I'm considering purchasing a Norco Indie 3 to use a basic errand/commuter bike. The price is right, and it ticks all the boxes.

My primary concern is the Aluminum fork and distance riding (1-2 hrs). I've got a full carbon road bike for long rides, but I'm primarily concerned about the fatigue from an Al fork. My previous road bike had an Al fork and the whole thing rattled like a beer can over bumps, but that was on 23mm tires [MENTION=16318]110psi[/MENTION]. Would I be better off with a different fork (and different bike)? Before you ask, yes I want hydraulic discs.

The LBS doesn't have the Indie in stock (or anything similar), so riding before buying isn't really an option. The majority of the bikes have low-end Suntour suspension forks, and I would rather get a proper 29er over the junk forks.

Can't say for sure, but the wide-ish tires might be enough to make for a smooth ride, regardless of the fork material. Before buying you could do a little research to see if there are chromoly or carbon replacement forks that would work for that bike just in case.

My hybrid bike with an aluminum fork rides smooth as silk. Smoother than my full-carbon road bike and both of my steel road bikes. I suspect it's primarily due to the 32mm tires (vs 23/25s on the others.)

I have an all-Al bike on 32's and it's about as compliant as ceramic. It was made in the era where stiffer still meant better. Fork compliance depends entirely on the fork design, regardless of material.

+1

My aluminum fork felt great down to 28mm tires - certainly far smoother than the no-name carbon fork with 23mm tires on my road bike. The aluminum fork is pretty flexy and the chatter with cantilever brakes (using a headset mounted cable hanger) was substantial.

Also, the aluminum fork is currently installed on its third frame - one road touring frame broke after ~5000 km of abusive riding and one hybrid frame was retired after ~2000 km because of a less-than-optimal fit. The fork has seen around 10,000 kms of hard riding and is still going strong.

I have been happy with unicrown aluminum forks, but any other style has been too flexy. None had a smooth ride. It would not concern me to buy a bike with an aluminum fork, but I would pay attention for the feel I didn't like. Bigger tires solve a bad ride mostly.

I went from a Cannondale all aluminum touring bike with an aluminum fork and 35c tires, to a Specialized Sequoia aluminum "endurance" bike with a carbon fork and 25c tires, and the Sequoia with a carbon fiber fork was a huge improvement.

It's the construction that matters more than the materials usually. Aluminum frames/forks can be flexy/noodly or stiff as a brick, or anything in between. Same goes for CF and steel. Changing the build process, tubing thickness/shape, etc... all have a huge effect. While CF may deaden some of the vibrations that Al won't, I don't find those to be an issue unless you're on a 30+ mile ride. For average commuting distance I don't think I'd even notice. I'd take big tires on an aluminum fork over skinny tires on a CF fork any day of the week.

Is there any way you can try the bike out before you buy it?

Aluminum fork on my commuter with 32m tires at 95psi, I see no need for carbon on my 11.5ish mile commute

no way for your LBS to bring in a bike for you to try?