I tried searching old posts and the internets, but without much luck...

I was wondering how chrome forks compare with other materials commonly used in the 80's (501, 531, gas-pipe). Are they considered light/heavy? Soft/Stiff? Durable/prone to failure? Any good at absorbing road vibration?

Can anyone answer these questions or direct me to somewhere (or someone) who can? The touring bike I recently picked up has chrome forks, and I'd like to know a thing or two about them.

Thanks,

A

Chromed forks where/are on a wide range of bikes. Some are quality made fork and others are cheap and have a cheap chrome job that may fool the untrained eye. If your fork is original on a quality bike then the fork may be a good quality fork. I would not worry too much about the fork as long as it performs its duty.

Chrome plating can be applied to any metal, so your question doesn't make sense. In general, replacement forks are chrome-plated, which avoids issues with matching paint color.

So chrome forks are just plating over some type of steel? Was under the (not in any way informed) impression the whole fork was a homogeneous alloy, and not just plated.

Chrome can make a steel fork stronger and prettier (and heavier). Many old school builders would chrome plate the fork , chainstay (1 or both sides) and sometime the whole frame & fork. You really need to know who made the fork and the metal used under the chome to determine anything about the fork. I sell Torelli bikes and forks (handmade in Italy with Columbus tubing) and the fork and frame can be chromed or not. You can also buy a $40 chromed fork. As long as the fork is working the way it was intended to be -- there is nothing to worry about.

You may have been confused by the term cro-mo which is a steel tubing alloy which is chrome molybdenum which I have heard some people refer to incorrectly as just chrome

yeah, i'm familiar with chro-mo. the frame is 501 tubing, but the decal on the bike doesn't guarantee the fork and seat stays are 501 as well.

"Chrome" is plating that can be applied to any conductive material. It can be applied to plastic if the plastic is first primed with some sort of conductive coating.

"Chrome-moly" is a steel alloy: steel with chromium and molybdenum added to it. It's generally stronger than cheaper 1020 carbon steel, but not as "elite" as brand-name Reynolds, Columbus, Ishiwata, etc. Here's some interesting reading:
https://spokesmanbicycles.com/article...real-pg329.htm

As long as the fork has not been damaged, ride it. If it's too stiff for you, try putting fatter tires on the bike.

Ah, so... take a look at this:
https://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/rey...-transfers.jpg

If it's Reynolds 501 main tubes, it's probably something reasonable for the stays and fork blades. Maybe not Reynolds tubing, but OK nevertheless. Stop worrying and ride the bike.

It's a steel alloy. A bunch of elements in percentile mixture with steel, with chrome and molybdenum being the major alloying elements.

4130 is what is commonly used for bicycles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/41xx_steel

Yep, it was here I got the info on which tubes were 501. I have sticker #20.

BTW, the bike is an 86 Peugeot touring bike (PXR80).