questions about forks
 

Okay Im in the market for a new fork (carbon or not, I dont care) for my bike. Now I want to bring the wheel in a bit closer to the frame, and let the tire come close to the top of the inside of the fork. How do I know what forks can do this? What is messured? I also want to make sure the front of my bike is not lifted up anymore by the new fork. here are a few pis of my bike if this helps any:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/100_1837.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/100_1838.jpg

I know they arnt the best angles but its all I have right now.

Why exactly? From what I can see, that thing has tight geometry as it is. You've got what, 2mm between tire and crown? And it's pretty close to the frame. And it appears to be the OG fork that's drilled.

I guess what I'm asking is, if it isn't broken, why fix it?

you should buy the fork because your more comfortable riding it,not because its tighter. form over function,dont be uncomfortable because it looks cool.

If your wheel much closer to your fork crown you're not going to be able to run a brake. Doesn't look like there is much wiggle room in there.

I'd say your best bet by far is to go and see a framebuilder and talk about what you want. I seriously doubt you're going to be able to find a new, NOS or 2nd fork that will meet your requirements without having to spend years looking for. Especially as that looks like the matching fork for the bike?

You need to definitely measure the rake of the fork (the offset of the fork, how much roughly is it angled), probably the distance from crown to fork tips (roughly the length) and the length of the steerer column.

You'll also need to know the fork threading.

See here for a diagram of how to measure rake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_fork

is it just the angle of the picture or is that a 27 in the front and a 700c in the rear?
If it is, then way before you replace the fork, you should get a 700c front. See what that does to correct whatever handling issues you might have. I dont think that little wheel difference will affect handling much, but it's definitely more important than bringing the fork rake in.
If im wrong about the wheels, then ignore this post.
Thanks.

fwiw, i think that's a beautiful fork. original flat crown, columbus tubes, shallow bend, and chrome. don't alter a good thing— that's tight geometry already. aftermarket road forks won't be that tight.

Bontrager front wheel means 700.

What the hey is going on with those brake levers?

As for reducing the clearance, just run your bike into a car or a wall or something.

the front wheel looks bigger than the back

You want a fork with less trail and rake angle... and worse handling.

this place is amazing

It looks like just a bontrager hub. It's laced radially, so i don't think the complete wheel came from the bontrager factory. Could still be a 27

hey, ill take that fork off your hands for ya if you switch to carbon :)

I guess I didnt relise a good thing! Thanks for talking me outa it everyone!

btw it is 700c its just an old angle I guess.

I wouldn't change a bloody thing that bike is beautiful and heck if you have a little more space you can run a fat tire if you need