[Marc]

Titanium seems to be a great material to use for bike frames.

Why not for forks ? Does anybody make a Titanium fork?

You don't want a fork that is noodly. It is also FAR cheaper to buy a CF fork nowadays, in addition to the weight/stiffness benefits.

 

[Marc]

Why good for frames. plenty stiff, not noodly.
No good for for forks?

1) Economics.

-CF forks are DIRT cheap to make. Just like CF frames-do you really think it cost TIME $5000 to make their frames? They are also light, stiff and reliable. Once you have a mold-you can mass produce CF forks quickly, and every one you make gets cheaper.

-Ti forks, like Ti frames require metal working which is expensive and time consuming. And every unit costs the same.


2) Metal properties

-Ti is lighter than steel but FAR less stiff. We're talking roughly 1/3 the weight, but also 1/3 the stiffness. To get a Ti fork that is as stiff as a steel fork-you'd need pipes that are FAR beefier (i.e. heavier).

Due to the economics a Ti fork would cost FAR more than a CF fork to produce, it would also weigh FAR more than a CF fork while not being as stiff. What advantage is there at all in Ti forks?


Remember a fork is nothing more than 3 pipes attached to one another-that is the limit of your structure. A bike frame has triangles and has natural stiffness and strength due to it's design. A fork don't.

 

[Marc]

Kocmo makes one.

http://www.kocmo.de/en/products/?visit=3&cat=2&scat=0&id=100005

And with only 600g of weight, and a $600+ pricetag...it only weighs and costs 2X what a CF fork does.

Still purdy.

 

[Marc]

Steve Jobs calls it the iFork.

OES already stole it.