Litespeed Fork Replacement - Recommendations?

Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of one
of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork probably has
about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now. Based
on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not much
else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the replacement
to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Steve

On Sep 10, 10:26*am, Steve Sr. wrote:
Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. *Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of one
of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork probably has
about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now. Based
on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I used a Giant thin bladed fork with C blades glued to an Al crown and
steerer. There were cracks in the paint at the interface of Al to C
for at least 8 years out of the 10 years that the fork was on my
bike. I retired the fork about a year ago, not because it had broken,
but because I wanted something a little stiffer laterally.

I think the reason the cracks appear there is because the glue is more
elastic than the paint. I may be wrong, but I could never detect any
real movement between the blades and crown, ever.

You _might_ be worrying unnecessarily. But if you have doubts, then
for your peace of mind, replace.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

I would avoid uber light stuff. It tends to be engineered to within
half a micron of its life. I chose an Al steerer with carbon again,
mostly because I don't want the hassle of a carbon steerer with it's
specific clamp bolt torque requirements. That to me says lacking in
robustness.

Cheers,
James.

In article ,
Steve Sr. wrote:

Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of
one of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork
probably has about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now.
Based on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not
much else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the
replacement to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

http://www.rivbike.com/products/show...ms-fork/50-718

One option, anyway. Or a local frame builder, for that matter, could
make you one.

--
That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo.

On Sep 9, 8:25*pm, Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
*Steve Sr. wrote:





Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. *Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of
one of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork
probably has about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now.
Based on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not
much else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the
replacement to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

http://www.rivbike.com/products/show...ms-fork/50-718

One option, anyway. *Or a local frame builder, for that matter, could
make you one.

The Riv fork is gorgeous, but it's sold with unnecessary FUD, so I
wouldn't support that.

I'd just get another commodity fork and be done with it. Maybe even a
Surly pacer fork if it's not too tall.

On Sep 9, 5:26*pm, Steve Sr. wrote:
Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. *Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of one
of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork probably has
about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now. Based
on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not much
else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the replacement
to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

If your bike is a 2006, I presume the frame requires a 1.125" (1 and
1/8") steerer tube fork. If so, there are plenty of excellent build
carbon forks on the market. On the "high-end," take a look at Edge
Composite 1.0 or 2.0 or the new Serotta F-series forks. Note, both
companies' forks can be very expensive - $600+ price range.

Otherwise, Easton sells the EC90 SL and SLX forks in the $350- 400
range.

If you need a 1" steerer tube fork and still want carbon, here's a
place that is selling the Easton EC90 SL fork for $230:

http://www.bikewagon.com/Forks-Heads...21594-2-3.html

Hurry as it is my understanding that Easton has discontinued making 1"
forks. Good Luck!

Op 10-9-2010 2:26, Steve Sr. schreef:
Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of one
of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork probably has
about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now. Based
on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not much
else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the replacement
to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Steve


Call Litespeed.

Lou

"Tim McNamara" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Steve Sr. wrote:

Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of
one of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork
probably has about 25K miles on it.

Or a local frame builder, for that matter, could
make you one.

+1 - at least a local frame builder to check out what you've got and, if
he's decent, he'll both spec what he can make and what he can buy off the
shelf for you.

-S-

On Sep 9, 7:26*pm, Steve Sr. wrote:
Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. *Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of one
of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork probably has
about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now. Based
on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not much
else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the replacement
to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

Thanks for your suggestions.

You could get a steel fork custom made with 43mm of rake which would
give you a little more trail and is a common rake offered with lots of
forks. IOW it's not a radical change and you might not even notice a
difference. Or, you might g.

Have it painted black or perhaps there is someone out there doing faux
carbon weave paint on steel. "No one needs to know".

Otherwise, EMS Pro forks had-- and may still have-- steel steerer
tubes and were (are?) available in 1" size if that's what you need.

I have an EMS Pro in an old Litespeed Catalyst frame, 1" steerer tube,
that seems to be a stout fork. The clearcoat cracks fairly easily but
I haven't seen any actual fiber damage. Open to correction from those
with wider experience.
--D-y

On 9/9/2010 7:26 PM, Steve Sr. wrote:
Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of one
of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork probably has
about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now. Based
on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not much
else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the replacement
to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

Thanks for your suggestions.

I would find a custom builder who works with titanium alloy and have a
matching fork made for the frame, if Litespeed cannot supply a titanium
alloy fork.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:25:05 -0500, Tim McNamara
wrote:

In article ,
Steve Sr. wrote:

Hello,

I have a 2006 Litespeed Tuscany. Recently while cleaning it up I
noticed what appears to be a horizontal crack in the inner wall of
one of the fork arms about where the tire would hit. The fork
probably has about 25K miles on it.

The original fork is a Real Design HP Pro made of - you guessed it -
carbon! I was never a big fan of carbon and am even less so now.
Based on my drawing the fork rake is 45mm.

I am now searching for a replacement and would like to maintain the
current or even less agressive handling characteristics.

I am obviously not wedded to carbon but realize that there is not
much else out there right now that isn't. I would also like the
replacement to asthetically go with the brushed titanium frame.

Are there any carbon forks out there that are better than another? By
better I mean better durability which may equate to a better warranty
although I hope that neither I nor my heirs would need to claim it!
Conversely are there any brands/models that should be avoided?

http://www.rivbike.com/products/show...ms-fork/50-718

One option, anyway. Or a local frame builder, for that matter, could
make you one.

I have considered a custom steels fork. However, there is a timing
problem. In just two weeks I leave for a cross-state ride that starts
in the mountains and ends at the coast. I am sure that there will be
some high speed decents coming out of the mountains. It looks like I
will have to go with something readily available.