Probably up to about 500 degrees C.
Steel frame but carbon forks?
- Thread starter mustang1
- Start date
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T4tomo
Legendary Member
no, I did
my point was a quality steel fork is probably more expensive than carbon, possibly just as light and arguably a smoother ride, but a gas pipe hitensile steel is cheaper and heavier, but little better than aluminium which has a very harsh ride.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
You don't need to melt it to get it to burn,Melting point of Carbon - 3,550 degrees C.
Melting point of Steel - 1,370 degrees C.
froze
Über Member
- Location
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
While you can find a CF fork for less money then a steel one, those cheaper CF forks are junk and I wouldn't want to be riding on one. There is only brand of CF forks I trust is the Enve 2.0 (not the 1.0), I have this fork and it's been a good fork. There is always going to be a trade off between weight and strength, if you're racing and need lighter weight stuff then get a light fork, but most of us here don't race, the need to have a light and more fragile fork is senseless other than for bike weight bragging rights. The Enve 2.0 who has gone on a fercious price increase rampage to get the suckers, I paid $249 for my fork 3 years ago, that same fork today is over $500...that's suggested retail you can find them still for $387, so my rampage for suckers really only applies to their wheels they sell, anywho, I haven't had any issues with my Enve.
There is no other brand out there that is equal to the Enve 2.0 that I'm not aware of. When I did my research on forks for the bike I got in 2013 all the forks that I found had a rider weight limit of 220 to 240 pounds including the Enve 1.0, I only weigh 170 so no big deal, except I prefer things to be a bit more over engineered for my needs and safety, so I got the Enve 2.0 because it's rated for a 350 pound rider. I did get the chance to ride a Enve 1.0 as well as other CF forks and mine I can feel the bike track better in turns. Keep in mind too that if you should accidently hit a pothole the weight of that the fork is taking with a 170 pound rider doing 20 mph slamming into a pothole will easily exceed it's 240 pound limit which is why many CF forks fail, with a greater weight capacity of 350 pounds with the Enve 2.0 you will eliminate most of that fear. This doesn't mean that after an incident you shouldn't check the fork out by tapping on it with a coin on both legs to make sure the sound of the tap is the same, and inspect it for anything unusual, that's just good common sense with anything made of CF.
There is no other brand out there that is equal to the Enve 2.0 that I'm not aware of. When I did my research on forks for the bike I got in 2013 all the forks that I found had a rider weight limit of 220 to 240 pounds including the Enve 1.0, I only weigh 170 so no big deal, except I prefer things to be a bit more over engineered for my needs and safety, so I got the Enve 2.0 because it's rated for a 350 pound rider. I did get the chance to ride a Enve 1.0 as well as other CF forks and mine I can feel the bike track better in turns. Keep in mind too that if you should accidently hit a pothole the weight of that the fork is taking with a 170 pound rider doing 20 mph slamming into a pothole will easily exceed it's 240 pound limit which is why many CF forks fail, with a greater weight capacity of 350 pounds with the Enve 2.0 you will eliminate most of that fear. This doesn't mean that after an incident you shouldn't check the fork out by tapping on it with a coin on both legs to make sure the sound of the tap is the same, and inspect it for anything unusual, that's just good common sense with anything made of CF.
Deafie
Guru
- Location
- So good they named it twice
The thing that puts me off carbon is Andy Blance's ( Thorn ) argument that steel fails slowly while carbon fails suddenly.
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
I've often wondered how they make forks. It would just my luck that the 'D' would move round just as I was bending it.
Welsh wheels
Lycra king
- Location
- South Wales
Carbon has its advantages and disadvantages, you could argue it's more comfortable but the main thing is that it's still marketed as the wonder material for cyclists that you can't do without, and hence most cyclists want to have at least some carbon on their bike.
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
Is that bike shop cold? The chap seems to be wearing a jacket.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I can absolutely assure you that I don't want ANYTHING made of CF built into any of my bikes. In fact, I would refuse to buy anything with a CF frame/forks. Fortunately, I regard carbon bikes as ugly looking things anyway, so even if CF was to become cheaper than steel, I still wouldn't own one - on the grounds of aesthetics as much as engineering.. A sudden catastrophic failure of a fork or frame member is likely to dump you on your face in the road. A steel failure will generally bend rather than simply fracture. I've seen several steel bikes with bent forks where the bike has been ridden into a huge pothole or crashed into something solid, but none of them actually sheared and dumped the rider off through frame failure.
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
Why not just use steel forks then. You want your fork 'over engineered'. Do you really think there's a significant chance a fork (steel or carbon) will fail if you hit a pothole at 20mph? What evidence can you offer that that is why "many CF forks fail"? I note that riding an Enve 2.0 fork "eliminates most of that fear". How much fear have you got? How much remains? DO you ride along worrying about it?
And the idea that you'd ride a bike made of a material you felt you had to "check" by "tapping on it" "to make sure the sound of the tap is the 'same'" Barking.
I run a carbon fork on my Peugeot 653 Athena frame, and I think it's a great combination. The Reynolds 653 is stiff but with just the right amount of flex, and super light. The fork is lighter than steel and nice to ride. The combination is much lighter than any of my 531/501 machines - not as light as full carbon, but it cost a lot less to assemble, and it's a joy to ride. Of course there is a risk of catastrophic failure with carbon, and that's a balanced risk assessment we each have to make for ourselves. A replacement carbon fork is affordable; a damaged carbon frame is very expensive. Steel is a bit more robust, but I'd be devasted if my Athena got written off.
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
When I'm asked to join a Pro Cycling Race team, I'll get a Carbon Bike, until then I'll be using my old 531 steel framed bikes for pootling around Cheshire. 
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
When I'm asked to join a Pro Cycling Race team, I'll get a Carbon Bike, until then I'll be using my old 531 steel framed bikes for pootling around Cheshire.
You make it sound like the Reynolds 531 is like some old Halfords Apollo gas pipe special!
When I was a kid, and was riding around on an all-steel drop bar Raleigh racer, ownership of anything with a Reynolds tubing frame was regarded as the Holy Grail. I only ever knew of one youngster who managed to get the cash together and he had a lovely Dawes Galaxy with a R531 frame that I was very envious of indeed. Many years later, I'm just very happy to have recently acquired a lesser R501 framed 1990's vintage Raleigh hybrid in a chance bargain purchase. It's a really nice bike, and relatively light compared to everything else I have ever owned.
Indeed - I always carry a pencil in my bag!
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
You make it sound like the Reynolds 531 is like some old Halfords Apollo gas pipe special!
When I was a kid, and was riding around on an all-steel drop bar Raleigh racer, ownership of anything with a Reynolds tubing frame was regarded as the Holy Grail. I only ever knew of one youngster who managed to get the cash together and he had a lovely Dawes Galaxy with a R531 frame that I was very envious of indeed. Many years later, I'm just very happy to have recently acquired a lesser R501 framed 1990's vintage Raleigh hybrid in a chance bargain purchase. It's a really nice bike, and relatively light compared to everything else I have ever owned.
I was fortunate enough to have a 531 framed bike as a teenage cyclist, because luckily my uncle, Alan Boden, was a keen cyclist and was third in the National TT in 1968, 1970 and 1974, also he rode the Tour of Britain (Milk Race) and many other races, so hopefully 531 steel is in our family's DNA.....
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