Road Cycling - How does a CF fork improve the ride?

i must say i am a carbon fiber freak i love anything that has to do with it. i am thinking of upgrading from my TREK 820 to a TREK 1000. the dude at the shop mentioned up grading the fork and said it improved ride comfort. can anyone explain HOW it does?

thanks,
Steve

supposedly carbon fiber material absorbs road vibrations better. though i'd also look at fork design (rake) to figure comfort

Less vibration = smoother ride = more comfortable rider

what he said

Ditto

but if you have a high quality matching steel fork will it make much difference?

G'day,

personally speaking, steel just doesn't have the shock absobtion qualities that carbon has. You will notice the 'ride shock' difference between a carbon & steel fork,(all other things being equal) I have 3 bikes, a 531 Steel with steel fork, an alu with carbon fork & a monocoque full carbon bike. They all have totally different 'feel' about them. The steel fork is by far the least comfortable as far as road shock through the hands & shoulders goes (but I love her anyway).....If your LBS will let you test ride a carbon fork against a steel, I would be very surprised if ypu couldn't tell the difference,

cheers,

Hitchy

I have heard just the opposite too. Well that there was little difference. My frame is a high end Italian hand made frame. It is about 10 years old and has the matching fork. I mean I would hate to spend 250.00 or so and not show a good improvement.

How about Wound-Up carbon forks? My wife's Waterford slipped out of the roof rack and bent the fork dropouts enough that it had to be replaced. The trail was unique enough that we had to go with a custom fork rather than an off the shelf model.

My wife claims she doesn't notice an improvement, though she went from a threaded to a threadless stem that should increase the stiffness. She's saving about 1.5 lbs with the new setup so she can't complain too much :rolleyes:

-murray

I really don't think it's worth it, but I'm a part-time student, so that
kind of money is outrageous to me. In Australia, Ouzo Pros and Columbus
Muscles retail for about $550 US -- it's just crazy.

I've only tried two carbon forks (oldish ones), and I find all my 531 forks to
be twice as comfortable as the carbons (sorry Hitcho). Steel forks flex and spring as
you ride along the road, absorbing EVERYTHING. You can see the blades move back
and forward when you go over every little bump. The carbons I've tried have no real
flex. From what I've read, carbon is supposed to absorb "buzz", or high frequency vibrations.
Although, I must say that cornering on the carbon forks I've tried feels like I'm on
rails -- very stable through corners.

A good steel fork weighs about 700g, and crappier ones will weigh 800 to 900g, so the
only absolute guaranteed benefit with carbon is a huge weigh loss; some all-carbon forks
weigh as little as 350g!

I'm lucky enough to have become chummy with my bike shop guys, so they let me try stuff out.
It's worth developing such a relationship.

Carbon doesn't transmit high frequency vibrations very well at all. An article I read compared a steel fork and a carbon fork in this manner: tap a steel fork with a small metal hammer and hold it to your ear, you'll hear a faint buzzing in the fork, do the same with a carbon fork and you'll hear nothing. But, a carbon fork is generally stiffer in the zero degree axis with the lay of the actual fibre, meaning the carbon fibre fork may not transmit high frequency vibrations, but if you run over anything that imparts a shock to the wheel , the carbon will transmit more of that shock to your hands than would steel. The same article suggested that the higher frequency vibrations in the handle bars are what causes the tingling sensation in our hands after a couple of hours on the bike.

I have to agree with 531, and to be honest, I'm begining to think "carbon" is a big scam (when it comes to seat posts and forks on low end bikes). I rather much like the ride offered by an allumium frame and a steel fork. The differences are so night and day it is worth the extra pound.

I have to agree with 531, and to be honest, I'm begining to think "carbon" is a big scam (when it comes to seat posts and forks on low end bikes). I rather much like the ride offered by an allumium frame and a steel fork. The differences are so night and day it is worth the extra pound.

