Greetings Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 I go through 1 set of Echo SL 4bolt forks every 6 months, thinking about getting something different this year. The only downside of the SL I've found is the complete lack of stiffness which is very visible on natural. The Karbons have been around for some time now, so shouldn't be difficult to get an opinion on them. What are they like strength wise? Any problems? At a guess the stiffness should be on par with Trialtechs or other high end forks? And finally, I remember someone talking about a tube+headset length of at least 135mm or so. How crucial is this to the strength of the steerer tube? My current bike is 127mm so not far off. Don't think I'll be changing to a different frame this year so it needs to be accounted for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 I go through 1 set of Echo SL 4bolt forks every 6 months, thinking about getting something different this year. The only downside of the SL I've found is the complete lack of stiffness which is very visible on natural. The Karbons have been around for some time now, so shouldn't be difficult to get an opinion on them. What are they like strength wise? Any problems? At a guess the stiffness should be on par with Trialtechs or other high end forks? And finally, I remember someone talking about a tube+headset length of at least 135mm or so. How crucial is this to the strength of the steerer tube? My current bike is 127mm so not far off. Don't think I'll be changing to a different frame this year so it needs to be accounted for. It´s crucial because aluminium insert in steerer is only that long I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canardweb Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 It´s crucial because aluminium insert in steerer is only that long I think. Yes!!! Other than that the Karbons are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted January 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 That doesn't make sense. Presumably the insert is installed from the bottom, not the top. If so, they should be quoting a maximum length, not minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 That doesn't make sense. Presumably the insert is installed from the bottom, not the top. If so, they should be quoting a maximum length, not minimum. No man,it´s on the top where you put starnut to prevent steerer from damage caused by starnut instaling or overtightening stem clamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 You can always make ur own insert like most others 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 You can always make ur own insert like most others Maybe you can,but it won´t revalidate your warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Jack Carthy had pretty much the first pair of Karbons we got in stock, and his are still going strong (they'll be 6 months old in a weeks time). Bearing in mind how ridiculously fast he used to go through aluminium forks, they seem to hold up pretty well. I think Adam made a steerer insert for them that extended the Koxx one slightly - as far as I'm aware it wasn't anything particularly major though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Jack Carthy had pretty much the first pair of Karbons we got in stock, and his are still going strong (they'll be 6 months old in a weeks time). Bearing in mind how ridiculously fast he used to go through aluminium forks, they seem to hold up pretty well. I think Adam made a steerer insert for them that extended the Koxx one slightly - as far as I'm aware it wasn't anything particularly major though. What bike Adam rides these days Mark?haven´t seen anything since red sky and his bikes are always fancy,so I´m sure everyone would like to see some pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Still riding his dual disc Red Sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 And how´s that proto hub he made holding up?Still in one piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 As far as I know it's in bits in the workshop 'cos Ads wanted to change something in it. I think he's running a Because rear disc hub at the mo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted January 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Maybe you can,but it won´t revalidate your warranty. I don't believe in Koxx warranty so even if these forks have one, invalidating it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that if they point out the stack height is relevant, it must have an impact on durability. So if what Mark says is correct then they're probably worth buying. I'd be chuffed if they were twice as durable as the SL's. I'm a smooth and light rider, don't go bit either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 I don't believe in Koxx warranty so even if these forks have one, invalidating it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that if they point out the stack height is relevant, it must have an impact on durability. So if what Mark says is correct then they're probably worth buying. I'd be chuffed if they were twice as durable as the SL's. I'm a smooth and light rider, don't go bit either. They will be stronger with that insert,without it,I don´t think so.That insert is there for a reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 They will be stronger with that insert,without it,I don´t think so.That insert is there for a reason I still think without the insert they are much stronger than sl's took Vincent a while to snap them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 I still think without the insert they are much stronger than sl's took Vincent a while to snap them How do you know long it took vince to break the first verision?Iciar broke the first version in quite short period of time if remember right...There was pic where his fork snapped just where the insert is in the new version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.KYDD Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 There was pic where his fork snapped just where the insert is in the new version. If thats the picture of him mid sidehop behind a rock at Koxx days, then they weren't Karbons. They were a pair of the Try-All Forxx in silver, a fair few pairs of them were snapping off at the stem (oddly, only the silver ones ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 If thats the picture of him mid sidehop behind a rock at Koxx days, then they weren't Karbons. They were a pair of the Try-All Forxx in silver, a fair few pairs of them were snapping off at the stem (oddly, only the silver ones ) This might be true,can´t find that pic anywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 How do you know long it took vince to break the first verision?Iciar broke the first version in quite short period of time if remember right...There was pic where his fork snapped just where the insert is in the new version. Well considering Vincent was testing them and had them before any other koxx riders I'm sure he would have tested them for while in training before he would turn up to a public event, and I think I could crack a pair of sl forks in a week ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Well considering Vincent was testing them and had them before any other koxx riders I'm sure he would have tested them for while in training before he would turn up to a public event, and I think I could crack a pair of sl forks in a week ! They were testing them for few years as far as I know and they did break quickly(the reason why they weren´t selling them for so long) till they started to use that insert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted January 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Ok, so has anyone actually used them or is this thread full of people who have only seen them on pics and know a lot about Vincent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) Ok, so has anyone actually used them or is this thread full of people who have only seen them on pics and know a lot about Vincent? canardweb´s friend,adam deffo could share his experience withit too. Edited January 7, 2012 by ghostrider88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogre Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 may be wrong but i think the tnn guy uses them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 may be wrong but i think the tnn guy uses them? If you mean Le,I think so,but he doesn´t post here very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Can't be bothered changing over to my own profile, so I'm using Ali's I think we've sold 20 or so pairs and we've only had 1 back in that time. The one pair that broke appeared to be a genuine manufacturing defect with part of the carbon, and wasn't really a problem caused by the design of the fork itself. I was initially pretty sceptical of them, but we've sold them to a pretty wide range of riders and haven't heard anything back from them (which is generally a good sign...). If you'd classify yourself as light or smooth (and you're not likely to be going out and throwing your bike or anything like that) then I don't think you'd have any problems with them. To be on the safe side you could always get a longer insert installed - it shouldn't really be that hard to do, and if you've got some connections to anyone with a lathe or something like that it shouldn't be a difficult job at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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