Rigid carbon MTB forks - so light can they be safe....??
- Thread starter LikeClockwork
- Start date
- Feedback
- View
Re:
Thanks chaps, feel thoroughly reassured now, keep picking them up and sniggering a lot, flipping lovely they are, and it will be good to use them on *something* with confidence.
Just need to find something worthy of them now.
Osella, I thought the axle to crown of 425mm would make them a bit 'long' for older frames....?
Thanks chaps, feel thoroughly reassured now, keep picking them up and sniggering a lot, flipping lovely they are, and it will be good to use them on *something* with confidence.
Just need to find something worthy of them now.
Osella, I thought the axle to crown of 425mm would make them a bit 'long' for older frames....?
Osella
Senior Retro Guru
425's the same as a lot of older suspension forks so it's not a huge deal. Still got a reasonable geometry as being that age of design it had a large BB drop, so the higher forks just level it out a bit without making it unstable, and it's an unusual frame anyhow with the Alu lugs & carbon tubes, so they cope with a lot those old Cadexes...!
I don't worry about using 425mm forks on old steel frames, and the Cadex is fine, it's only older Alu frames I wouldn't recommend using higher than 395's on if they weren't designed for it.
I did have them fitted to an anodised '13 Scandal for a bit, but didn't look right at all.. then moved all the kit from that to my little Raleigh RSP950 and they were great on that, but they fitted better with the Cadex somehow.
I don't worry about using 425mm forks on old steel frames, and the Cadex is fine, it's only older Alu frames I wouldn't recommend using higher than 395's on if they weren't designed for it.
I did have them fitted to an anodised '13 Scandal for a bit, but didn't look right at all.. then moved all the kit from that to my little Raleigh RSP950 and they were great on that, but they fitted better with the Cadex somehow.
- Feedback
- View
Re:
Maybe I worry too much about axle to crown lengths! (As the actress said to the....etc, etc....)
Any hints and tips for removing the crown race that's on them if I decide to change head sets? There's a large surface area on the crown base that it sits on and no obvious way of getting a removal tool under it....?
Maybe I worry too much about axle to crown lengths! (As the actress said to the....etc, etc....)
Any hints and tips for removing the crown race that's on them if I decide to change head sets? There's a large surface area on the crown base that it sits on and no obvious way of getting a removal tool under it....?
Osella
Senior Retro Guru
Well... I used a Hope split crown race, so didn't encounter that particular problem..but they don't work with all headsets.
I've always used an old bodge trick to remove crown races off very slowly & gently - including from the carbon steerer/crown of some SIDs using the thinnest blade I can and just lifting it fractionally on one edge and then easing the blade round until the whole thing is lifted up my maybe 1/3 of a mm (with a bit of a wiggle to lift the CR here & there, but no force or hard pressure - the wiggle is key!) then when I can get a slightly thicker flat blade in, repeat the process (I don't have a CR removal tool by the way!) until it's lifted enough to get a screwdriver in, same process (always with the blade orientated horizontally, graduating to moving more toward making a circle around the steerer, and not wedging it in toward the steerer like some kind of chisel!) and they have so far always come free pretty easily with some patience.
Usually start with the edge of a knife or a C.K mini-screwdriver. That's why it's important not to put high pressure/impacts on it. I'm pretty unforgiving with headsets etc in general fitting/removing but they are tough old things, so are crown races. I do use a tap method on Alu steerers with the mini-screwdrivers tho, as they can take a bit more, but it's still just a gradual process to lift the race clear of the fork crown. (think of sculpting marble or granite, that kind of thing..)
I'm about to sell some AMP's tho, so I'm leaving the CR on those & someone else can do it!
