Why put a carbon fork on a road bike?

I'm thinking of putting a carbon fork on an aluminum road bike with a
threadless headset. What are the advantages of a carbon fork versus the
aluminum one currently on the bike? Are there any significant differences
between a carbon fork with an aluminum or cro-moly steering tube versus one
that is all carbon?

Thanks in advance

In article ,
TedK618265 wrote:
I'm thinking of putting a carbon fork on an aluminum road bike with a
threadless headset. What are the advantages of a carbon fork versus the
aluminum one currently on the bike?

Lower weight. You like black.

Are there any significant differences
between a carbon fork with an aluminum or cro-moly steering tube versus one
that is all carbon?

The steel one is stiffer and heavier. The carbon one can be damaged by
over tightening.

--Paul

TedK618265 wrote:

I'm thinking of putting a carbon fork on an aluminum road bike with a
threadless headset. What are the advantages of a carbon fork versus the
aluminum one currently on the bike? Are there any significant differences
between a carbon fork with an aluminum or cro-moly steering tube versus one
that is all carbon?

The carbon fork may absorb some road "buzz". Me, I'm sticking with my
531 fork because it just looks sleeker. Same goes for the quill stem.

In article ,
says...
I'm thinking of putting a carbon fork on an aluminum road bike with a
threadless headset. What are the advantages of a carbon fork versus the
aluminum one currently on the bike? Are there any significant differences
between a carbon fork with an aluminum or cro-moly steering tube versus one
that is all carbon?

Maybe some weight difference. Maybe stiffer. It is very hard to generalize
based on material alone. How the material is used is more important.
-----------
Alex

(TedK618265) wrote in message ...
I'm thinking of putting a carbon fork on an aluminum road bike with a
threadless headset. What are the advantages of a carbon fork versus the
aluminum one currently on the bike?

Carbon forks are black and look better with light colored frames,
AL fork are silver and look best with dark colored frames.

Are there any significant differences
between a carbon fork with an aluminum or cro-moly steering tube versus one
that is all carbon?

Steel or AL steerers let you use a lot more spacers, good if you like
your bars high with out using a goofy looking riser stem.

An all carbon fork will save you about 1000 calories on a 300km stage in
your next race, since it weighs less than a steel or AL fork.

Thanks in advance

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 14:14:41 -0500, Alex Rodriguez
wrote:

How the material is used is more important.

As Vitus proved over and over.

jeffb

How the material is used is more important.

As Vitus proved over and over.

OK, you got me curious. What did Vitus prove? I had a fair amount of
experience with them, back in the day, so have a few ideas of my own...

--Mike--
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com

"jeffbonny" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 14:14:41 -0500, Alex Rodriguez
wrote:

How the material is used is more important.

As Vitus proved over and over.

jeffb

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 20:37:20 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction
Bicycles" wrote:

How the material is used is more important.

As Vitus proved over and over.

OK, you got me curious. What did Vitus prove? I had a fair amount of
experience with them, back in the day, so have a few ideas of my own...

Maybe I'm talking outta my ass as I never had one myself but I did
race next to a few back in the day and saw a few working in the shop.
The epoxy letting go in the BB shell especially (but sometimes other
places too) seemed to be a matter of "when" more often than "if".
Having had some experience with glue in the ski repair biz it always
seemed to me that the epoxies available back then were not well
formulated enough to stand up to the bonding/elasticity requirements
of sticking aluminum to carbon fibre in the rigorous use of a race
bike.

Having gone to single speeds over a decade ago I haven't paid a great
deal of attention to this recently but it would not surprise me to
learn that modern chemistry has solved this to a large degree.
Still old prejudices die hard.

jeffb

Well, my experience is only with one Vitus 992, that I recently sold. My
permanent impression was that the reactivity of the frame was super for
climbing. There was a great rhythmic response to out-of-saddle efforts, and
relancing was especially easy. Others would call this too flexible, I
suppose.

My real problem was the uncomfortable geometry, with a slack seat tube angle
and steep steering tube. Never could get used to it. Seems that is a
problem they have reacted to, as their reps at September's Salon de Deux
Roues said that the new ones are re-done to change both of these angles to
nearly parallel.

I think that the rigidity of a frame is really overemphasized. I had a
Cannondale for a bundle of years, and it was RIGID. No complaints on that
score, but the connection between the road and my posterior remained too
direct and untempered. Riding is about having fun. The Kestrel I have for
9 years is back in full use all of 2003 and now, but will see winter duty as
a LOOK is coming my way...

Bonne route,

Sandy
Paris FR


"Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles"
a écrit dans le message de :
m...
How the material is used is more important.

As Vitus proved over and over.

OK, you got me curious. What did Vitus prove? I had a fair amount of
experience with them, back in the day, so have a few ideas of my own...

--Mike--
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com

"jeffbonny" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 14:14:41 -0500, Alex Rodriguez
wrote:

How the material is used is more important.

As Vitus proved over and over.

jeffb

In article ,
TedK618265 wrote:
I'm thinking of putting a carbon fork on an aluminum road bike with a
threadless headset. What are the advantages of a carbon fork versus the
aluminum one currently on the bike?

Paul Southworth wrote:
Lower weight. You like black.

(TedK) Are there any significant differences
between a carbon fork with an aluminum or cro-moly steering tube versus one
that is all carbon?

Paul Southworth wrote:
The steel one is stiffer and heavier. The carbon one can be damaged by
over tightening.

A year or so ago we weighed several forks here and found
that carbon forks with CrMo columns were about the same
weight ( some more, some less) as CrMo forks with CrMo
columns.

The only significant weight savings are with carbon columns.
As Mr Southworth notes, you need to pay attention to
components and installation if you choose that format.

AFAICT it is only a weight difference. Perhaps in large
sizes one might feel some difference. I (55cm) can't.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971