# Quality 1" threadless forks?



## msrothwe (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm about to get my first road bike back, its an Reynolds 853 Lemond Alpe D'Huez from ~2000 that I raced and trained on for the first several years of my cycling life. I gave it to my brother several years back to start riding, and he never really got into it. Its sat in his garage for the last 3-4 years, and finally I decided to ask for it back. 

The tires are flat, the drivetrain is a mess, the headset is notchy, the tires are dry-rotted and the wheels are out of true. However, I've got a used Dura-Ace 7800 drive train sitting in a box under my bed, and a spare set of 2006 Ksyrium elites kicking around in a closet somewhere so I've decided that I'd like to rebuild it. 

The only thing that I really hated about that bike was the awful fork. Its one of the first generation carbon forks, and it has a 1" steerer tube. It is the sketchiest, flexiest fork I've ever ridden. I'd like to replace it with a better one. 

I'm okay with using a steel fork, but there's so much garbage out there. I'd like to find a good quality, well made, non-boat anchor fork with modern levels of torsional stiffness. I'll pay up to ~$400 for it, maybe more if its really nice. Sorry for the long explanation, but that's what I'm looking for. I'd prefer non-used if possible. Any ideas?

Summary for the TLR'ers: Want decent 1" steerer tube fork for an old road bike with sentimental value.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

msrothwe said:


> I'm about to get my first road bike back, its an Reynolds 853 Lemond Alpe D'Huez from ~2000 that I raced and trained on for the first several years of my cycling life. I gave it to my brother several years back to start riding, and he never really got into it. Its sat in his garage for the last 3-4 years, and finally I decided to ask for it back.
> 
> The tires are flat, the drivetrain is a mess, the headset is notchy, the tires are dry-rotted and the wheels are out of true. However, I've got a used Dura-Ace 7800 drive train sitting in a box under my bed, and a spare set of 2006 Ksyrium elites kicking around in a closet somewhere so I've decided that I'd like to rebuild it.
> 
> ...


Waterford will make a fork.

Custom Bicycles from Waterford Precision Cycles


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm very happy with my recently purchased Nashbar 1" threadless carbon fork. Less than $100. Featured here:


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## BikeLayne (Apr 4, 2014)

The Nashbar 1 in carbon fork would probably be fine. It has good reviews that you could read. It's $99.00. If you wanted a high end steel fork then any of the frame builders could make you one for about $350.00. Ritchie makes a 1 in headset and also Chris King. Not sure who else has them.


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## msrothwe (Jan 16, 2008)

BikeLayne said:


> The Nashbar 1 in carbon fork would probably be fine. It has good reviews that you could read. It's $99.00. If you wanted a high end steel fork then any of the frame builders could make you one for about $350.00. Ritchie makes a 1 in headset and also Chris King. Not sure who else has them.


Hmm, and that Nashbar looks suspiciously like the Ritchey fork I've been eyeing. I wonder if they're the same thing, rebranded. 

So the nashbar fork rides pretty well then? No floppyness?


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

wiggle.com | Columbus Minimal Road Forks | Road Forks


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

msrothwe said:


> So the nashbar fork rides pretty well then? No floppyness?


It worked well for me as a replacement for a porky and teeth-jarring Surly Pacer fork and looked good to boot with a well-done fade paint job from the alloy crown into the carbon legs. Felt good at all times on the road, but I have to say that my days of diving into high-speed crit turns were long behind me when I made that Pacer modification.

I also wonder if "floppiness" couldn't be a result of how a fork's geometry interacts with the frame's geometry. In other words, reports of the Nashbar fork being floppy or not being floppy might not mean much in the context of putting that fork on your Lemond.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

msrothwe said:


> Hmm, and that Nashbar looks suspiciously like the Ritchey fork I've been eyeing. I wonder if they're the same thing, rebranded.
> 
> So the nashbar fork rides pretty well then? No floppyness?


The Nashbar fork is fine with a very solid feel to it. Excellent value IMO.


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## Richard L (Jun 16, 2014)

If you want to consider carbon, Wound-Up might offer a 1" threadless fork. Don't know anything about Wound-Up products.


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## Gregory Taylor (Mar 29, 2002)

wim said:


> I also wonder if "floppiness" couldn't be a result of how a fork's geometry interacts with the frame's geometry. In other words, reports of the Nashbar fork being floppy or not being floppy might not mean much in the context of putting that fork on your Lemond.


Listen to Wim. A change in specs on your fork (rake, stack height/crown) can have an effect on the handling of your bike. This is wholly apart from the stiffness, etc., imparted by the materials. 

Designers have come up with a calculation - known as "trail" - that attempts to predict how changes in the specs for a frame and fork will impact handling and stability. Trail basically measures the distance between the contact patch of the front tire and the steering axis (i.e. a hypothetical line that is an extension of the head tube/fork steerer). The amount of "trail" is a function of fork offset, head tube angle, and tire size. Why "trail" can matter is explained here:

Dave Moulton's Bike Blog: Trail, fork rake, and a little bit of history

What constitutes the optimum amount of "trail" is one of the things that cyclists used to argue about before disk brakes became available on road bikes. Different designers have different ideas. Some think that the idea of calculating "trail" is complete BS. Others think it's a useful figure. Current thinking is that the sweet spot for a bike with a 73 degree head tube is around 55mm to 58mm. Or thereabouts. 

So before you just slap a 1" fork on there, I would figure out what was on there originally - offset/rake, crown height, etc. Get an idea what the designer originally had in mind, or as a baseline for your comparison. You can use the "Trail" calculator on velobase.com to figure out what you have and how a new fork will affect the "trail" calculation. The offset numbers are usually included in the specs for a particular fork. 

As for crown height, remember that jacking up the front of the bike (or dropping it down) with a fork that has a different crown will have an impact on the geometry - slackening or steepening the head tube angle depending on the difference in height. Good luck, however, finding this information without simply getting out the tape measure and comparing. 

VeloBase.com - Fork Geometry Calculator


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