# Easton EC 90SL Fork



## mattrider (Oct 14, 2007)

What is the ride difference between the straight and bent fork?


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

Theory? Who knows? Real life=cosmetics. They both have the same rake and length so no real performance difference. I had a straight legged EC90SL and the SLX which is curved and I could not tell any difference between them when I rode the forks.


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## Applesauce (Aug 4, 2007)

mattrider said:


> What is the ride difference between the straight and bent fork?


Nothing. Aesthetics. Provided dimensionally they're the same, all straight forks and curved forks are the same.

But this can of worms could have remained closed had you done a search...


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## davidwaller (Sep 24, 2004)

In a recent edition of Bicycle Quarterly magazine, there was an article on this topic. They measured the vertical deflection under load of a bunch of different forks. I believe that their basic conclusion was that, all other things being equal, the more curvature near the bottom of the fork providing the rake/offset, the more deflection under load, and the more comfortable the fork (assuming same rake/offset for each fork). So their claim is that a straight bladed fork has less deflection (less comfortable) than a curved fork with the same rake/offset. Some of the forks that they tested had extreme offsets (e.g. 80 mm). Perhaps with modern forks, with relatively little offset (e.g. 43 mm) the difference in vertical deflection under load between a straight bladed fork and a curved fork is negligible. They also claimed that extremely curved forks with a lot of vertical compliance handled just as well as lesser curved forks (with the same rake/offset/trail etc). I'm not endorsing their opinions and conclusions, just wanted to make others aware of the article, since it bears on this topic.


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## lechat67 (Sep 28, 2007)

i went from a kinesis wedge straight bladed fork to an ouzo comp curved fork and could tell the difference immediately. there's a retrofitted gasline across the road near my house. and the ouzo dampened it very nicely.


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## Applesauce (Aug 4, 2007)

lechat67 said:


> i went from a kinesis wedge straight bladed fork to an ouzo comp curved fork and could tell the difference immediately. there's a retrofitted gasline across the road near my house. and the ouzo dampened it very nicely.


Take note: apples and oranges.


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## Cruzer2424 (Feb 8, 2005)

davidwaller said:


> I believe that their basic conclusion was that, *all other things being equal*...


Besides custom steel forks, how many forks come ALL EQUAL (wall thickness, construction technique, rake, trail... etc etc) in straight and curved? I can't think of one. 

Is it this one?

*Vol. 6, No. 3 (Spring 2008)*
...
26 Fork Blades Optimized for Comfort and Speed

http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/contents.html

//edit: oh. I see it's a custom steel builder focused magazine...  I guess that makes it basically null and void if the forks in question are carbon ones made with different construction techniques, different layup schedules... etc etc...


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## [email protected] (Jul 6, 2007)

Cruzer2424 said:


> Besides custom steel forks, how many forks come ALL EQUAL (wall thickness, construction technique, rake, trail... etc etc) in straight and curved? I can't think of one.
> 
> Is it this one?
> 
> ...


Of course, no conclusions about two particular carbon forks can be drawn based on this article, especially given the ability of carbon construction to significantly affect the strength/stiffness of a component in various directions, and all the other variables involved in fork construction. I cited this article as a response to the assertions by some posters that there was no functional difference between straight bladed and curved forks, which this article tends to refute. This was not intended to be a commentary on the characteristics of the curved vs. straight versions of the Easton SLX carbon fork, when there are so many other factors involved, besides the external dimensions of the forks.


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