I've always used an old bodge trick to remove crown races off very slowly & gently - including from the carbon steerer/crown of some SIDs using the thinnest blade I can and just lifting it fractionally on one edge and then easing the blade round until the whole thing is lifted up my maybe 1/3 of a mm (with a bit of a wiggle to lift the CR here & there, but no force or hard pressure - the wiggle is key!) then when I can get a slightly thicker flat blade in, repeat the process (I don't have a CR removal tool by the way!) until it's lifted enough to get a screwdriver in, same process (always with the blade orientated horizontally, graduating to moving more toward making a circle around the steerer, and not wedging it in toward the steerer like some kind of chisel!) and they have so far always come free pretty easily with some patience.
Usually start with the edge of a knife or a C.K mini-screwdriver. That's why it's important not to put high pressure/impacts on it. I'm pretty unforgiving with headsets etc in general fitting/removing but they are tough old things, so are crown races. I do use a tap method on Alu steerers with the mini-screwdrivers tho, as they can take a bit more, but it's still just a gradual process to lift the race clear of the fork crown. (think of sculpting marble or granite, that kind of thing..)
I'm about to sell some AMP's tho, so I'm leaving the CR on those & someone else can do it!
- Feedback
- View
Re:
Thanks! Can just manage to get a finger nail under it all the way around, so maybe it's either not seated fully or designed like that to help removal, not sure.
Came with a decent FSA headset which I may well be using anyway, but if I decide to change it for the CK I have it will have to come off somehow. I have various bits of hardwood and some aluminium pipe, etc, that I use on less delicate forks....
Thanks! Can just manage to get a finger nail under it all the way around, so maybe it's either not seated fully or designed like that to help removal, not sure.
Came with a decent FSA headset which I may well be using anyway, but if I decide to change it for the CK I have it will have to come off somehow. I have various bits of hardwood and some aluminium pipe, etc, that I use on less delicate forks....
Osella
Senior Retro Guru
Yeah, re-fitting isn't such an issue - just make sure whatever you're using to set it is longer than that delicate carbon steerer...(if you're using the Clarkson method).
Also, mount the forks in something or have a wheel fitted but those dropouts need a little care.
Ideal if you don't have to change headsets tho.. Is it an Orbit? (can't remember from the ad!) What frame's it headed for, or is that yet to be added?
If you can get a fingernail under the race, you should be able to chase around under it with ickle screwdriver etc until it begins to slowly lift, and just chase it in circles til it's loose. http://www.tme.eu/html/EN/6-piece-set-o ... pelny.html
Also, mount the forks in something or have a wheel fitted but those dropouts need a little care.
Ideal if you don't have to change headsets tho.. Is it an Orbit? (can't remember from the ad!) What frame's it headed for, or is that yet to be added?
If you can get a fingernail under the race, you should be able to chase around under it with ickle screwdriver etc until it begins to slowly lift, and just chase it in circles til it's loose. http://www.tme.eu/html/EN/6-piece-set-o ... pelny.html
FWIW I almost always split the race on a cartridge headset. 30 seconds with a dremel is all it takes. And the bearing doesn't care as the actual race is part of the bearing. The crown race is just there to seat and centre, which it can do perfectly well with a split in it.
- Feedback
- View
Re:
Thanks guys...
I have some of them little watchmaker's screwdrivers somewhere, never been near a watch...
When I'm putting the crown race on, I usually just hold the forks up with a hand under the race area, while tapping at the tube I use with a wooden mallet, acts as a shock absorber and never failed me yet, there's no need for a lot of brute force usually when fitting.
As to what these go on....who knows! :facepalm: Hopefully something late 90's, steel, maybe another Kona.... Headset is FSA Orbit MX from memory....
Thanks guys...
I have some of them little watchmaker's screwdrivers somewhere, never been near a watch...
When I'm putting the crown race on, I usually just hold the forks up with a hand under the race area, while tapping at the tube I use with a wooden mallet, acts as a shock absorber and never failed me yet, there's no need for a lot of brute force usually when fitting.
As to what these go on....who knows! :facepalm: Hopefully something late 90's, steel, maybe another Kona.... Headset is FSA Orbit MX from memory....
Similar threads
