Carbon Fork Recommendation?
 

Hello. I'm looking to replace the Fatty Rigid fork on my Bad Boy with a carbon fork of some kind. Not sure to go full carbon, or a variation of carbon + aluminum steer tube? I have never done this type of swap before and need some direction on what to look for in a good replacement. I know it needs to be 1 1/8, at least 9" of tube height, and a 45 rake to get the factory geometry. What else do I need to look for when searching for a replacement? Also, if anyone has went from a Fatty or the like to a Carbon fork, could you let me know if the difference was noticeable. We have chip sealed roads around here and the buzzing vibration is getting a little old.:thumb:

There is the Pan Tour hub system too.. the wheel hub is suspended from the axle
being with in a elastomer in the hub shell.
http://www.pantourhub.com/

that should reduce the chip seal buzz

Cannondale's fatty with the steerer tube suspension?
1.5 inch steerer?
that is unique to Cannondale so, Other AFAIK, forks wont go..

i retro fitted one of my steel bikes with a Time (aloly steerer tube) carbon fork and it provided a smoother ride, no question. OTOH i have recently purchased a CF frame and ALL carbon fork and this bike now provides the harshest ride of my six bikes. so, i guess, success may very well depend on a number of factors. i will say that it can work to your advantage. good luck. :thumb:

When I jettisoned my cromo fork for a NOS coda branded Time fork, it was like night and day how much smoother my bike became. Especially because it was paired with an aluminum frame.

OP, Just pony up the $90 and get a nashbar carbon fork. Unless you're meticulous about checking for cracks and have that somehow already in your preflight check, it's worth buying new. I know carbon's nature of rapid, catastrophic failure scares the crap out of me enough to be weary of used carbon anything. Plus, it seems the catalyst for this is more comfort than weight given the acceptance of an alloy steerer. Other than the fork and a hacksaw blade, you shouldn't have to buy anything. You might, depending on your headset, have to take the old and new forks to a shop to have the crown race swapped over, and the starnut set. If you have a cartridge bearing headset with a slotted race, it will just slide off, and you can do this at home.

It's not the Bad Boy with the lefty suspension fork, just the standard 1 1/8 Fatty Rigid fork. I have looked at the Nashbar fork but the price compared to other forks scares me a little. Seems like to have such a low price the quality must be off compared to a Ritchey? I have no experience with Nashbar parts, are they any good?

Wait, we're talking about mountain bikes here? I was following the lead of the post above me.

Disregard what I said, I'm totally out of my element here. I don't have an answer for you.

Oh, I see it now. Um, I'd just search around and find a disc compatible 'cross or 29er fork. I'm sure there are deals out there.

Inventory :QBP has a carbon tube blade , and alloy fork tip and crown .. ..
Distributed thru your LBS.
like this.. http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...9&category=703
and
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...0&category=703
and white brothers of that type..

Far out.

Be wary of Pantour. They sent me a wheel with suspension hub and it wouldn't work on my fork. They did let me return it and refunded some of my money. The experience cost me about $90.00. I have since switched to Schwalbe Marathon Racer Folding tires and run them below max pressure. The soft sidewalls absorb a lot of vibration from a slurry sealed trail. Any folding tire should help. OTOH, a tire that is below max pressure enough to soften the ride is going to slow you down. bk

I should have mentioned this bike has Canti brakes, no discs. Would like a road fork, but would have to change the brakes also.

i think there may be a couple on ebay... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Winwood-Carb...item3cc393e638

and: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cannondale-C...item231c0d4a47

there's more on there if you haven't checked them out yet. i search for "carbon fork cantilever" under "cycling".

I have a Nashbar carbon cross fork and I wouldn't worry about it for a minute. The quality is fine and the fork is very beefy. I'd guess it was made in the same Taiwanese factory as many more expensive 'brand name' forks - but you don't have to pay for the brand.

One other thing to keep in mind is the axle to crown measurement. This doesn't vary as much on 700c forks as 26" forks but it's something to check. Also, if you ditch the canti's and go with a road fork you will probably lose a lot of wheel clearance and have to run thinner tires. Road forks might also have a smaller axle to crown distance which could affect the geometry of the bike a bit.

Ended up finding a Bontrager Satellite Plus on Ebay for a decent price. After it's here and installed I let you know how it works compared to the aluminum Fatty fork.

Blah, post count up.