"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - carbon road forks anyone used nashbar or reynolds

anyone ever used a nashbar road fork in racing training etc? what about the reynolds ouza? what carbon road forks are a great deal for budget under $200

I've been riding Nashbar carbons for 2 years now. Paid $70. I like them fine, and if they broke in a crash today, they are what I would order again. I'm a Cat 3 and race M35+ on them with no issues. Note that these are aluminum crown and dropout, but they're still a lot lighter than the bent steel forks they replaced (which were bent in the trunk of a car when rear-ended).

how much do you ride or race a week?

Reynolds Ouzo Pro with over 6000 miles on it since October, so far, so good.

It's a solid fork, tracks well - I've got no complaints, especially not for 80 bucks NEW off ebay.

Comparing a Nashbar and a Reynolds fork is like comparing a Hyundai and a BMW. Reynolds are cheap right now because they're updating their product line and they overproduced the old models, but they're a far far better fork. Nashbar just picks a fork from the OEM catalogs, a different one every year. The Nashbar I had three years ago was very flexy. Replaced it with an Ouzo Comp, which was both stiffer and more vibration damping. Now ride an Ouzo Pro.

how much do you ride or race a week?
Only about 6 hours of riding, but I race every week -- at least a training race. Crit and road race. I also do weekly hill repeats that involve a curvy 50-55mph descent down a 13-23% grade between each climb...


Comparing a Nashbar and a Reynolds fork is like comparing a Hyundai and a BMW.
You're putting too much stock in forks. It's like comparing a BMW tie rod to a Hyundai tie rod. A little more flex? Maybe. Heavier? Sure. Push it and the front wheel turns? Yep.

My Hyundai fork whoops a LOT of BMW a$$ around here. Maybe I'm crazy for pairing a $70 fork with a $1000 frame, but it feels great.

You can get an Ouzo Comp for $90 at Pricepoint anyway: http://pricepoint.com/detail/15616-315_REYOC6-3-Parts-59-Forks/Accessories/Reynolds-Ouzo-Comp-Integrated-Crown-Road-Fork.htm

check out: http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=17144&item=50-2103&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

More of an aero/blade design. Same price

You're putting too much stock in forks. It's like comparing a BMW tie rod to a Hyundai tie rod. A little more flex? Maybe. Heavier? Sure. Push it and the front wheel turns? Yep.

My Hyundai fork whoops a LOT of BMW a$$ around here. Maybe I'm crazy for pairing a $70 fork with a $1000 frame, but it feels great.

:rolleyes: So it's your fork that makes you fast? Seriously, I'm willing to bet that if you rode the Nashbar fork I rode, you would agree with me. It was a lemon, ridiculously flexy. I got it for free, rode it for two months until I could afford a better fork, then passed it onto a guy who also gave up on it in a matter of weeks. The thing is, they change models about every year. Yours might be fine, mine wasn't.

I use an Ouzo comp. It is lighter and stiffer than the Giant fork I used to ride, and it hasn't broken on me. So I'm pleased with it.

As of this moment there are several Ouzo Pros selling on ebay for $149 brand new.

Reynolds apparently changed their graphics for '07 and now the "old" forks are selling super cheap.

:rolleyes: So it's your fork that makes you fast? Seriously, I'm willing to bet that if you rode the Nashbar fork I rode, you would agree with me. It was a lemon, ridiculously flexy. I got it for free, rode it for two months until I could afford a better fork, then passed it onto a guy who also gave up on it in a matter of weeks. The thing is, they change models about every year. Yours might be fine, mine wasn't.


Well, my point is that the fork isn't that important if it's up to a certain level. It sounds like the Nashbars are indeed a crapshoot. Had I not liked mine, it would have gone back. There was no LBS in-stock solution for less than $220 at the time I needed a fork, so I went for $70 and next-day air with my fingers crossed :)

FWIW, before this I had a Supergo OEM CF fork, and it was fine too. A friend had set it in my roof rack a little crooked, clamped it down, and that cracked the bond between the alu dropout and the CF tube.

So, overall, I'm 2-for-2 with OEM cheapo CF forks. But that's still a small sample size.

As of this moment there are several Ouzo Pros selling on ebay for $149 brand new.

Reynolds apparently changed their graphics for '07 and now the "old" forks are selling super cheap.
They just have a new top of the line model called the UL so the Ouzo Pro is now bastard son, like SRAM front derailleurs will later this year.

They just have a new top of the line model called the UL so the Ouzo Pro is now bastard son, like SRAM front derailleurs will later this year.

This is one of the main reasons there is more buyers remorse in cycling than almost any other consumer product sector (if you are not careful). Half the time you purchase something, a month later it is discounted and now an old model that lacks the advances of the newest release. Think of how upset some Trek Madone riders are who paid top dollar for a 2007 Madone in April/May. Not only is there a better model available, but the model they do have they could have gotten for a discount.).

I guess at some point the best bet is to purchase and stop looking at new product developments.

This is one of the main reasons there is more buyers remorse in cycling than almost any other consumer product sector (if you are not careful). Half the time you purchase something, a month later it is discounted and now an old model that lacks the advances of the newest release. Think of how upset some Trek Madone riders are who paid top dollar for a 2007 Madone in April/May. Not only is there a better model available, but the model they do have they could have gotten for a discount.).

I guess at some point the best bet is to purchase and stop looking at new product developments.


I've never been one to suffer buyer's remorse. If I like something enough to purchase it, I won't like it less just because something new comes along.

As for the new Madone...the folks that bought 2007 and earlier versions probably got just what they wanted within their budget. If they were looking for a bike in the same price range, with a compact frame, there were plenty of other choices available.

I guess at some point the best bet is to purchase and stop looking at new product developments.

...or you could do like me and go shopping for the best price on new Dura-Ace 7700 (9-spd) brifters to update the race steed :)

On the original question, I have Performance carbon forks (the Axis, not the Axis Pro) on two of my bikes. They're on sale at Perf for $79.99 right now. I've never had any problems, and I definitely wouldn't call them flexy. They hold up just fine for me.

The Ouzo Comp is a great fork.