How to Choose a Fork
Our second live #workshopwednesdays session focused on nothing but forks! From ‘what should I think about when choosing a fork?’ to materials and measurements.
Workshop Wednesdays, Series 01, Episode 02
How to Choose a Fork with James Marr
🔴Recorded live on Wednesday, September 9th, 2020 at 5.30 pm (GMT) in London, U.K 🔴
Our second live #workshopwednesdays session focused on nothing but forks! From ‘what should I think about when choosing a fork?’ to materials and measurements. This live session covered the technical details and differences in the types of forks out there to help you make better decisions for your build.
▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 - Intro
0:10 - Recap from previous live workshop
0:27 - Focus of current live workshop
0:40 - Overview of how to choose a fork
1:01 - Celebrating workshop wednesday with a beer
1:47 - What is a fork?
2:03 - Key measurements to consider when choosing a fork
3:56 - Different types of fork materials
5:30 - Tapered vs straight steerer fork
7:02 - Importance of tire selection
9:10 - Different types of brake types
10:07 - Type of disc brakes
12:11 - Examples of calliper brakes
14:05 - Selecting and fitting mudguards
14:50 - Compatibility with pannier racks
15:42 - Midway summary and checklist
16:50 - Selecting a fork for a gravel bike
18:17 - Selecting a fork for a road bike
19:04 - Selecting a fork for a hybrid bike
19:32 - Selecting a fork for a mountain bike
20:29 - Final summary and checklist
21:10 - Guidance on selecting a fork
22:17 - Announcing the next workshop
22:46 - Questions from the live audience
22:58 - Advice for brakes on a tandem bicycle
24:31 - Tapered fork, frame compatibility and tapered head tube for a mountain bike
25:46 - Calculating clearance required
27:06 - Beer swig from new bamboo beer mug 🍻
28:00 - Sign off
Recommended steel forks for bikepacking, Surly Bikes:
https://surlybikes.com/parts/forks
Recommended fork for tandem bicycle, SJS Cycles: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-tandem-replacement-forks/
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Our live #workshopwednedays videos will help you to learn more about bamboo bicycles, tips and tricks on how to fit components, maintain your bike and how to be creative with bamboo. Hosted by James Marr, a bicycle designer and an engineer, James goes live every other Wednesday to help you learn about building a bamboo bicycle and takes your questions and announces promotions and deals of the week!
🪡 James' workshop apron was made by Georgina Habgood https://www.instagram.com/geeorrrge/ from denim deadstock. She is hoping to make the sewing pattern available for free soon.
✏️ Graphic design and titles by Hasan Waliany https://www.instagram.com/herby_werby/
If you’re building a bamboo bicycle frame, need help or would like to learn more about our Home Build kits, have a look at this link: bamboo bike frame kits
Best way to learn about us is by visiting our Club News for detailed build reviews by our community of bamboo bicycle builders: https://bamboobicycleclub.org/blogs/club-news
Choosing a fork for your bamboo frame
Fork geometry — the key numbers:
- Axle to Crown (A-to-C): The distance from the centre of the front axle to the crown of the fork where it meets the head tube. Your frame geometry is calculated for a specific A-to-C, and deviating from it changes your stack height and effective head tube angle.
- Rake (offset): The perpendicular distance between the wheel axle and the steering axis. For a given head angle, more offset means less trail and quicker steering; less offset means more trail and more stability.
- Trail: How far the tyre's contact patch trails behind the steering axis, set by head tube angle, fork offset and wheel size. More trail gives calmer, more stable steering; less trail makes it quicker.
Standards compatibility: Our kits use a 44mm knurled headtube, which takes straight 1 1/8", tapered 1.5, 1" and 1 1/4" steerers with the right headset. For tapered disc forks on gravel and MTB frames there is also our tapered head tube (1 1/8" to 1.5"). Steerer tube material (carbon, aluminium, steel) affects weight and compliance but not compatibility.
Recommended fork options: For our gravel frames, our carbon gravel fork (flat-mount disc, 12 × 100mm thru-axle, room for 700c × 50mm tyres, with mounts on each leg); for road frames, our carbon road disc fork (tapered steerer, flat-mount disc); for touring, a steel unicrown fork with rack mounts. The BBC team can provide specific recommendations based on your frame specification and intended use.
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