Originally Posted by
Axiom
Have you tried buying a good pair of padded biking gloves? Those should help, and they will save you a good $90 or so.
Yes. The same Specialized BG Comp half-finger gloves I have had for a few years.
But I asked about forks, not gloves. We have chip seal roads around here (in the country) and the Aluminum fork seems to transmit all the vibration to the bars. My old Allez (carbon fork, 23c tires) actually had less felt handshock and seemed to be a smoother ride.
I did just install some Origin8 comfort grips/bar ends (they look very similar to Ergon but larger soft rubber area) so maybe I won't feel the need for a carbon fork if I can get out again sometime, meaning if it warms back up-and doesnt rain or give me 20mph winds.
I do also want to get new tires for it, which, I don't know maybe new tires would help more. It has Specialized All-Condition Sport tires right now, 700x28c (stock tires). Roads here are pretty clean, so I only really need mild puncture resistance, I think Armadillo/gatorskins would be overkill, and would weigh more and ride like garbage. I would prefer a 120tpi casing for better compliance.
As for forks the only thing in my realistic budget is the Nashbar cyclocross carbon fork that is $130. Something tells me that $130 is better spent on new tires/tubes/shipping...