aal

Can any regular LBS drill a track fork for a brake, or is there something more complicated involved? Anything special to be aware of?

deathhare

Measure twice, drill once. A LBS probably CANT do it because they may or may not have a drill press.

aal

I take it any good machine shop could do it then? Anyone know what size hole is generally needed?

deathhare

Wait, are you sure you wanna do it? What fork is it?
Maybe you should run another fork and spare the track one. Also, some track forks like to bend like hell when you start running a brake, apparently.

sashae

I would suggest taking it to a framebuilder or a shop familiar with frame repair, not just joe blow local.

operator

Cheap fork drilled for brake <=$50.

marqueemoon

For what you would be charged to do it right, your could throw a cheap fork on there and call it good.

Igneous Faction

Soma Rush fork = $120.00. Tange Prestige steel, black, red, or chrome.

That's just me though. It is your frameset. Out of curiousity, what type of frame is it?

norskagent

I had someone at my lbs drill the carbon fork of my rush hour pro, he was fearless doing it because he owns the store and could give me another fork if he screwed it up. It has an alloy steer tube where the drill site is, he used a caliper and eyeball method to locate the center point, then a small drill punch, then a small hole on each side, they mated perfectly when he drilled through, then progressively larger holes, the backside hole needs to be larger than the front.

cavernmech

Some track forks dont have a reinforced crown where the brake hole would go...thus the "bend like hell" comment. +1 on the pre drilled fork option.

dutret

That comment was probably more about circular tubing that wasn't meant to deal with the forces of braking.

number18

get one of these, save that fork:

https://www.bikecult.com/works/parts/FKgenSB.html

trackstar10

no man, dont do it man, just put it down. allright? PUT THE DRILL DOWN NOW.

aal

Thanks for the advice. Actually don't have the frame/fork yet, but have been looking around seriously. I think the best idea is to get another fork. Thanks again.

sashae

You mean that same circular tubing for fork blades that gets used for some touring forks?

deathhare

nope

sashae

*shakes head*

BostonFixed

I believe you are referring to oval tubing, not circular tubing..at least that is the shape of the tubing on the 3 touring forks that I own.

jacobpriest

Save the fork for resale or later use and buy a cheap other fork w/ a whole drilled. I bet if you post in the trade thread someone might even have one!

sashae

...or drill it and do what you want with the bike It's not going to 'ruin' the fork or make it weaker or whatever else...

deathhare

*shakes head*

sashae

What exactly is the theory here? That track fork are made out of magical elves that will burst into flames if you put a hole through the crown? The biggest problem you're likely to face with a track fork is reach -- if you have an ultra-tight fork, finding a really really short reach brake will be difficult. The fork isn't going to explode if there's a hole in it, otherwise many, MANY builders wouldn't have put holes in the fork crown from the factory.

OH NOEZ MY FORKZ ELVEZ ARE GOING TO DIE#$!@%

onetwentyeight 

oh man finding a brake that fit is such a *****. i had to take a metal rasp to the underside of the damn thing just so it wouldnt rub my tire. blah!

in other news, my drilled out track fork STILL IS SOLID!! omg!!

why did i drill it, you ask? cuz a new decent fork would have cost over half what i paid for the damn frame. (one more week and its gone, one more week and its gone...)

deathhare

No,　theyre not made out of elves...theyre made out of steel. Last i checked at least.

No one said it would explode if a hole is put in it. The design of a true track fork is traditionally different ..ie the choice of tubing. Also, the steeper head tube that most track frames have will allow alot more leverage to be put on the fork from stopping forces of a front brake.
Its not the hole that makes the fork weak or makes it bend. Its the actual weight of you put upon by use of the front brake.
This is common knowledge. Ive seen more than one NJS forks bent from just this. One a Maeda and the other a Kiyo.
Point is..it depends on the fork. Just saying that if its rare or something he doesnt want to see possibly jacked he should think twice about the drill drill

Fegos

What he said!