I have to agree with the first part of this statement. The original fork on my road bike was quite harsh even though it was touted as a carbon fork however had an aluminum steerer and had mostly alu throught out. However ever since I went with a full carbon fork the ride has been incredible.

How about Wound-Up carbon forks? My wife's Waterford slipped out of the roof rack and bent the fork dropouts enough that it had to be replaced. The trail was unique enough that we had to go with a custom fork rather than an off the shelf model.

My wife claims she doesn't notice an improvement, though she went from a threaded to a threadless stem that should increase the stiffness. She's saving about 1.5 lbs with the new setup so she can't complain too much :rolleyes:

-murray

i have a Wound Up on my steel Scapin.....great fork.

My frame is a high end Italian hand made frame. It is about 10 years old and has the matching fork. I mean I would hate to spend 250.00 or so and not show a good improvement.

One must also consider style...... keep your steel.

it is a cool bike with nice forks. but commuting on a racing bike is a bit rough.

I have to agree with the first part of this statement. The original fork on my road bike was quite harsh even though it was touted as a carbon fork however had an aluminum steerer and had mostly alu throught out. However ever since I went with a full carbon fork the ride has been incredible.

Well, there ya go. I should've mentioned that the carbon forks I've tried have Chrome Molybdenum
steerers. :(

Does a carbon steerer make a big difference?

Well, there ya go. I should've mentioned that the carbon forks I've tried have Chrome Molybdenum steerers. :( Does a carbon steerer make a big difference?

My guess is that the choice of steerer material affects weigth, rather than riding characteristics. The steerer tube should be as stiff as possible, which can be accomplished by different materials.

The fork 'legs' are a different story. There, the 'feel' is affected by the choice of material. I would say that carbon allows the manufacturer best to 'manipulate' flex (forward/backward, lateral), because of its layered structure.

I noticed a considerable improvement in the riding experience when going from an aluminium (Cannondale) to a carbon fork (Reynolds Ouzo Pro), but I think that a well built steel (or other material) fork might also work out perfectly.

but can you rely on CF for being strong. or is it as strong as a steel fork?

but can you rely on CF for being strong. or is it as strong as a steel fork?

Probably depends on the build.

I have heard just the opposite too. Well that there was little difference. My frame is a high end Italian hand made frame. It is about 10 years old and has the matching fork. I mean I would hate to spend 250.00 or so and not show a good improvement.

The $250 would be wasted if you were expecting some great comfort improvement from a carbon fork.
I too have an old hand brazed/lugged Italian. I recently did a complete restoration on it and kept the original lugged and brazed steel fork. I aslo have a lugged 531 steel frame with a steel fork and a Reynolds 853 tig welded frame with a carbon fork and threadless headset. The Italian frame is a bit slower than the 853 steel/carbon fork frame. But it's always my choice when I'm going out for a pure pleasure ride. My after work excersize rides are usually on the 853/carbon fork frame. I can ride it a little faster than the Italian and my training rides aren't so much about comfort as they are sweat and stress. My last MS150 (last year) was done with the carbon fork bike. While the frame/fork combination is fairley comfortable, it certainly isn't any more so than the all steel Italian.

my frame and fork have campy dropouts I would hate to loose those too,

but can you rely on CF for being strong. or is it as strong as a steel fork?

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't worry too much about the strength of modern carbon forks, especially the high priced ones.

There's plenty of "feats of strength" stories on http://www.roadbikereview.com/defaultcrx.aspx .
You here about guys who smash up their bikes, and the the only thing not damaged is the fork.

If you read the Ouzo Pro reviews, you'll wanna charge out and buy one :) http://www.roadbikereview.com/Forks/Reynolds/PRD_50025_2492crx.aspx

My bike shop bought a smashed up bike for spare parts, and the fork was scratched enough for them to decide they couldn't sell, so, just for 'fun', one of the guys wanted to test its strength by placing it in a vise to try to bust it. He said he used all his body weight (this guys is strong), yet it took him many, many minutes to crack the fork, and he was pulling the blade laterally, which is (I think) the weakest point of most forks.