Carbon fork - Worth an upgrade?

[R900]

So every single road bike we have has a carbon fork, now the new Trek T-2000 has a carbon fork. Is there much advantage to upgrading to a carbon fork? We don't use a front rack, so that's not a factor. Mainly wondering if it smooths out the ride, weight not a big concern either. So does a carbon fork smooth out the road any better then a steel fork?

[regomatic]

My take;

If your comforatable with your current bike, there's no substantial cost /effect benefit to upgrade to a carbon fork.

If you're buying or building a new bike, the cost of the carbon fork upgrade is minimal compared to the total cost of the bike. There would have to be some other compelling factor like a neccesity for threaded fork attachment pannier mounts to talk me out of this relatively inexpensive upgrade.

[waterrockets]

+1, a carbon fork is not likely to dramatically change the ride of the bike. Nothing wrong with them, and without going full carbon (crown, steerer), you can keep the cost down.

On road bikes, marketing is largely the reason for ubiquity in carbon forks. Most of the stock original equipment carbon forks aren't any lighter than aluminum, and they aren't carefully engineered to provide a better feel. But, they are carbon fiber, so they are perceived to be better. Nothing really wrong with them, but nothing compelling.

[zonatandem]

If you got the extra $$ and want to upgrade, it will improve/lessen road vibration in the cockpit area of the tandem.
Have been using an Alpha Q c/f fork on our custom tandem for 13,000+ miles.

[stapfam]

+1, a carbon fork is not likely to dramatically change the ride of the bike. Nothing wrong with them, and without going full carbon (crown, steerer), you can keep the cost down.

On road bikes, marketing is largely the reason for ubiquity in carbon forks. Most of the stock original equipment carbon forks aren't any lighter than aluminum, and they aren't carefully engineered to provide a better feel. But, they are carbon fiber, so they are perceived to be better. Nothing really wrong with them, but nothing compelling.


If you are going CF then make certain that you stay away from the lightest that are around, are built for performance or are not from a big name manufacturer that will warranty the fork for Tandem use. CF is the new wonder product and it is very easy to make a good looking product that is not made very well. And thgere are enough people around that will not pay out for the Best units made and will always go for something cheaper. Not only the Customer- some retailers do it aswell.

[wsurfn]

I really like mine. Worth the money...er..um....

I upgraded our Burley Tosa with the Burley Alpha-Q. Feels better. Rake is different from stock CroMo fork.

I like the placebo effect (pure indulgence). It looks cool. I really don't regret spending the cash, and would do it again. I cannot universally recommend it to others, especially for the money.

[oldacura]

Worth it? How often do we make a value judgement on something we "want"? (Still running the Co-Motion steel fork).

[DBC Steve]

(Still running the Co-Motion steel fork).

I like the placebo effect of a Co-Motion steel fork! Back to my day job....