agentmulder

Hello all,

I'm looking for a front fork for a build I've just started - it's a 60cm NOS Cilo - late 80's Reynolds 531.

Inserting a fork from my other rides and a estimating headset distances I need a 223mm (8.78") steerer tube length - possibly a snip shorter.

Ideally I'd like a chrome Cilo fork in 531 - but I'm expecting that's an impossible ask.

I'm keen to look at anything really, the more 'era' the better, but I reserve the right to let my aesthetic ideals override that

I've looked at ebay, found that 'campagnolo fork' (finds the dropouts), 'reynolds fork' and 'columbus fork' are great search entries as they avoid all the standard taiwanese chrome clones (that are decent workers I guess, but are a last resort).

Anyways, all forks I find are around 180mm on average - too short...

Outside of buying a 60cm frame with fork incl. I'd love any tips as to how to find vintage (chrome) forks with pretty much uncut steerers?

I can use my Battaglin fork, but it would need a cut that would exclude the use of it with it's matching Battaglin frame (that's a bit beaten up anyway) - but I really don't like the idea of adding to the universal entropy of vintage bikes

any help appreciated

rpenmanparker 

This should be on the C&V forum for best results.

agentmulder

C&V ... ?

ahhhh vintage - Yes, agree ! - there are so many forums ... I didn't spot it

Do I double post or can a mod move this thread ? (and delete these replies also ?)

no1mad 

Moving from Road to C & V...

icepick_trotsky 

Soma sells replacement threaded forks. You can choose your steer tube length. They're chrome and Tange Infinity steel.


Soma CrMo49 Lugged Road Fork (Threaded)

thinktubes 

Post a WTB in Classic Vintage Sale sub-forum (yes, this is a real thing).

agentmulder

I would, and it was my first port of call - however, my account or membership type won't let me post there ...

agentmulder

Thanks for the link, however I'd class those as 'standard taiwanese chrome clones' (the steel is Japanese however?) - I've also found decent variations on that option without the rack mounts etc. also but I'd prefer something european/vintage.

It's going to be hard as long steerers rare in the first place - and only get shorter or used/abused over time...

icepick_trotsky 

You need an upgraded membership. They're not pricey.

icepick_trotsky 

Have you thought about contacting a local framebuilder in your area? Not vintage, but you could choose the steel/lugs. Might be pricey, though.

agentmulder

I have actually - and there are fork sets on ebay with all the bits in reynolds/campag etc.

It is an option, but but yeah, finding a good brazer/frame builder and chrome plating outfit ...

dedhed

FWIW I have a lugged tange champion with tange dropouts that has a steerer measuring 9 9/16" (bottom of crown race to top) and drilled for recessed brakes from an '84 Schwinn Super Sport. If the steerer tube is any indicator it is chromed under the paint.

unworthy1

my suggestion: search and find the Reynolds 531 fork you want (whether a genuine Cilo or something generic that will be "good enough") with ANY size steerer. Then take it to a competent frame builder or repair guy who can splice a longer extension to the steerer. If it's done RIGHT it's perfectly good and would never be seen when in use...plus you can opt for a threadless steerer if that floats your boat.
My personal experience has been 2 forks modified this way by Bernie Mikkelsen in Alameda, CA and they were both the best $60 mods I ever bought...Bernie does it RIGHT!

cyclotoine

if you splice the steerer you should be able to get away without re-chroming. If you had to re-chrome you might as well as well have the fork made from scratch.

clasher

I've seen some really well done fork splices, I would go that route.

vtchuck

Or just be patient.... I looked for quite a while to find a 531 chrome fork for my 60cm 73 Falcon..... settled on a Gitane... except for
the French 531 decal, it looks perfect. It also helps to have a short stack headset.... you can go with a shorter steerer w/ the right headset

Bianchigirll 

I would go for the Soma straight blade chromed fork in a second.

agentmulder

Thanks for all the input,

It's interesting hearing about all the different solutions.

New steerer via a splice/builder:

So a threaded section of steerer (to be sourced) is welded to the existing fork steerer with a sleeve in the middle ? Guessing TIG ?

How long a sleeve ? How far down from the top of the head tube is best for the split?

I can dig it... If the heat is kept local to the weld then the rest of the fork should be fine ? esp. the chrome, it's good hear that wouldn't need a re-do

Patience:

Well, I've been looking for 4 weeks now - I know that's not super long - but the frame is puffing a rearing up in the stocks, it has been waiting 25 years

Soma:
Don't get me wrong - I think they are very decent riding forks - but even without the pannier lugs and those brake mounts (my bike isn't a tourer), it's still not vintage. It might have a vintage aesthetic, it's just something that I'd opt for just to get the bike out on the road in the meantime.

agentmulder

Nice to hear a success story !

