cs1

I know you pay for what you get but, anyone ever use a Nashbar carbon fork? This is on sale:

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...ork%20Freakout

My brother wants to swap out the aluminum fork on his old Trek 1200 without breaking the bank. Personally, I can't see a large company selling parts that are defective. Being in the insurance business, I can tell you that after the liability claims start rolling in from injuries one of two things will happen. Either their carrier will either put a stop to it or cancell them.

So, the question is: anyone use one? If so, how did it work?

Tim

staehpj1

I haven't used that fork, but have had good luck with nashbar house brand stuff in the past.

top506

Me too.
Im sure that the folks that make this fork for Nashbar are also the OEM for several bike manufactures.
I do know that their brake levers and other parts are made by Tektro (who makes the same parts for Soma and Cane Creek), and some tools are by Lifu.
Top

HillRider

No experience with their forks but I've used their house-brand stems and headsets in several builds and they have been very satisfactory.

Their threadless stems weigh the same or less than several major brands, fit the bars and steerer perfectly and cost 1/3 as much. The Nashbar logo is small and easily hidden so it doesn't compromise the snob-appeal of your bike.

In general, its good stuff at very good prices.

barba

I have that fork. No problems with around 3000 miles on it. It isn't the lightest carbon fork available, but I like it because it is not covered in logos.

dobber

Ditto, I've got that as a replacement to the whistlin steel fork on my GTB. Has probably a 1000+ miles on it with no complaints.

Philatio

I've had good success with lots of nashbar house brand stuff. Off the top of my head: crankset, BB, 2 freewheels, and a couple stems. No complaints - no experience with that fork either though

capwater

I built a beater/winter trainer with that fork and their generic aluminum frame. No problems whatsoever and I have 2 years and several thousand miles on the rig. Like with most distributors, their stuff is made by other folks. I know their brakes are all manufactured by Textro. Great deals from Nashbar/Performance.

mlts22 

I tend to buy locally, (the Keep Austin Weird thing), but the stuff I do buy from Nashbar I have not had any complaints about. I definitely won't hesitate to order stuff from them.

Bob Pringle

I've had good luck with most of the stuff I've ordered from Nashbar. One exception - a square taper bottom bracket at a "too good to be true" price. It failed at about 500 miles. I'm staying with Shimano for bottom brackets!

Regards,
Bob P.

gwhunt23

I bought mine when it was on sale for 50 bucks. They might go down again if it's worth your wait.

seely

It looks a lot like a Ritchey fork... not the greatest but ok if you don't care too much about weight/stiffness. They do ride smoothly, just tend to be flexy under hard cornering. I'm sure its no more prone to failure than any other carbon fork out there.

cs1

The fork would go on my brother's Trek 1200. The reason I liked that is because it has an aluminum steerer. My brother goes about 220. I think a carbon tube fork might be too flimsy. The aluminum fork he has now is just way too stiff. It transmits EVERYTHING back to the rider.

Tim

HillRider

Did your brother's 1200 come with an aluminum fork? My son's mid-90's vintage 1220 (triple crank version of the 1200) came with a steel fork that outweighed the rest of the frame.

I changed it out for the Al fork from my older 1420 when I upgraded to a carbon fork a few year ago. The 1420's Al fork wasn't the lightest thing out there either but it was a major improvement over the 1220's steel original. There was no noticable change in ride comfort or handling.

cs1

The bike is about 3-4 years old. It came with a Tiagra triple and an aluminum fork. We weren't looking to lighten it up, just smooth the ride. Short of swapping the group out to a steel frame the fork upgrade seems like the cheapest route.

Tim

kmart

Anyone try Nashbar's expanding fork plug?
Seems like it would save a trip to the LBS to have the star nut installed on a new fork.

mike

I have used a lot of Nashbar brand stuff from forks to lights to clothes. It has all worked very well and I feel is it good value for the money.

mikeyp.1

I put that fork on my 4130 track bike/nexus 8-have a few thousand miles on it with no problems.Not the lightest,most techno fork around-but it did knock half a pound off the bike-now a 23lb featherweight-and also,steel/carbon rides really really nice.

HillRider

I've used Profile's expanding plug in a 1" steel steerer and FSA's plugs in two 1-1/8" carbon steerer forks. The expanders are a convenience in steel or Al steerers and mandatory in carbon. They all work well and I expect Nashbar's version will too.

rmfnla

I tried their Road Cranks and found them on the cheesy side, but that brings up an important point; they give refunds on anything you are not satisfied with.

Try the fork. If you don't like it they will take it back. Such a deal!

cs1

For us weight wasn't the issue. We wanted to smooth out the really stiff ride. The aluminum frame/fork gives a very stiff ride. We were hoping the carbon fork would dampen out some of the road irregularities.

Did the fork smooth out the ride? Or would bigger tires work better. Actually, tires cost about what the fork does on sale.

Tim