Carbon Forks....do they really make much difference?

[Levo-Lon]

Best improvement i found was dropping from 120psi to 90psi.all that really nasty buz went.
i get tingles and numbness but the tyre seems to work best for lesoning these anoyances..

carbon weight saving is nice mind..

 

[Accy cyclist]

I had carbon forks on the bike i was knocked off last April Both forks snapped on impact,is that good or bad,i don't know? Anyway,the forks weren't that comfy,i preferred the aluminium forks on my other bike for comfort. Now i have another bike with carbon forks and the ride is very comfy, but is that due to better quality carbon or due to having 28mm tyres on the new bike as opposed to having 23mm tyres on the crashed bike?

 

[Citius]

I'm gonna say it's the 50% more volume in the tyres...

 

[rovers1875]

I would have to say yes carbon forks are smoother and lighter (I have 3 road bikes, 1 with full carbon, 1 with 520 reynolds steel and 1 with aluminium) i would say there is little difference between the carbon and steel when they have similar tyres. The Alu is certainly a harsher ride. However as others have said the tyre makes by far the biggest difference.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Here's a snippet from a Cycling Weekly road test on a Ribble Evo Pro Carbon -

"Initially I found that when I got out of the saddle the fork rake made the bike feel a little less responsive than a fork with straight blades, but the added comfort was well worth it and it’s something you quickly get used to. The carbon forks are attached to a steel steerer, which means there is a nice secure star nut used to tighten the stem rather than a carbon bung."

The fork rake makes the steering less responsive than straight forks? How's that work then if the geometry is the same?

A nice secure star nut can be used to tighten the stem instead of a bung. I wonder if this guy knows how to change a tube?

And who makes carbon forks with a steel steerer?

 

[gbb]

Here's a snippet from a Cycling Weekly road test on a Ribble Evo Pro Carbon -

"Initially I found that when I got out of the saddle the fork rake made the bike feel a little less responsive than a fork with straight blades, but the added comfort was well worth it and it’s something you quickly get used to. The carbon forks are attached to a steel steerer, which means there is a nice secure star nut used to tighten the stem rather than a carbon bung."

The fork rake makes the steering less responsive than straight forks? How's that work then if the geometry is the same?

A nice secure star nut can be used to tighten the stem instead of a bung. I wonder if this guy knows how to change a tube?

And who makes carbon forks with a steel steerer?

Most people quote the material of the forks when they should be considering the design of the forks.
My experiences...in rough order of ownership..
Oldish Raleigh Chimera, a good budget bike, did me proud for many thousands of miles, straight bladed chro mo fork. Absolutely bloody awful forks, you felt every pea sized bit of stuff in the tarmac. The vibration was jarring sometimes.
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 with alloy forks, very slighy rake, instantly, hugely better.
1970s Raleigh with steel forks..notably a huge rake on them..supremely smooth, perhaps smoother than my current full carbons on the Ribble and previous Bianchi C2C But, steers like a battleship, bloody awful in town.. I dont really understand how the rake effects the steering, but its noticeable, very much so.
Bianchi C2C, full carbon forks, very slight rake, reaponsive and smooth.
Ribble, full carbon forks, very straight blade...still very smooth.

Its all a trade off,
Straight blade equals responsive but often uncomfotable with steel...but much better with carbon.
Large rake equals supremely comfortable and smooth, but less reaponsive as the rake increases.
Mix design and material, the outcomes vary.

 

[Smokin Joe]

How can the rake matter? It's the trail that's important and all else being equal that remains the same no matter what the rake.

 

[gbb]

How can the rake matter? It's the trail that's important and all else being equal that remains the same no matter what the rake.

Ooh, forgot about trail.
Youre probably right, but the point i was trying to make is its about a combination of factors, fork design as well as material will effect how it performs. ( I used your post origionally, its not questioning what you say, rather using a specific point you made tto expand a something not yet covered on tne subjct)

 

[Cyclist33]

All forks have rake, the straight ones angle forward from the steerer crown, to put it another way you could have a 5 cm rake with either straight or curved forks, I think..?

 

[andyfraser]

My own anecdotal evidence:

My hybrid has aluminium forks. With 32mm tyres it's fairly comfortable on the road. 28mm is the thinnest I'll go though. 28mm is starting to get too shaky.

My road bike had 23mm tyres (now 25mm Gatorskins). It has a carbon fork is much, much smoother than I'd have thought.

My fixie is made of hi-ten steel, including the fork. It has 25mm Gatorskins tyres and is smoother than my hybrid but not as smooth as my road bike.

I can't say whether fork material has any effect, whether it's tyres or something else but those are my findings.

 

[gbb]

All forks have rake, the straight ones angle forward from the steerer crown, to put it another way you could have a 5 cm rake with either straight or curved forks, I think..?

Its a conundrum, which bit actually effects what ?...but there must be benefits from one design over another otherwise nothing ever needed to change, which it obviously did...then add which material...strewth.