shrooms

A few days ago I bought a Colorado Legend TI bike one with a red carbon fork. I'm kinda thinking to upgrade it with titanium parts. If you own a similar bike do you know what height and diameter of the fork's steering tube which fits the frame with out any modifications?
Thanks a lot in advance.

Wingsprint

Very cool frame!

Are you asking how long the fork steerer tube needs to be? If so, you would need to measure the frame head tube and the add length needed for the headset, spacers and the stem. The steerer tube for that frame will be 1 1/8" diameter.

rpenmanparker 

A Ti fork is not an upgrade to a Ti frame. Especially if the maker speced CF for the fork.

shrooms

Thanks for the good news. I was afraid it could have been 1" in diameter which is impossible to find.

datlas 

Conventional wisdom says Ti forks are more trouble and expense than they are worth. My advice is to stick with CF fork. Just saying.

shrooms

What you think about other parts as seat post, stem post, stem, and steering? Thank you.

Not bringing an argument. My bike was manufactured in 1993 or a year or two years later. Which means the CF fork is 20 or more years old. There is some information that epoxy closer to the age 20 years starts to deteriate on the molecular level. If its true a TF might be safer especially with my weight at the moment (225 lbs). What you think?

rpenmanparker 

^^^
All Al and CF. Ti in the cockpit, except perhaps the bolts, is a waste of both weight and money.

Elvo

Ti cockpit is actually pretty cheap:
https://fairwheelbikes.com/controlte...em-p-7087.html
https://fairwheelbikes.com/controlte...ar-p-7073.html
https://fairwheelbikes.com/controlte...ar-p-7104.html
https://fairwheelbikes.com/controlte...st-p-7093.html

79pmooney

Have you ridden a ti fork or is this speculation?

Yeah, a builder has to do the R & D, secure suppliers of tapered ti extrusions, then have to sell the idea of spending more money than just spec some off the shelf CF fork. The fork I dream of is ti, a little stiffer, much stronger and confidence inspiring, but with the same dreamy ride the old Lamberts had. I know that ride well, having spent many hours on that aluminum fork. I will never be on aluminum again, but that ride? I'd pay half a grand for it. It's that good.

Ben

Deontologist

Ti is stiffness challenged. You won't get a reasonably stiff Ti fork unless it's seriously oversized relative to a carbon or aluminum fork. And at that point you lose big in terms of aerodynamics and cost. Remember, Ti is about half as stiff as steel. The main way to increase stiffness of a tube is to increase its cross-sectional area. A fork with legs that have big cross-sectional areas? Nah, I'll pass.

Black Sheep has made some Ti forks. Google it.

Finally, working with Ti is different (read: more expensive) than working with Al or carbon.

shrooms

Bookmarked. Thanks a lot.

WheelsRolling

I have a Ti fork built by TiCycles Fabrication on my 1993 Merlin Extralight. It was originally spec'ed for my 1997 Serotta Legend, and I had it on that bike for a short time. It was a perfect match for the Legend, but unfortunately that bike was destroyed in a car crash (the fork survived undamaged). The fork cost $1100…!! That's right. In fact, the Merlin Extralight frame I bought as a replacement for the Serotta (after a lengthy search for a frame with the exact same head tube length) was cheaper than the fork. I guess when you spend that much on a Ti fork, you'd better put it to use. That being said, I have ridden over 10K miles on the new frame and fork and love them. The fork is incredibly durable, and I've had no issues at all with fork flex. It looks beautiful with a Ti frame, and I can't say I've ever seen or ever expect to see another bike quite like it.
Pros: Looks awesome, highly durable, no flex problems, custom dimensions.
Cons: PRICE!, not aero (round tubes), have to order it and wait for 3 months.

rpenmanparker 

Uh, oh! I'm busted. But I wouldn't call it speculation. More like just repeating "common knowledge" as learned by reading it many times on the 41 to someone without benefit of that information. If you disagree with it, I can't properly argue with you. I'll step back from this one after mentioning, however, that IMO carbon fiber forks beat the other fork materials I HAVE compared it to, steel and aluminum, on bikes made of those materials. And riding my two Ti bikes with carbon fiber forks has never given me reason to believe otherwise for that combination. I am missing one data point though, and I readily admit it.

BillyD

Pardon me, Robert. I don't want to read you wrong here. But I think surely any new component replacing an older component is an upgrade of sorts.

Surely you're not suggesting that a Ti component replacing a CF component couldn't possibly be an upgrade. Surely I've done you a disservice and read your statement wrong. My apologies. Just semantics, I'm sure. Or more coffee needed on my part.

BillyD

Oh boy, 41 common knowledge will get you in trouble every time.

rpenmanparker 

Of course it is all in the eye of the beholder. OTOH I'm focusing solely on ride characteristics. Folks may want a metallic fork for various reasons like nostalgia, aesthetics, beliefs about durability, etc. And I won't argue with any of those. But as regards ride quality, it is widely believed that the carbon fork cannot be beat in combination with any frame material. Widely, not exclusively, I should be quick to disclaim.

shrooms

If a frame from a different material where do you think vibration from rear wheel goes?
To support the idea of the question here is the article about forks:
The Rinard Fork Deflection Test

rpenmanparker 

You know what they say, "Half a loaf is better than no rest at all."