F**K YOU!!!

Ok so I'll admit I've been slacking I was supposed to continue this thing last week but as you all know sometimes life interrupts the things we mean to do, but anyway back to business. As of late there have been huge innovations in the construction of forks with companies like Odyssey pushing things in the new light weight direction with a slew of other companies following suite. With all new forks coming in close to the same weight it can be very hard to choose what fork will work best for your application. First and foremost lets get the basics of fork construction out of the way. The first part to look at would be the steerer tube. The steerer tube can be the difference between a fork that can withstand hard impacts due to casing, landing flat, or even the occasional toss due to frustration. Steeter tubes usually are butted or fluted now and neither one has proven itself stronger then the other one. Fluted tubes remove material from the tube in sections to help retain the strength of the fork while reducing the weight considerably. A butted tube takes the material out of the fork in areas that do not take a lot of stress i.e. thick where it needs to be, and thin where it doesn't. Most companies have an understanding where most forks will fail so they have beeen beefed up in the right places. Fork legs are very similar the difference is mostly in taper which is how the tube reduces in size which in my opinion makes forks look kinda weak, but to each his own. The reduction of fork leg size can aide in reducing the likelihood of denting or even hanging up on rails and ledges. However before you go out and buy the newest tapered fork remember there is a limit in how much this can help you, because if you happen to dent the fork leg it is now weaker cause a quarter size dent in a fork leg with a smaller diameter is more of a worry then one in a normal diameter fork. So pick your forks based on you riding style for example heavy street riders need a fork with a little more girth while park/pegless street riders can benefit from a fork with less material. Now the current popular measurement in forks is offset. The standard offset is 32mm to 35mm, which will make your bike handle more natural and predictable in certain situations which is a favorite among trail riders and "mid" school riders who want their headtube angle to feel like it is supposed to. The new steeper offsets are more for tech street riders and park riders searching for a more responsive feel from there front end to make it easier to transition to the front wheel as well as give their bike quicker steering. If you aren't sure which measurement sounds bestthis might help if your frame has a 75 degree headtube angle and you have a traditional offset fork your frame will ride like it has a 75 degree headtube. Now place a steeper offset fork on the same frame and it will feel more like 75.5 or 76 degree headtube. Dropouts and heat treating can be saved for another time so stay tuned...


Quentin