Which of the vintage campag headsets would you class as 'short stack' ?

You can make reasonable relative observations - but it's a bit hard to eyeball absolute measurement from auction photos

Actually, I just assumed you went campag - what did you go for headset wise ?

found this in the meantime:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ck-height.html

CliffordK

My local Coop has several forks on their parts wall, I think pretty cheap. Unfortunately most of them are pretty low quality, but I did see one with a 10" steer tube. I think quite a few are also 27"... will that work?

On E-Bay, make sure you go the the proper subdirectory:

Forks | eBay

You can then specify 700c, or 27", and steel.

If you go into "Vintage", you can also filter it by Forks.

fork (Vintage) | eBay

Unfortunately, in some cases, you might be better off buying a complete frame, keeping the fork (and headset?) and dumping the rest of the frame back onto E-Bay.

Vintage 1970s Cilo Columbus 60cm Frame and Forks Campagnolo Dropouts and Ends | eBay
Vintage Cilo Steel Lugged Road Bike Frame 63cm Beautiful | eBay

As far as using your Battaglin fork.... how much needs to be cut off?

Why don't you use the Battaglin fork and add a few spacers. Then when you find the correct fork, simply swap forks.

Here is my Schwinn fork on my Litespeed. I thought it was a pretty short fork, but it is too tall for this frame. So, a few spacers up top, and it is just fine. I don't know if I'll swap forks or not. I did manage to find a Litespeed CF fork that should work on it, but haven't mounted it. That frame is SHORT in height... I need all the extra height I can get



I keep meaning to start a scratch frame build... the fork kits are available, but not real cheap.

agentmulder

Hi Clifford,

I'm sourcing some spacers now for the battalgin , need about 14mm. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it looks odd (I've mocked it up with a 3D printed part). Also I don't want to have to drop the stem so far down and get insertion scratches etc. - since it's NOS, I'm being particularly sensitive in the build, once it hits the road though, all bets are off

I'm going to rustle about my headsets when I get home and measure them all up in terms of stack height

unworthy1

[QUOTE=agentmulder;17723129]Thanks for all the input,

It's interesting hearing about all the different solutions.

New steerer via a splice/builder:

So a threaded section of steerer (to be sourced) is welded to the existing fork steerer with a sleeve in the middle ? Guessing TIG ?

How long a sleeve ? How far down from the top of the head tube is best for the split?

I can dig it... If the heat is kept local to the weld then the rest of the fork should be fine ? esp. the chrome, it's good hear that wouldn't need a re-do

Yes, just so: the builder will have a length of steerer on-hand and that is TiG welded with just the right size internal slug needed to support the weld and allow for the stem you choose to work. Bernie grinds the joint into 2 opposing half "v"s and fills with weld material, then grinds it flat. He chucks it into a lathe to make sure the steerer is dead straight and corrects it as needed. He also checks and corrects the forkends so the are dead parallel.The weld burn only extends a few inches around the splice area so paint and chrome are usually not affected.

CliffordK

[QUOTE=unworthy1;17723621]I've heard about splicing being suggested.

If you mount your lower headset race before welding, you may not need to grind the weld. If you have good penetration, then a V-grove may not be needed either. I would, however, try to get the weld somewhere in the middle, low enough that it would not interfere with the stem, but I presume the greatest leverage is in the fork, so I'd also place it as high as possible.

Depending on the length, I'd cut off the threads, and weld just below the original threads.

This is from my cargo bike as found.



Yep, galvanized conduit in the middle, I think. I'm not sure what the V-shaped hole was all about, but I went ahead and filled in the hole and touched up the weld.

Of course, the forces are somewhat different on the cargo bike than on a regular bike, but I wouldn't put this in the hall of fame for strength.

If I did a "sleeve", it would be internal, and wouldn't need to be long. Just long enough to give a little backing to the weld.

agentmulder

This discussion sure is making me miss access to a workshop

I think for now, I'll use a stack of spacers and the battaglin - then wait and see on eBay ... One of those links above to a full Clio looked perfect, just the shipping is $$ (to Australia) - I'd chrome then apply ebay 531 fork stickers (if the fork was 531 original).

Of course, discussion is interesting in the meantime - The obvious issue of the lower fork race installation needing the clearance over the weld, and then the other obvious issue of the stem penetration hadn't immediately occurred to me. I'd like to think it would have eventually !

I wonder how many people have managed to stuff that up ?

clasher

The best way to do a splice on a 1" is to use a piece of a 7/8" cr-mo and braze it. I've seen an old stem used for this purpose but a new piece of cr-mo isn't expensive. It's a basic slip-fit joint that brazing excels at. There's nothing left to grind if the brazer is any good.