Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - track fork

Its easy enough to find a track frame but why is it so hard to find a used track fork. I was trying to find one for less than $100 but its impossible. Its a 60cm frame so the fork needs plenty of steerer tube. Any suggestions of where to look? At this point i'd even settle fork a good road fork with the least rake possible.

Hey im in the same situation that you are in i just purchased a 55cm Bianchi pista track frame for under 200 dollars and the seller had a set of carbon track forks in another auction that went for 30 dollars but i thought to myself "Ill just look on E-bay and find a Bianchi track fork" well....thats what i get for thinking.
I havent found anything as far as used track fork on e bay yet
so if anyone here happens to have one I'd be glad to purchase it from you if Inkdwheels is not intrested in it.
thanks

Good luck. Im in the same boat, looking for a (cheapish) fork with as little rake/offset as possible. Ive found a couple for a 52ish frame, but nothing bigger. (looking for 19cm of steerer).

Here's a marked-down Easton from Nashbar...43mm of rake so prob not what you're looking for, but the price is right. I have one and it's decent enough.
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0510&sku=8740&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

If that link doesn't work then just do a manufacturer search for Easton at Nashbar.

look at the soma rush fork, they go for like 100 bucks or so.

spicer is the answer.

see here: http://www.spicercycles.com/index.cgi?cat=22&cat_desc=Track&sub_cat=Forks

i love mine, and $99 is under a hundred bucks.

this is the fork im running now. Its aluminum.

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/146/3197/640/182_8240.jpg

I wonder if how much (less) rake i could get away with.

hard to get from that picture (a little red X humor)

How about this one
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/146/3197/640/182_8242.jpg

Nope. Anyone found a reasonable 650 fork. I have a wheel and want to find a cheap fork.

spicer is the answer.

see here: http://www.spicercycles.com/index.cgi?cat=22&cat_desc=Track&sub_cat=Forks

i love mine, and $99 is under a hundred bucks.

TAHNK YOU this is perfect

kinesis makes a slick straight blade 650c fork, though it isn't track-specific...it should be easy to google it.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

Hey another Forum Member pointed me to thesse ...A bit cheaper
Any Opinions good or bad?
thanks

Oh yea theyre Only $57.00

Yeah I have that fork its nice. It looks really sharp and the ride is nice, I have one on a road bike conversion fixed gear.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=86&subcategory=1182&brand=&sku=12295&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Killer price on a sweet fork. Probably 40mm rake.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

one more of the many questions i have .....
does it make a difference if you get a straight fork intended for a road bike over a straight fork intended for a track bike.....(if the 2 are different) and if so are the differences major or just one had a brake hole and the other doesnt?
thanks again

the only difference would be in the rake and the brake hole or lack thereof...also eyelets, or canti bosses or whatever, but the only thing that will effect the ride is the rake.

the spicer threadless fork is a good, solid track fork, which is perfect for real track bikes and the aesthetically obsessed (yours truly). the bikecult fork is a good, solid road fork, which is good enough for a road-fix conversion.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

Hey another Forum Member pointed me to thesse ...A bit cheaper
Any Opinions good or bad?
thanks

Oh yea theyre Only $57.00

I have that fork. I used it on a road conversion but it has more offset than the one im using on this bike. So mine is up for grabs.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

one more of the many questions i have .....
does it make a difference if you get a straight fork intended for a road bike over a straight fork intended for a track bike.....(if the 2 are different) and if so are the differences major or just one had a brake hole and the other doesnt?
thanks again

Generally speaking, track forks use round tubes (as opposed to ovalized) because they don't need to endure the stress of a brake being applied. As such, track forks are more rigid laterally. Some track forks may flex objectionably due to the round tubing during braking. Also, track forks have less rake (a reynolds track fork, for example, has a 37.5mm rake, as opposed to a 43mm road fork) than road forks.

Road forks have clearances for brakes, and sometimes fenders, track forks do not. Road forks are drilled for brakes (obviously) and sometimes they have more material around the brake hole.

It looks like im gonna shell out $100 for a new fork. Its gonna wait though. Other parts (king headset, thomson seatpost) are gonna come first.

with regards to straight vs bent forks. I've always found bent road forks a bit more forgiving in taking up a bit of the road chatter with e the flex at the bend.

with regards to straight vs bent forks. I've always found bent road forks a bit more forgiving in taking up a bit of the road chatter with e the flex at the bend.
Yea, but straight blade forks look SO much nicer than bent blade forks, IMO.
Patriots Win! Can you say dynasty?

straight forks fit new techy bikes fine, but if you're going for classic, the straight fork is going to look really out of place. (opinion)

i just got that straight bladed fork from bike works and its pretty darn dope. I would recomend it to anyone looking for an affordable new fork with killer looks. $57 aint bad atall

...just my dos pesos

I wish they made those fork in 650. That way I could go back and forth

Hey thank you everyone once again
for all the information that helped me
and others out
Luey

straight forks fit new techy bikes fine, but if you're going for classic, the straight fork is going to look really out of place. (opinion)

I don't know I think the bikeworks straight forks look fine on my bike. I know it doesn't look old school, but it doesn't look "techy" either. That said, the bikeworks fork is HOT but it still has more rake than I want, and the kid who sold me my bike didn't give me the stock fork so i've only had road forks on it. I really want a nice set of track forks, but I don't have the money for them right now. . . eventually everthing will come together though, all I think I need is a new headset, bottom bracket, seatpost and fork and then maybe a new set of wheels then I'm really done with this bike and I can move on to the next project.

