Neccros

Ok...

I notice most bikes have carbon forks with curved legs and usually a 43-44mm rake. Now some forks have the same 43-44mm rake but the legs are totally straight.

Any advantage to this??? Disadvantages?? I know alot of TT/Tri bikes have straight forks, but I have seen some road bikes with straight forks....

Anyone???

Neccros

anyone??

Hocam

You could argue that the curved forks will absorb road shocks more and the straight forks are stiffer but I've never seen proof.

whalen83

I dont think it matters much. I think its just for looks but I have been known to be wrong before.

clausen

This what Colnago has. Of course this applies to a steel fork.

Why does Colnago use a straight blade fork design?
Colnago’s straight blade fork was born in 1987 in collaboration with Ferrari engineers during a discussion about cold setting fork curvature. Ernesto Colnago and the Ferrari engineers discovered that while the curved fork didn’t absorb road vibrations and shocks, while the straight bladed fork did. From that testing, Colnago’s PRECISA fork was born, and subsequently, many of Colnago’s competitors adopted a straight blade fork.

531Aussie

There's so much variety in the way carbon is made that it's too simple to predict that overall shape will make a noticeable difference. Generally, chunkier (thicker, broader) blades are stiffer, regardless of overall shape. Also, a lot of flex comes from the crown, and (generally) forks with aluminium crowns are stiffer than carbon crowns. Lighter forks also tend to be flexier than heavier forks, although this is harder to predict.

I've had forks with big curves in them that were stiff as bricks, and vice versa. The blades may be curved, yet be broad (front-on and sideways) and thick-walled, making them stiff, and vice versa for straight baldes. It was a little easier to predict in the old days, because the walls of the steel blades were pretty much the same thickness.

Here's another safe generalisation: stiffer forks are a little less comfortable, but handle a lot better, and vice versa

In my opinion, rake is way overrated compared to the factors I've mentioned above, unless (maybe) you start getting toward 4 or 5mm.

Tri forks are bladed for 'aeroness', and are usually very thin from front on. They generally don't have good lateral stiffness for mashing the bike.

Neccros

I do like the way straight aero forks look!!