Touring - Winwood CX fork v.s. steel or other

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2WheelMotion
03-22-05, 02:52 PM
Recently I noticed Winwood cyclocross forks with disc tabs...and eyelests for fenders...AND eyelets for a rack !?
Hmm.... that might be a pretty sweet, shock absorbing ride.

If you want to take a gander, www.spicercycles.com is carrying the fork with what looks like eyelets on the fork leg. I have seen the forks on cyclocross bikes in the store, and it looked like an eyelet at a casual glance. I'll have to really check it out next time.

Pros:
Shock absorption
Light weight
Stiff?
Strength?

Cons:
Shock absorption
- might not need shock absorption with 28c - 32c tires
Light weight
- really, who cares about 100 grams on a loaded tourer
- is it gonna break?
Eyelets in carbon fibre - will they hold up to a screw with a 10lb load and accelerated force over bumpy dirt roads?
Flex - A cyclocross rider in the Cyclocross forum mentioned that he thought the forks were flexy under a strong braking force

In the end, I might do better to stick with the old Kinesis (aluminum?) fork presently on the bike, or buy a Surly steel fork. I bet the Surly fork has eyelets for the rack.

ScituateJohn
03-22-05, 08:26 PM
The axle to crown length is long. It will change the geometry of bikes made for shorter forks.
MichaelW
03-23-05, 04:21 AM
When comparing weights, a lot of people consider a premium, racing style, all-carbon fork and compare it to a fairly cheap unicrown steel which is 1/4 the price.
If you compare a generic low end carbon fork to a high-end custom steel fork, the price and weight are pretty evenly matched.

Dougmt
03-23-05, 11:17 AM
I went with the Surly 1x1 Fork. It does NOT have the upper braze ons for a rack, however, since I went with a disc brake I'm gonna convert the canti bosses into rack mounting points.
D
2WheelMotion
03-23-05, 01:06 PM
I noticed that spicercycles.com carries a few different steel and aluminum forks. They have forks for 26" and 700c wheels, including suspension-corrected rigid mtb forks. Their site includes titanium, aluminum, cromoly, and carbon forks. I didn't see any forks with eyelets for the rack, but many had eyelets on the drop-outs for fenders.
enantiodroma
03-28-05, 02:20 PM
i've got one (winwood cx), not flexy at all, has taken some serious hits & is holding up fine, i recommend it.