Converting a bike with a high quality steel fork to a "low end" carbon fork is a DOWNGRADE, not an upgrade. And, it is a downgrade that might endanger your life and your health.

No fork absorbs road vibrations and road shock better than a good steel fork. If a steel fork takes a hard hit from a pot hole, or debris in the road, it can often be realigned and continue to be safely used for many years.

In contrast, a carbon fork is brittle under impact stresses. If a substantial impact from a pothole or road debris exceeds the design limits for a carbon fork, it might shatter instantly, like a piece of glass. An internal stress fracture inside the leg of a carbon fork might be invisible. You crash, inspect the fork, see nothing wrong and keep riding. The next hard impact on the fork could cause an instant failure, hurling you over the bars and onto the concrete.

If you MUST have a carbon fork, buy a carbon fork from a long established maker, such as Easton. Easton tests every single fork after it leaves the production line, and tests it against forces ten times higher than the forces that can be expected from routine riding.

In contrast, the "bargain" carbon forks that have flooded the market over the past year come primarily from unknown sources within communist China. At the wholesale level, some of the communist Chinese forks cost as little as $30 or $40. That should give you a clue as to the "high standards" and rigorous testing cheapo forks are subjected to...no standards and no testing is more likely.

TO BE CLEAR: the free Republic of China on Taiwan is NOT the same nation as the communist occupied Chinese mainland. The carbon frames and forks on made-in-Taiwan Giant bikes are among the best in the world...so good that even European bike brands are chosing to buy from the same factory that makes carbon products for Giant.

Sadly, carbon forks have become so cheap, that most road bikes selling for over $500 will come with them as "standard" equipment in 2006. They are much cheaper than a handmade fork made from lugged Reynolds steel...to get a lugged steel fork in 2006, you will need to spend some serious money.

Because carbon forks are becoming the "standard" fork, owners need to understand the nature of carbon. Carbon is astounding strong until it is subjected to impact forces that exceed design limits. At that point, carbon fails, and it fails instantly and without warning.

To protect yourself, carefully inspect a carbon fork after every long ride, and after any severe impact (hitting a pothole at 20 mph or hitting a block of concrete debris in the road) and replace the fork immediately if it takes a major impact in a crash. After a hard crash, a carbon fork can suffer internal delamination that is not visible to the eye. Replace a fork if there is the slightest doubt about how much damage it took during a crash. Get inspections from techs at bike shops you trust on a regular basis.