What are the issues with changing out a fork?
 

After round and round about getting a new bike or upgrading/changing out either of my existing bikes and visiting a number of LBS to see what is available for touring with my budget in mind I've decided to go with my Sirrus Comp. I'm over wanting to get a trekker bar, opting instead for the ergon gp5 grips, ordered a Jandd expedition rack because it's 3" longer and rated for 75lbs thus eliminating heal strike and the need for front racks. But what about just changing out the carbon/aluminum forks for aluminum?

I know you have better control with weight on the front too and I do have a large handle bar bag that is always full but my question is why not? I'ld have the brazons needed and no fear of carbon failure. Why isn't this a good idea? I don't mind investing a few hundred dollars to do this if that's what it costs but is there another reason not to other than $$$.

Some of the issues I can think of, assuming the fork fits your frame and wheel size:

Material, obviously.

Strength/rigidity/flex; some forks are more springy than others, and you will feel vibrations &c differently at the handlebar.

Geometry; they have length and offset. Offset is often called "rake" but that's a confusing term so let's avoid it. More offset will mean less mechanical trail. A longer fork will lift the front end of the bike up, making the bicycle's frame angles more slack. A shorter fork will do the opposite.

Eyelets and other extras; some forks have none; some have eyelets for fenders only; some also have eyelets for a rack; then there's eyelets on the side for low rider racks and other kinds of racks, water bottle cages, and all kinds of things.

Brake mounts; disk? Cantilevers? Center pulls? U-brakes?

Tire clearance: can you fit a 35 mm tire? 45mm? 55mm?

I could go on, but that's a start.

I guess I was thinking just changing to the same fork made with aluminum or steel even but hopefully having brazons (sp?).

Braze-ons.

Is the replacement fork something that's readily available?

I have no clue.... in case it's no obvious I have no clue about the actual mechanics involved. LOL. I suppose the best thing is to go to a LBS and ask there but sometimes a little knowledge ahead of talking to the mechanic or salesperson is a good thing.

Instead of changing out your fork because it doesn't have the required braze ons, did you ever consider just getting an Old Man Mountain front rack that is well made and stable and doesn't require fork braze ons?

No I didn't. I thought the issue with a carbon/aluminum fork was more the material not being up to the weight than the lack of braze-ons. The fork actually has eyelets down by the quick release lever for the front tire and I did see clips on Jandd site for bikes that didn't have braze-ons but I was more worried about stressing the carbon fork dangerously.

Oh, ah, well, fair enough! :thumb:

You can go to a bicycle frame builder and have him/her build you any fork you want, probably for less than $500. If that isn't appealing, you have to restrict yourself to something readily available, and you should not make any assumptions about what is readily available.

Someone who works at the LBS will most likely know more than you; but you should not assume they know everything. @robow's suggestion sounds pretty good to me! But I'd need to know more about your existing fork to know what can be fit on it.

What year is your Sirrus Comp? V-Brakes? Disc Brakes?

2006 with V brakes

[TABLE="class: DetailsView"]
[TR="class: FieldHeaderTitle"]
[TD="colspan: 2"]Frame & Fork[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: row"]
[TD="class: FieldHeader"]Frame Construction[/TD]
[TD]TIG-welded[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: AlternatingRow"]
[TD="class: FieldHeader"]Frame Tubing Material[/TD]
[TD]A1 Premium Aluminum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: row"]
[TD="class: FieldHeader"]Fork Brand & Model[/TD]
[TD]Specialized FACT carbon[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: AlternatingRow"]
[TD="class: FieldHeader"]Fork Material[/TD]
[TD]Carbon/aluminum, aero crown Just pulled these specs online on that fork.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

I appologize for posting this photo again but I did run an Old Man Mountain rack on a carbon fork with aluminum steerer mounted by the V-brake bosses for a few years with zero problems. YMMV

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...obow7/good.jpg

Pics of your bike at Fork and Headset

Forks at
https://www.bikeman.com/

Very Cool! Which one was that? I looked online and found 4 but didn't know which one I should get. Love your trekker bars too!

I would post them but can't figure out how to now that they took away the "upload from your computer" option and you can only do it from an url

me too

how did you load the pics? i can't load any pics

It was the Sherpa model for 26" wheels.

As to posting photos, one needs to use a photo hosting site like "Photobucket" in order to gain an image address or URL. Have they changed their options for posting photos here at Bikeforums, I was thinking there were more options before.

They have changed it so you can no longer just upload from your computer. I would love to see a full photo of your bike. It looks amazing! I also found front racks at Jandd that don't require a braze-on. I ordered their expedition back rack today because it's 3" longer. Wish I had this conversation earlier; I would have gotten the front one at the same time. Just was worried about weight on that fork.

Bike Racks

I joined photobucket i still can't load photo

I love my Jandd Racks and I joined Photobucket i still can't load my Photos

I'm sure I'll like my Jandd rack and I've used their panniers and grocery bags for years and loved them. Some people say use flicker for the photo's. Lots of good info btw on your facebook page!