Roadie has MTB ?

<< I recently commandeered my brothers Trek 830 Circa 1995. It has cantilever brakes and no front
suspension fork. I would like to upgrade the fork. My question...Will the current canti's fit on a
newer fork ( are the studs the same?) or do I have to upgrade the front to V-brakes as well? >>

Best thing to do is keep the rigid fork, no doubt about it. You will have to spend much more than
the bike is worth to obtain a minimally functional shock. Rigid forks are cooler anyway. Learn to
ride trails on a rigid fork, will be big advantage when you get a new bike.

Robert

"Mark D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently commandeered my brothers Trek 830 Circa 1995. It has cantilever brakes and no front
suspension fork. I would like to upgrade the fork. My question...Will the current canti's fit on a
newer fork ( are the studs the same?) or do I have to upgrade the front to V-brakes as well?

Canti & V-brake studs are identical. Most newer forks don't come with an integral cable stop (it
needs to be on the fork w/ a suspension design). Most of these are drilled at least for an adapter,
which you need to buy separately (cheap). Changing to V-brakes isn't that big of a deal, you need
new levers as well, since the mechanical advantage is different. If the current bike has integral
brake/shifter, then switching becomes a lot more expensive. Well set up canti's aren't really
inferior to V-brakes. Check out Sheldon Brown's on-line article on canti set up.

There is a good chance that Trek uses a differnet size fork steerer tube than most bikes now-a-days.
It MAY use what is called a 1" steerer tube and just about all the forks sold today are only made in
what is called a 1 1/8" steerer tube. You can get 1" forks, but they are either cheap and crappy or
expensive and pro-level.

"Mark D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently commandeered my brothers Trek 830 Circa 1995. It has

cantilever

Quoted message said:

brakes and no front suspension fork. I would like to upgrade the fork.

My

Quoted message said:

question...Will the current canti's fit on a newer fork ( are the studs

the

Quoted message said:

same?) or do I have to upgrade the front to V-brakes as well?

Thanks, mark

Update: First thanks for the input. I have found a 1" steerer tube fork on Ebay, that will fit. So I
guess the question is, is all the trouble worth it? Is an older and used suspension fork really
going to do that much good for me?

"Raymo853" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There is a good chance that Trek uses a differnet size fork steerer tube than most bikes
now-a-days. It MAY use what is called a 1" steerer tube

and

Quoted message said:

just about all the forks sold today are only made in what is called a 1

1/8"

Quoted message said:

steerer tube. You can get 1" forks, but they are either cheap and crappy

or

Quoted message said:

expensive and pro-level.

"Mark D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently commandeered my brothers Trek 830 Circa 1995. It has

cantilever

Quoted message said:

brakes and no front suspension fork. I would like to upgrade the fork.

My

Quoted message said:

question...Will the current canti's fit on a newer fork ( are the studs

the

Quoted message said:

same?) or do I have to upgrade the front to V-brakes as well?

Thanks, mark

"Mark D" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I recently commandeered my brothers Trek 830 Circa 1995. It has cantilever brakes and no front
suspension fork. I would like to upgrade the fork. My question...Will the current canti's fit on a
newer fork ( are the studs the same?) or do I have to upgrade the front to V-brakes as well?

I read that you found a 1" steerer fork. Good. What brand?

I was in the same position a year ago, and was told to buy a Marzocchi Z2 BAM fork with a
replaceable steer tube. I did, for about $200, all told. Installed it on the bike (gotta have a
threadless headset too - $20, plus $15 to have the LBS press it in.) That fork is so much nicer than
a lot of the big dollar forks I have ridden since, that I am using it on my new bike. If I bust the
fork, I'll replace it, but I still think I got the far better end of the deal.

Now the comment - "they don't make them like they used to." 🙂

Good luck.

Spider

Mark D said:

Update: First thanks for the input. I have found a 1" steerer tube fork on Ebay, that will fit. So
I guess the question is, is all the trouble worth it? Is an older and used suspension fork really
going to do that much good for me?

As I recall from an old discussion here (try google groups) the real problem is frame geometry.
Putting a suspension fork on a bike designed for a solid fork will raise the front of the bike
significantly, supposedly having deleterious effects upon handling. I've never tried it myself but
based upon that thread I did convince one of my sons that trying to upgrade his pre-Trek Gary Fisher
wasn't a good idea.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