I don't know I think the bikeworks straight forks look fine on my bike. I know it doesn't look old school, but it doesn't look "techy" either. That said, the bikeworks fork is HOT but it still has more rake than I want, and the kid who sold me my bike didn't give me the stock fork so i've only had road forks on it. I really want a nice set of track forks, but I don't have the money for them right now. . . eventually everthing will come together though, all I think I need is a new headset, bottom bracket, seatpost and fork and then maybe a new set of wheels then I'm really done with this bike and I can move on to the next project.

so who's got a pic of their ride with that $57 bike works fork? whats the rake on it anyway? im looking to tighten up the lax geometry of my centurion accordo frame. not much can be done for the rear but theres room to work on the front. looking to tighten the manuverabilty and also hope to drop standover height in the front slightly (probably only a quarter of an inch, but it'll help) by switching the stock fork with a 700c road fork with less rake.

found some. i think the rake is just what im looking for. im trying to set up my accordo as a tight handling but comfortable commuter. im going with clips on this one, so id like to keep away from toe overlap as much as possible. the bikeworks fork doesnt look drastic enough to bring the tires to my feet.

I'll take one when I get home.

NM, you already found mine. I forgot I posted it :) . My frame is an old racer so the geometry was not that lax. Not track tight but tighter than my current road bike. I think the rake is 43mm but I could be wrong. I'll take some closer pics of the proximity of the front wheel and the pedal. Keep in mind that I have 25's on this one so the tire is a little larger than most.

40mm is pretty much the standard road geom these days. Even straight blade replacement forks will cant the crown angle to give you 40mm of effective rake.

Also, remember that more rake, not less, makes the ride more responsive. Reducing the rake increases trail which makes your ride more stable.

Also, remember that more rake, not less, makes the ride more responsive. Reducing the rake increases trail which makes your ride more stable.

thanks for the clarification, boston. ive got a bad habit of skimming through technical stuff :o

just got back from the LBS, checking around for cheap forks, no luck. still debating the bikeworks fork--its cheap at $57.00+shipping but only if you have a headset to match. another member bought this fork and said that the crown race is 27mm, not 26.4 and he had to go out and buy another headset. a new headset brings the total cost for using this fork closer to $100.00.

If there's enough material, you can have your LBS mill the crown race to 26.4.

You can have the diameter of the crown race cut down. It cost me $5 at my LBS. He said it was a standard thing to do with new forks. He cut it to size for my 105 headset in about 5 min.

Edit: Mill wold be a better term than cut it down...

Actually it's machining. Milling requires a mill, but you can machine without a mill (at least that's my take). And yeah, it's pretty cheap. Cost me $3 to machine my fork crown...paint. (Ok, I had some paint on there but I didn't realize it was enough to change the effective diameter--it was even factory paint and had had a headset on there before.)

steamroller forks sell for around $65 and they have 38mm of rake. but they're a tad tall.

for forks with steerer tubes that are too short, it's possible to cut the steerer tube a few inches above the crown, then TIG weld an extension on. it's best to use a sleeve inside that acts as bridge between the two tubes that are being welded. this works best for thredless steerers but I've done it on threaded too.

Potus, Nippon, Doko desu ka?

S/F,
CEYA!

steamroller forks sell for around $65 and they have 38mm of rake. but they're a tad tall.

for forks with steerer tubes that are too short, it's possible to cut the steerer tube a few inches above the crown, then TIG weld an extension on. it's best to use a sleeve inside that acts as bridge between the two tubes that are being welded. this works best for thredless steerers but I've done it on threaded too.
That sounds dangerous. I would not like to test (or ride) those forks! :eek:

Potus, Nippon, Doko desu ka?

S/F,
CEYA!

Sano ni. my japanese sucks. sano is in tochigi pref, close to nikko.



That sounds dangerous. I would not like to test (or ride) those forks! :eek:

we're talking about two .058" tubes welded together with a .058" sleeve. as far as bike tubes go that's about three times thicker than the TT/ST miter in an area that gets very little stress. the fork would break somewhere else way before that joint would break. I'd be surprised if you could break it with a vice and a sledge hammer.

just got off the phone with the LBS. the guy found me a straight chrome (chromoly) 700c road fork for $49. itll be in on friday, im curious to what its going to look like... really hope its not welded...

Hey all,

resurrecting this thread... this guy (http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/60811061.html) will do a custom fork for about $120. That's only slightly more than the Spicer Cycles fork and about the same price as a Benotto. Seems like a really good price.

m.

Hey everyone I E-mailed
Spicer Cycles about that
Benotto fork and they told me.
that they are Discontinued
found out about 1 week ago
::Posted incase anyone wasnt aware of it::