well here ya go

steel: cheap, heavy but best a bump absorption

aluminum: cheap and light, harsh

CF: light, not cheap not as good feel as steel

 

don't forget ti forks

 

steel forks

Steel forks are not always heavy or cheap looking. The custom forks I build hover around 600-640 grams with a full-length steerer. Granted, it is a bit heavier than an Alpha-Q, but it has very little brake flutter and corners very nicely. Great mud clearance too.

I just prefer the way they handle.

 

I quess I've taken a step back technology wise. I'm using steel forks on both my cross bikes this year. I've ridden the Alpha Q (sold it here to another list member) and it was a nice fork, but I prefered the feel of a nicely crafted steel fork. Although the Alpha Q was a 1/4 pound lighter, it didn't feel as well balanced. Having the extra quarter pound on the front of the bike made it handle better. (I'm sure it's all in my head).

For the $, I'd opt for steel. I've never ridden an aluminum fork. It doesn't apeal to me. One fork that I've used that I didn't like, is the Kona P2.

 

Steel forks are not always heavy or cheap looking. The custom forks I build hover around 600-640 grams with a full-length steerer. Granted, it is a bit heavier than an Alpha-Q, but it has very little brake flutter and corners very nicely. Great mud clearance too.

I just prefer the way they handle.

Not to mention your forks are beautiful. You need more pics of finished bikes on your website. Perhaps you could post a pic of the fork on that red/white in the corner of your homepage?

 

yeah enquiring minds wanna see

even if this was a way to generate interest, lets see them forks!

 

an easy test i did to see the vibration dampening effects of a carbon vs aluminum fork was held the fork at the end of the steerer tube and hit one leg with the base of my hand (like a tuning fork) and counted how long i felt the vibration. The aluminum fork vibrated about 25-30 seconds, the carbon fork vibrated about 1-2 seconds. I know this doesnt exactly happen in the real world (a fork taking a blow to the side of one of the legs without a wheel mounted or stem etc) but i think its a good example of what happens and what the properties of each material are.

As a side note, riding on a carbon fork felt so much more cushy to me, as if my tire pressure had dropped 20 psi or so.

ive only tried riding on a crappy steel fork, and was unimpressed, but that could be because it cost me only $20 new, so that doesnt count.

jeremy

 

even if this was a way to generate interest, lets see them forks!

Sorry ATP, I guess I did sound like a bit of an infomercial. I have no link to his business, I just want to drool! Of his bikes that I've seen, the comparison that immediately comes to mind is Sachs. I don't care who makes them, pics of bikes on that level are always welcome as far as I'm concerned.

 

An affordable aluminium fork is a nice bet, it is light, inexpensive and provides a key link between the wheel and the handlebars. I don't think the vibration absorbsion is that big a deal in cross, we are taking about a pretty bumpy sport no matter how you cut it.

 

An affordable aluminium fork is a nice bet, it is light, inexpensive and provides a key link between the wheel and the handlebars. I don't think the vibration absorbsion is that big a deal in cross, we are taking about a pretty bumpy sport no matter how you cut it.

I think one can go faster if the bumpy road ahead isnt as bumpy as it normally would be. its a personal opinion, but i love my carbon fork.

jeremy

 

I agree

An affordable aluminium fork is a nice bet, it is light, inexpensive and provides a key link between the wheel and the handlebars. I don't think the vibration absorbsion is that big a deal in cross, we are taking about a pretty bumpy sport no matter how you cut it.

And I truly cant feel the difference between Steel or Al when Im running 32mm tires with 60 -80 psi. I recently sold a great looking/ riding IF and am know riding a Trek XO and Redline Conquest Pro and personally do not believe there is much difference in the quality of ride beteween all three bikes. I like Al because its lighter and cheaper. If I were to look at forks for a Road bike running 700x20 @ 100+ psi than my preference would be steel or carbon.
Wade

 

no I'm okay withg you sounding so

I just wanna see pix. I love custom steel and if he's making a light fork out of such ferrous joy I'd be interested. I don't mind an endorsement when you have nothing to gain. I posted a link to some great deals on my teams website, I'm not feeling guilty, I'm not making a penny, but when I see a good deal on something that I think someone in the tribe may want, let it fly. that's only shameless promotion which IMHO is different than shameless self promotion.

 

Thank you very much for the comments! Being compared to Richie is quite a compliment. In no way did I mean my post to be an infomercial. I just get very passionate about cross and equipment. I like to stick to what works really well for me and my customers. For me, I prefer the way a steel fork rides on a cross bike and a road bike. It just feels more sure-footed.

I do have a bunch of pictures that are on my Yahoo picture site that are going to be loaded on my website. We are building the pages now, and should be up in the next couple of weeks. But, if you want to check out the pictures now, you can at
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mnzank/my_photos

Here are a couple of pictures of a fork I finished today. Sorry there is no paint yet! Again, thank you for the comments. I really appreciate it! Good luck this season.

 

Very nice

Love the link to all the bikes. You do really nice work.

 

Zank- Do you have a website?

Other than the photos you posted? You do really nice work!

 

nice stuff

how big of tires do thsoe forks clear? and what are the prices of your rigs?
soory am a lug steel sucker

 

forks

I think stictly speaking aluminum is ok for real cyclocross use but on pavement with high tire pressure aluminum is way less comfortable than carbon, I think on pavement carbon even is an improvement on steel (based on my classic butted steel road frames). I think cyclocross tires and cyclocross tire pressures largely negate a lot of the felt vibration in an aluminum fork. Of course YMMV.

 

Hi Gang,
Without this sounding too much like a commercial, the website is www.zanconato.com. We are currenlty in website-building mode.

ATP, The crown has 58 mm of clearance. A Mud 2 looks small in there. I mocked up a 2.0 Panaracer Fire XC Pro, and it was tight but I was considering doing it for a rigid SS MTB.

Again, thanks for all of your comments. I would be happy to answer any questions off-line.

Now, if I could just finish my own bike so that I can race this weekend...Northfield is going to be a blast!