pdlamb

A. Wasn't my idea to buy a new fork to increase the front tire width one size.

B. For all I know, there may be a carbon fork available with a similar rake that fits bigger tires and the Madone's headset. But since carbon forks are extremely expensive to produce as a one-off, a custom steel fork is always a possibility. Paint it black and put a "CARBON" sticker on it if you'd like.

C. The most compliant fork I've ever ridden is my steel Bilenky. I can look down and watch the fork flexing to soak up shock on a rough road. If there's a carbon fork that behaves similarly, it's outside my experience.

Kontact 

The original Madone/Lemond :Trek Classic" carbon fork was one of the most compliant. Most steel forks are not, and even the more flexible steel forks are less so than old carbon or aluminum road forks:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/..._forktest.html

I'd be interested to see how Bilenky made your fork so flexible.

oldbobcat

What he said. I put 28s on my 2012 Madone, and while I can say the ride may have gotten infinitesimally smoother, getting a fully inflated tire past the brake pads got more difficult, some cornering precision was lost, and gravel performance was still sketchy.

Stock Madone rims of that era were narrow by today's standards and road tire width has to be chosen in regard to rim width. With stock rims my 28s only measured about 26.4 and I had too much sidewall bulge for crisp cornering. I've noticed that 25mm Bontrager AW3s run narrow, so I might not be done with 28 if I go with this tire.

On the other hand, if you want to try a fork with more offset in order to shorten trail, you might give it a try. My 43 year-old Masi has similar angles but more offset and it floats nicely over gravel with 25s.

danallen

Wow, this discussion is amazingly detailed, creative, and informed. Even the wackiness is well-reasoned. The sophistication you bring blows me away. Obviously, I am not worthy, but I do thank you.

Decision and Attitude Caused This Thread

I am very pleased to now feel 100% confident in forgetting about looking for another fork. The awesomeness of the fork I have is nothing to improve with a hack not engineered specifically for the rest of the ride.

Benefits of different tires is something I might try sometime. My main objective with tires is avoiding flats. Houston street riding inflicts damage before tires wear out. I hate that. I have been switching to gatorskins, away from Grand Prix 5000, as a result. I am sticking with the old bike on thin wheels and tires, at 120 psi. Even though the streets have debris that damages the tires, plus some cases of broken pavement, sometimes hugely bumping from lots of pothole patches or generally broken surfaces, the surfaces for the most-part are smooth enough to give a smooth ride on the high -pressure tires. I tired riding out in a rural area, where the roads are much cleaner and unbroken, but the surface was brutally bumpy because of the material used for paving. Vicious vibration. I don't know what I would do if my usual roads were like those. I think I would need a different bike.

I am very happy having a bike that moved the state of the art forward when it was developed 16 years ago, even though it is missing the innovations since then.

While this question has been up, I have. been looking for new wheels. The main goal I have on the wheels is more spokes, making them stronger, less apt to be damaged in normal use. I will be sticking with thin wheels, but with extra spokes.

oldbobcat

Unless you're a real heavyweight, you could try lowering your pressure. Even at 195, my 25s are happy at 90-95 psi.

Outrider1

I'm about the same weight, 190, and I ride my GP 5000s at 80 rear, 75 front on my Emonda.

oldbobcat

With 25s?

Outrider1

Yep. Been rolling like that for a couple of years now. I installed 28s, also GP 5000, as that's the largest my frame will fit, and didn't like the ride. I felt too removed from road input so went back to 25s at the lower psi and found that set up, my current, to be the best compromise for my riding style.

oldschoolbike

Changing your forks will be messy. Wheels, on the other hand, are (well, were in 2008) meant to be interchangeable.

I solved my harsh-riding issue by selling the economy factory wheels and building a set with low profile rims and butted spokes. Even with the same 25 mm Continental Grand Prix tires the ride improvement was quite marked and exactly what I wanted. Rims are Mavic Open Pro-C and spokes are Sapim Laser. Net cost was about $CDN350 with rims and spokes from my LBS.

oldschoolbike

oldschoolbike

Tubulars ride wonderfully compared to clinchers. I think it may be due to the circular vs U-shaped cross-section preventing the sidewalls from transmitting vertical shocks to the rim, but it may just be that they are typically very lightly built and have little or no sidewall coating. Too fragile for me though, since I quit racing.

Using a tubular on the front and a clincher on the back would be a real bother. Imagine carrying a tube AND a tire, and that's with no back up!

oldschoolbike