. illuminate me!

thanks!
If your current frame has neutral steering at 38mm rake, 43 might result in the very twichy steering - impossible to ride no handed, or look back. There is also an issue of the fork length - a distance between a crown race and an axle -this affects the geometry, too. Wound Up carbon road fork has 40mm of rake.

Though the idea of vobopl is correct, i'm not sure that 5mm will make that big a difference. That said, if the bike already has track geometry, the handling will be more twitchy with more rake. Length is probably more important to look for that rake. Before you make any decisions, try to find the geometry of your frame/fork now before you start buying stuff. If you can't find the geometry, measure carefully.

I thought more rake = slower handling

I thought more rake = slower handling

Excatly! Slower - or more stable.

I have both track bikes and roadbikes.
When switching from one bike to another i get used to the diverse handling within minutes. So 5 mm wont make that much of a difference.

^ I just looked because I was unsure, too.

http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/trail.html

It turns out that a fork with more rake makes the bike twitchier just like a steeper headtube angle does.
Track bike+old touring bike fork= you'll never rided no-handed:)

^ I just looked because I was unsure, too.

http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/trail.html

It turns out that a fork with more rake makes the bike twitchier just like a steeper headtube angle does.
Track bike+old touring bike fork= you'll never rided no-handed:)

I think you are confusing rake with trail.

I think you are confusing rake with trail.
It seems that it's you who is confused. More rake (with the same head tube angle) =less trail = twitchy steering - check the diagram in the link posted for yourself.

not to hijack the thread but if I am looking for a fairly inexpensive replacement fork for my pista(28mm rake) is it possible to find an inexpensive, drilled fork with that kind of rake?

soma is the word!

Been where you're at. I started with the 28mm Bianchi track fork and wanted to run carbon. I was worried about the rake difference going from a 28mm rake to somewhere between 38-43mm. I pulled the trigger on the Forte from Performance which is a re-branded Kinesis fork. It has a 43mm rake and feels good, the ride and feel I got used to very quickly. I rode that for a about 2-3 months and am now waiting on the Soma fork to arrive, which has a 38mm rake.

Don't get me wrong, the cf fork feels good, but after some riding I want to go back to steel, and I like the more traditional look and smooth ride of steel. The Performance fork was about $90-100, and I picked up the Soma from Ride-this on e-bay for $104 shipped.

So, after being where you're at, if you can afford it, try it out. You will get used to the change pretty fast and then you'll know for sure. Afterall, it's not a for life decision.