Symox

This is a full aluminum, robust fork from a Redwood Poseidon. Pretty interesting stuff

mstateglfr 

They sent you a brand new fork for an issue that was your own doing(or prior owner)?
The stem being too high on the steerer isn't a fork malfunction or design issue.

Surprising they would ship out a new fork. Lucky result!

SoSmellyAir

Yes, stem installed too high relative to the steerer seems to be an assembly issue, so I guess the fault lies with whoever did the assembly?

shelbyfv

Would be nice to have some pics and a written commentary.

unterhausen

Since Poseidon is DTC, they should be willing to warranty some things that a bike shop would have caught. But I just watched their assembly video, and it didn't say that you should check the stem to make sure the spacers are right. It's already on the bike when the consumer gets it, and they just tell you to loosen it and turn it around the right way and tighten it up again. So having the spacers wrong really is Poseidon's responsibility. That's asking for liability. It's really common for this to be wrong on new bikes. Having an 18mm gap is unusual though, I would say.

It's not too surprising that the fork was really heavy. Aluminum isn't a great material for forks, and they are usually overbuilt. A friend had a suspension fork on a bike and decided to get a rigid fork to save weight. When he finally weighed the two forks, the suspension fork was a little lighter.

Another issue that causes clicking on aluminum forks is they only weld them at the bottom of the steerer. So the steerer is pressed in and welded at the bottom. Lots of them start clicking at the crown race. It's a problem.

grolby

Aluminum is a fine material for forks and essentially all quality mountain bike suspension forks are made from it. That’s a very demanding application in some cases, and yet these forks work great. An aftermarket rigid aluminum fork that emphasized quality could be made fairly light, but there’s basically no demand for such a product so what’s available will be cheap and heavy. Your friend’s suspension fork was lighter presumably because it was an aluminum fork, and high-quality aluminum suspension forks are a product that very much is in demand. It’s true that aluminum forks can develop clicking because of the way they’re constructed but the problem isn’t that common. A typical rider is unlikely to experience it. Someone who does a lot of hard riding on aggressive terrain is a lot more likely to experience that issue, but those are conditions that are hard on any equipment. I’ve had quite a few suspension forks over the years and never experienced it.

The thing about the Poseidon is that it’s a very cheap bike in a performance-oriented market segment. Of course it has a very heavy fork. It would be heavy and dead in steel, too. I had an aluminum fork Kona Jake at one point - still a bike aimed at a price point, but not anything like as cheap as Poseidon. The fork was fine. Looked fine, worked fine, rode fine, weighed fine. Aluminum forks are very common on affordable hybrids. They work fine. I have an aluminum fork on my 75 lb electric cargo bike - it’s fine. Is it overbuilt? I sure hope so. I would hope a steel fork would be overbuilt, too. I’ve had a lot of forks, from steel to aluminum to carbon fiber. So far, I’ve only managed to break steel ones - not that it was the steel’s fault. Steel is also a fine material for a fork.

t2p

aluminumumumum aluminumumumum aluminumumumum

carbon forks were just coming on the scene when we installed the Kinesis alloy fork on the Schwinn Peloton - if it would have been a year or two later probably would have gone with a carbon fork

unterhausen

I am surprised the people who like aluminum forks came into this thread and posted pictures of vintage forks. Are there any lightweight rigid aluminum road forks still sold? I would take a picture of the aluminum forks I have owned, but they have all been recalled. Even the higher-end aluminum forks I have seen are very heavy.

t2p

can’t find the weight of the Kinesis alloy fork - but I’m 99% sure it was lighter than a steel fork (and possibly significantly?)

as I‘m sure you are well aware - aluminum forks were pushed out by carbon forks