Fork upgrade
 

Just picked up my first fixie a Raleigh Rush nice bike chromoly frame but fork is a heavy beast. What do people recommend carbon , steel or aluminum? Will get better wheels at some point.

Invest in better wheels before a new fork.

This.

I was curious as i need to upgrade both to have decent bike seen wheels in low 100’s. Forks cheap $100.00.

New wheelset aside, your fork preferences should be in the following order: carbon, steel, aluminum.

Aluminum, while lighter than steel, although probably not the case of an el cheapo aluminum fork, tends to provide a harsh ride compared to the other two.

If you like how your bike currently handles do try to get a fork with a similar rake.

Yeah, aluminum is the worst thing you can make a fork out of. Carbon with alu steerer is OK though.

Is that price for just one wheel or a set? You can get a nice set for about 300 that is under 1500g:

https://wabicycles.com/collections/c...speed-wheelset

This is probably the best component you can spend money on for a bike in terms of bang for buck. Rotational weight multiplies the effect of its weight on a bike. The less you have, the better.


Dave

Thanks for the wheel info. My other question is about the forks. Is there any need for a Track specific fork? If I go with a regular road fork will it impact the bikes handling? Basic carbon forks are pretty affordable saw a steel specific fork on sale but unsure if it is different.

Yes, track forks have less rake and are shorter, being ideal for the track although may provide twitchy handling on the road.

Road forks are the opposite and better handling, especially at higher speeds.

Some people prefer track for a more "exciting" ride as opposed to the "sluggish" handling provided by the latter.

Track forks are typically undrilled, as brakes are not allowed on the track, and often have round rather than oval blades to better handle the forces of riding on a banked track.

Road forks are drilled for brakes and have oval blades with the long axis of the oval parallel with the axis of the frame to better handle road shocks.

Yup this as well.

However, with the new trend of track bikes being ridden on the street, the selection of track oriented forks with drillings is actually rather high nowadays. A lot of choices out there that can be ridden safely with a front brake. :)

For example, modern Cinelli/ Columbus track oriented carbon forks are pre-drilled but plugged and painted over for aesthetics, leaving the option there for the owner to decide. Even alpina offers a drilled version of their staple track fork.