Another forkin' question
 

Another in Rainman's continuing series of "Doesn't this guy ever do anything NORMAL?" questions.

Fubar's fork thread reminded me of an issue I was pondering a couple of months ago. My commuter, which started life as a hybrid, has a suspension fork. I guess it is OK for the urban streets I commute on, but I really don't think I need it anymore. I would like to go with a steel touring fork since I need cantilever bosses and holes for fender mounting. The problem is that my hybrid's head tube is sized for 1 1/8 inch steerer tube and the forks I see all have 1 inch steerer tubes.

Does anyone know of touring type forks with 1 1/8 inch steerer tubes or threadless headsets that will fit a 1 inch steerer tube in the larger head tube?
Thanks,
Raymond

Tandem forks come with 1 1/8" steerers.
Get a set of forks from a local frame-builder. They should be less than $100.
HenryJames.com has a good list.
non-sus forks may change the head angle, which will change the requirements for fork trail. Take your bike to the frame-builder for expert advice.

The Surly Crosscheck uses a 1 1/8" threadless fork and has canti mounts and fender eyelets. www.surlybikes.com

Surly is owned by Quality Bicycle Products whose catalog is in most every bike shop, So i'd imagine your LBS could get the fork from them.

There are also spacers available to adapt the 1" fork to 1 1/8.

Have you considered buying a used fork? I know that many of the bike shops here have lots of old 1" and 1 1/8" forks sitting in the back collecting dust. Of course it will be harder to find forks for 700c as opposed to MTB forks but you just never know. If you're not too picky hopefully you can get something that is satisfactory (ie. a fairly light and strong cro-mo fork). Good Luck!

Well, my LBS didn't have any used forks. I checked out the Surly Cross Check. I may have found my next commuter if Yorick ever wears out. The Cross Check looks like a great commuter bike. Anyway, my LBS is ordering a Cross Check fork for me. Thanks for putting me onto it TH!
Regards,
Raymond