Aluminum fork? Really?
#26
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I too have Litage forks on both my road bike, and my mtn bike/commuter. I've also ridden top end steel forks from Reynolds and Columbus for decades, and can say the Litage road fork rides as nicely as the steel ones in every respect. (I don't have a decent basis of comparison for the mtn/commuter fork, but I've very happy with it.
I have about as much concern for their safety as I do stepping into a Boeing aircraft.
I have about as much concern for their safety as I do stepping into a Boeing aircraft.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
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Felt Bicycles recalls road bikes due to aluminum steerer tube failures - VeloNews.com
https://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/...ug%202012).pdf
#28
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Had 2 Italian AlAn supers.. 100% aluminum , they go in collectors desired lists even now..
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CX racing it was The Bike .. a while ago .. world championships won riding them ..
#29
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To be fair, the problem with the Lambert/Viscount fork wasn't the aluminum casting, but rather the means by which it was attached to the steel steer tube. As noted elsewhere above, proper design can make an aluminum fork as safe, comfortable, and reliable as any other material.
#30
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Older (~90s) Specialized Allez and Trek's had Al forks standard. It wasn't until the mid-2000s that Al frame + CF fork became standard for entry level bikes. There must have been millions of forks sold like that. Total non-issue.
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I have a 1994 Cannondale Killer V900 hard-tail mountain bike that came with a beefy aluminum fork called the Pepperoni. I bent it when a drunken teenager plowed into me one July 4 on a beach trail. I was lucky to find another Pepperoni fork (exactly same color and steerer size) at an old Cannondale dealership.
The real interesting thing about the Pepperoni is that it is kinda overbuilt.
The real interesting thing about the Pepperoni is that it is kinda overbuilt.
I bought it new, and at this point the frame, fork, and handlebar are the only remaining original parts.
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Both of your quotes/articles are 5-6 years old. Haven't seen any problems since then from any manufactor. Might be some but doesn't seem to be a problem now.
...for some strange reason, aluminum steerer tubes still show up in production bikes and cause some issues:
Felt Bicycles recalls road bikes due to aluminum steerer tube failures - VeloNews.com
https://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/...ug%202012).pdf
Felt Bicycles recalls road bikes due to aluminum steerer tube failures - VeloNews.com
https://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/...ug%202012).pdf
#33
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I see aluminum steerer tubes that come in on used bikes infrequently, but enough to worry about them.
And the second link stated that the bikes in question might have been sold up until 2012.
Again, I realize this is teh Biekforums, and you score points for this kinda stuff. I'm just trying to get the word out.
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There are TONS of bikes out there whose carbon forks have aluminum steering tubes, two of my bikes among them. If there was a widespread problem with aluminum steering tubes in general, I'm confident there would be some awareness of the issue on these forums. In the meantime, I plan to keep riding mine worry-free.
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....good for you.
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The real interesting thing is that it was not the bike I wanted at that time. I really wanted Cannondale's Delta V (which had a rear suspension), but the price was just more than I wanted to spend. Now that I use my killer V hardtail as a kind of leisure/picnic bike, I thank serendipity for making me chose the Killer V, as I could have stretched a little bit to buy the Delta V. And a bike with dual suspension is just not gonna work for the purposes I now use the bike for.
Last edited by Jed19; 04-07-14 at 11:03 AM.
#37
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I had a fork break at the steerer tube, it was a steel fork, and steerer. It was a cheap deptment store bike. I now have a bike with an AL fork, and have never given it a second thought.
My neighbor is an automechanic. He sometimes works on his buddys ARCA race car. I was shot the breeze with him one day, and saw the drivers seat frame. I asked if it was cro-mo, figeuring that would be the best material in the drivers last line of defense. Nope, it was AL, very thick wall tubing. And it was pretty heavy. Even with the thickness of the tubing, it was still lighter than steel, and offered the same protection.
My neighbor is an automechanic. He sometimes works on his buddys ARCA race car. I was shot the breeze with him one day, and saw the drivers seat frame. I asked if it was cro-mo, figeuring that would be the best material in the drivers last line of defense. Nope, it was AL, very thick wall tubing. And it was pretty heavy. Even with the thickness of the tubing, it was still lighter than steel, and offered the same protection.
#38
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fear of a bike just because a certain part is made from a certain material
comes from ignorance
and nothing else
the myth that steel always makes a part stronger is just that
a myth
but it is often repeated
and so often believed
but in the real world
almost every bike from bsos just above the bottom end
to bike shop bikes just below all carbon
are now made from aluminum
and have been for fifteen years or so
the fact of the matter is
thousands and thousands of bikes have full aluminum forks
or forks with aluminum steerer tubes bonded to something else
and there simply has not been a rash of broken forks
comes from ignorance
and nothing else
the myth that steel always makes a part stronger is just that
a myth
but it is often repeated
and so often believed
but in the real world
almost every bike from bsos just above the bottom end
to bike shop bikes just below all carbon
are now made from aluminum
and have been for fifteen years or so
the fact of the matter is
thousands and thousands of bikes have full aluminum forks
or forks with aluminum steerer tubes bonded to something else
and there simply has not been a rash of broken forks
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