Geekage

I'd like to put a disc brake on the front of my road bike- either that or sell the bike and get one with discs front and rear.


Anyway, I've been looking around and haven't been able to find any disc forks that fit- usually because of the axle to crown height.


Anyone know where I can source a:

• 1-1/8" straight steerer,
• 43-45mm rake,
• 367mm axle to crown (or a little longer),
• disc brake (preferably post mount, or IS. Okay, I'll settle for flat mount),
• fork?

As mentioned, the problem is usually the axle to crown dimension, though Enve and Whiskey make tapered forks that satisfy the other requirements. Though, honestly, I'd also prefer steel.


I've found plenty of forks in the 380-400mm length range, but the head tube angle is already pretty slack, I'm not sure I'd want to change my geometry that much.


I figure if I can't find something off the rack, I'll settle for getting something custom made. It's probably still cheaper than selling my bike and buying a new one.


NAHBS is next month, so I can investigate builders there.

PS: Anyone know what size 650B fork would fit a 700x28c wheel? Though most of the 650B forks still have a pretty long axle to crown.

calstar 

A little longer than 367.......a 380 is 1.3cm longer AC. I think you would be hard pressed to feel/detect any noticeable change in handling characteristics with such a small increase(or even 390), didn't do the math but HT angle change has got to be only a small fraction of a degree. Most likely the least expensive custom fork will cost you $300 minimum, especially from anyone at NAHBS

Brian

fietsbob

Broken record here: A bike shop is where I'd go (its in their interest to do a parts search for you, to buy through them)



Big companies like Maxway in Taiwan make forks for many client company Brands To their requirement..

by the thousands...

But, as a Customer of one with all those specific needs, a Custom frame maker can meet them all,

And if there is a production fork that meets most, perhaps they can modify the lower cost Imported fork to hit those last few specifics..



And so, I have Your your best idea in bolt text..






...

jimc101

First, what sort of disk are you planning on using?

If hydraulic, it's almost always cheaper to buy a complete bike with these installed, although the latest R7000 series hydraulics are getting there.

For mechanical, these are cheaper, but the performance is not as good as hydraulics.

Flat or IS, Flat is now the industry standard, most hydraulic mounts are flat if you need IS, these are a separate purchase, most mechanical currently available are IS mounts with a few exceptions (Paul Klamper, some TRP)

What hub spec do you want to use, 9mm(QR) is effectively obsolete for mst disc applications, 12mm is road disc standard, 15mm is for MTB, and pretty common for gravel applications.

The headset size is probably the easiest for your requirement, as most forks currently n the market that is 1 1/8" are steel, there are a few carbon, but these are HTF now, steel forks will generally have IS mounts

Do you want fenders?

For the length, don't over think it, you're limited by what is available, as Calstar notes, 1-2cm will not be noticeable

For what your looking at Surly/Salsa would probably be the easiest forks to get off the shelf, although being steel, they won't be light (I have a Vaya fork, and they are not light) but thinking you will need to compromise.

Geekage

I was thinking one of the purposes of this sub forum was to make people less dependent on bike shops- whether to show you how to do your own maintenance, or give advice on upgrades or problems.

As it is, I consider myself the customer from hell since I'm never sure exactly what I really want and they'd waste more time on me than any profit they'd make. I'm not going into a shop for their own good
Hmmm... have a frame maker mod a mass produced fork. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Funny, a lot of those are QR. Not too sure how to reconcile that with:
Now that I've looked at it more, I think I'll probably go with a Surly. Yeah, it's probably heavy, but I'm fine with that.

The best fit- geometry-wise- would be the Disc Trucker fork.

In the 26" wheel size.

Obviously, I'm going to want to make sure that it'll fit a 700x28c wheel, but it is slightly longer at 376mm, so I'm hoping. I figure the crown is probably not much different from Pacer's which has the same dimensions and fits 700x35c.

If that fails, there's also the slightly longer 650B Straggler fork (380mm), or 700c Disc Trucker (390mm), then finally the 700c Straggler (400mm). So yeah, they do have quite a variety to choose from.

I'm trying to match the axle-to-crown distance as close as possible since it seems that every centimeter of length added slackens up the head tube angle by a little over half a degree. I might not notice half a degree difference, but any more and you're looking at the difference between race geometry and sport (which, admittedly, I still might not be able to distinguish).

Any reason I shouldn't use a 26" fork for a 700c wheel if it fits?

Geekage

Just to wrap this thread up, I sent a query to Surly asking if a 700x35c tire would fit in the 26" Disc Trucker fork (because that's what fit in the Pacer fork, but that's not disc), and they replied that it would, but even though it had a pretty wide crown, any bigger tire might be too tall.

So I got the fork and installed it on my bike. Even though it's only about 9mm longer axle to crown, it seems much taller. A 700x38c tire clears with more than 5mm between the tire and the bottom of the crown.

Right now the disc actually feels weaker than the rim brake, but I figure I still need to bed in the pads.

I'm not sure I can tell much difference in the handling with just one ride on the new fork. It may be my imagination, but in a semi-panic maneuver when a car merging in front of me on my right decided to stop ahead of me, I didn't dart behind it like I normally would have, but instead passed it on its left. So, I wasn't as confident with the bike's handling, but that may have just been the situation- too close to complete the maneuver, maybe even with the old fork.

But I'll see how this fork goes. If I really want the old handling, I can still get a custom fork made.