Kona Project 2 Forks questions

[gtRTSdh]

As others have said, there's many varieties of them, many not triple butted.

If no obvious stamp, weighing would be a good indicator.

I've got about 3 P2 forks, including one of those hateful ones with suspension corrected thing at the bottom of the steerer, rather than in the blade length.

I have a pair I'd love to thread, because they're pretty useless to me threadless (just a bit too short, but would probably be about perfect threaded), but the thread cutting tools are yay-much, and I do wonder whether many LBSs would be up to it?

Cutting a brand new thread on a steerer with forks attached is something that is very difficult. One good method is using a large pillar drill, not often available to most, insert the steerer tube from underneath the table, clamp steerer tube in a machine vice with V jaws then, with the drill chuck removed, use the flat face of the spindle nose to keep the die square, still not easy though.

Ideally one would be able to clamp the steerer in a lathe chuck, clock the steerer and then screw cut the thread, however I've only ever seen and used one lathe big enough to take a set of fork blades up it's spindle, and that was nearly 80 years old and had no screw cutting facility!

 

[Anthony]

I have a pair I'd love to thread, because they're pretty useless to me threadless (just a bit too short, but would probably be about perfect threaded), but the thread cutting tools are yay-much, and I do wonder whether many LBSs would be up to it?

It may not be immediately obvious why my wife's loft ladder is relevant, but her loft ladder broke and she was all for getting a new one. All that was wrong was that the aluminium axle on which it rolled back into the roof had snapped. To fix it, she needed a length of 10mm mild steel rod, with 25mm of thread cut onto each end, plus four nuts and washers. I asked a local metal worker shop and they made it for me, £5 the lot. It worked perfectly, she couldn't find anything to complain about at all.

Whether the average metal worker has a die to fit onto a 28.6mm/1 1/8th tube I couldn't tell you, but surely most LBS do? I was out with a club this evening, and one young lad was struggling with a cheap bike he had just bought, and I noticed that it had a quill stem, so it's not just retrobikers that are interested in threaded steerers in 2012.

 

[Rampage]

Do these look like tripple butted ones? I can't see any stamping on the steerer.

They weigh 856g being 410 A-C and 184mm steerer.
TB then?

 

[suburbanreuben]

Do these look like tripple butted ones? I can't see any stamping on the steerer.

They weigh 856g being 410 A-C and 184mm steerer.
TB then?

Yup.

 

[elPedro666]

Good news there then

My TBs are 860g iirc with 190ish mm unthreaded and my plains just nudging a kilo with similar. Both are about '96/7 and seem to be 413mm a-c as I measure it :? That backs up the 150g difference at least.

There are about 427 varieties now...

TBs are superb forks I reckon

 

[Rampage]

Thanks.
Always wanted some of these since I was at school, they were on a Kona I picked up at the weekend.

 

[J.Dennis]

Thread dredge, can anyone confirm a 700c Kona p2 will clear a 41mm tyre?

 

[bartsince1975]

Re:

What is the difference in ride caracteristics between the TB and plain gauge version? Is there a big difference or is it just the weight?

 

[RobMac]

Re:

Weight mainly, as for ride characteristic the TB 'may' give a little more compliance/comfort and I emphasize 'may' I'd be curious in a back to back test.

 

[bartsince1975]

Re:

Then I will just stick to the plain I have, I like a strong fork in the bike I planned it in and don't care too much about the weight. Thanks.