Originally Posted by
gthomson
What about a carbon fork which comes on most newer aluminum bikes, does that have a big impact on the ride? I have a few steel bikes, a few chromoly bikes and 2 aluminum road bikes with carbon forks. I find my 2013 Cannondale CAAD 8 to be a pretty smooth ride but my Peugeot with 453 Reynolds steel is also super smooth. I have a gas pipe steel bike which is not smooth and very heavy.
I've never ridden a carbon bike so can't speak to it.
Carbon forks, like steel forks, can be stiff or compliant. I rode a cross bike with a thick cf fork and I was surprised at how nice it rode on washboard type stuff. Of course, it had a bigger tire than I road ride with.
I have a Kestrel fork on my steel Gunnar. It rides smoother than the cf fork on my Seven.
