installing a new fork on my single-speed
 

hi all,

i'd like to switch out my cheap giant bowery fork for a reynolds carbon one. can anyone give me some tips? i'm a a complete newbike when it comes to bikes, but fairly proficient mechanically.

the fork: http://www.reynoldscomposites.com/in..._forks_ouzopro
(the integrated crown version)

the bike:http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...le/1274/29363/

i have a size small bowery. it's headset is integrated, and so is the fork, but the head angle on the giant website says 42 degrees and the fork i want to get says that it's rake is 43. is this a problem?

i also can't tell if the the fork on my bowery is threaded or not.

any help really appreciated!

thanks!

This is going to be a tough one to DIY, nothing about it is especially difficult but you need a couple of tools that cost way more than a shop would charge you to just do it. Bowerys have a threadless fork, so you'll need the saw and guide to cut the carbon steerer, the star nut tool, a good crown race puller that won't damage a carbon fork, and a crown race setter. Well over $500 in tools, and not stuff a bike co-op is going to have.

As for the sizing, you need to get the height and rake spec from Giant, not just the head tube angle. However, that fork is a pretty standard setup, and so is the frame, so the handing is not going to be radically bad, nor likely very different from what it is now.

I would go to a shop and tell them you want to do a carbon fork on the bike and see what they can do for you. They might be able to get you a pretty good deal, not necessarily on a reynolds, but certainly something that will do you pretty well on a basic Al frame like the Bowery. Lots of people have upgraded bikes like this with basic nashbar carbon forks and gotten really nice results.

Do not put a star nut in a carbon steerer. Compression plug only. And it's not that tough a swap. I've done it with no headset specific tools. Paid the LBS ~$5 to do a couple things.

the fork rake is in mm, not degrees. a change of 1mm is not going to have a large effect.

Right, carbon fork compression plug is not a star nut per se. I guess you also don't need a really nice crown race puller since the crown race is coming off of a steel fork, but I would use a puller and not hammer it off or anything like that. I'd still say that someone who doesn't know threaded from threadless should take this to a shop.

Also, the giant site doesn't have the rake, only the HT angle, which is 72*, I think the 42 was a typo.

thanks all for the responses. i've got a great line on a budget priced reynolds carbon fork- at 50% off, so i'm going to get it and bring it to my lbs and have them put it on. i do know what a threaded and threadless fork look like, but do not know the details of putting one on. i took off my fork cap and saw that my for seems to be threadless.

thanks again!