carbon fork for mountain biking?

i'd be wary of 'hucking' (as the Pace cycles website says) this thing
down anything....but that said, it looks very pimp and i'd love to have
one... the problem with carbon fiber is, if it's scratched or gouged in
any way, it's basically trashed....

some redflags here are:
rider weight restrictions, 210 lbs??
titanium crown-while light, doesn't replace aluminum as a stiffer AND
lighter alternative, only lighter
if the carbon makes contact with boulders, curbs, etc, it's days are
drastically numbered!

Vee said:

Pace and Winwood make carbon fiber forks for off-road use:

https://www.pacecycles.com/product.asp?catID=2&subcat=462
http://www.winwoodbike.com/purist.html

Has anyone tried either? Opinions about safety and durability?

-Vee

Performancebike.com even sells a house brand CXcross fork now for under
$200. Don't know if I'd trust them day after day off road, but if you
commute on your CXbike--it's not too expensive and shaves a very decend
chunk of weight off the front end.

The fork linked to sure is pretty extraordinary light though, A pound
for the whole thing. Nice.

The pace fork generally has a good reputation. As long as you are using
it as intended its a great fork and is supposed to help soak up some
trail buzz. I used one for a while, and still have it in fact but have
since put a steel fork back on as I want the option to let loose once
in a while. I have to say I haven't noticed any difference in the
'trail buzz' either.

Vee said:

Pace and Winwood make carbon fiber forks for off-road use:

https://www.pacecycles.com/product.asp?catID=2&subcat=462
http://www.winwoodbike.com/purist.html

Has anyone tried either? Opinions about safety and durability?

-Vee

I have just a couple minor questions.
What's the intended use?
Where do you ride?
How much do you weigh?
How much will your life really improve with a $350 rigid fork?
Are you already using discs, or will you need to add them to the
expense since this puppy doesn't have V-posts?

/s

Scott Gordo said:

Vee said:

Pace and Winwood make carbon fiber forks for off-road use:

https://www.pacecycles.com/product.asp?catID=2&subcat=462
http://www.winwoodbike.com/purist.html

Has anyone tried either? Opinions about safety and durability?

-Vee

I have just a couple minor questions.
What's the intended use?
Where do you ride?
How much do you weigh?
How much will your life really improve with a $350 rigid fork?
Are you already using discs, or will you need to add them to the
expense since this puppy doesn't have V-posts?

/s

Do these questions need an answer? I mean, Pace and Winwood are
representing their forks as suitable for mountain biking. Are the
forks up to it or not?

If you insist on more context: assume the rider weighs less than Pace's
weight limit (210 lbs). Assume the bike will be ridden off-road, and
will bounce over rocks and probably crash into trees every now and
then. Nothing beyond the limits of what's possible with a rigid fork
in a competent cross-country rider's hands.

I wouldn't be comfortable riding one off road because I've never seen
or heard of anybody doing so, and I would personally love to go through
life without ever breaking a fork. Is that rational? They work for
roadies and CX racers...

-Vee

Vee said:

Scott Gordo said:

Vee said:

Pace and Winwood make carbon fiber forks for off-road use:

https://www.pacecycles.com/product.asp?catID=2&subcat=462
http://www.winwoodbike.com/purist.html

Has anyone tried either? Opinions about safety and durability?

-Vee

I have just a couple minor questions.
What's the intended use?
Where do you ride?
How much do you weigh?
How much will your life really improve with a $350 rigid fork?
Are you already using discs, or will you need to add them to the
expense since this puppy doesn't have V-posts?

/s

Do these questions need an answer? I mean, Pace and Winwood are
representing their forks as suitable for mountain biking. Are the
forks up to it or not?

If you insist on more context: assume the rider weighs less than Pace's
weight limit (210 lbs). Assume the bike will be ridden off-road, and
will bounce over rocks and probably crash into trees every now and
then. Nothing beyond the limits of what's possible with a rigid fork
in a competent cross-country rider's hands.

I wouldn't be comfortable riding one off road because I've never seen
or heard of anybody doing so, and I would personally love to go through
life without ever breaking a fork. Is that rational? They work for
roadies and CX racers...

-Vee

My apologies. You're correct. My questions were totally irrelevant.
These forks are advertized as mountainbike forks. so they're obviously
up for anything within the gamut of what falls under 'mtb'.

Have fun!

/s

Vee said:

Scott Gordo said:

Vee said:

Pace and Winwood make carbon fiber forks for off-road use:

https://www.pacecycles.com/product.asp?catID=2&subcat=462
http://www.winwoodbike.com/purist.html

Has anyone tried either? Opinions about safety and durability?

-Vee

I have just a couple minor questions.
What's the intended use?
Where do you ride?
How much do you weigh?
How much will your life really improve with a $350 rigid fork?
Are you already using discs, or will you need to add them to the
expense since this puppy doesn't have V-posts?

/s

Do these questions need an answer? I mean, Pace and Winwood are
representing their forks as suitable for mountain biking. Are the
forks up to it or not?

If you insist on more context: assume the rider weighs less than Pace's
weight limit (210 lbs). Assume the bike will be ridden off-road, and
will bounce over rocks and probably crash into trees every now and
then. Nothing beyond the limits of what's possible with a rigid fork
in a competent cross-country rider's hands.

I wouldn't be comfortable riding one off road because I've never seen
or heard of anybody doing so, and I would personally love to go through
life without ever breaking a fork. Is that rational? They work for
roadies and CX racers...

-Vee

Since you haven't gotten too many useful answers I'll say something
even though I don't like carbon forks and haven't ridden either of
these... most likely, just like other carbon forks, they're plenty
strong enough for their intended use - XC, with a rider within the
weight limit, doing stuff that the mfg specifies as okay, which I bet
for both of these consists of only the lighter, more abuse-free
definition of "XC." And just like other carbon forks, they'll be prone
to damage from loads they're not intended for, such as what occurs
during a crash, and the damage will sometimes be virtually invisible
and lead to spontaneous failure if use is continued. So no, they
probably wouldn't generally be up to crashing into trees, and the
manufacturer's instructions are probably to replace the fork if
anything remotely resembling crashing into a tree in a way that might
involve the fork occurs.

The nature of carbon forks as civilians experience them is that they're
inherently strong, because carbon is very strong stuff, but they do
have these issues with potential fragility after potential abuse has
occurred. There are now a lot of carbon forks in the hands of people
who aren't exactly concerned with abiding by the "this might break if
it's ever been crashed" thing, and failure is not an epidemic problem
and, hopefully, it won't ever be. But it does happen, and the
circumstances aren't predictable.

Vee said:

I wouldn't be comfortable riding one off road because I've never seen
or heard of anybody doing so

Loads of people us the Pace rigids in the UK. Like I said they have a
very good rep. Often there are topics on forums from people looking to
get a pair but nervous of their durability asking if anyone has ever
had a set fail and the answer is usually 'no'.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=2210985&t=2210985#reply_2210985

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=2199023&t=2199023#reply_2199023

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=2144310&t=2144310#reply_2144310

spademan o---) * said:

Vee said:

I wouldn't be comfortable riding one off road because I've never seen
or heard of anybody doing so

Loads of people us the Pace rigids in the UK. Like I said they have a
very good rep. Often there are topics on forums from people looking to
get a pair but nervous of their durability asking if anyone has ever
had a set fail and the answer is usually 'no'.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=2210985&t=2210985#reply_2210985

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=2199023&t=2199023#reply_2199023

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=2144310&t=2144310#reply_2144310

Thanks for the links. Some of those guys said they broke the Pace
carbon fork. I guess what I was getting at is, carbon fiber seems like
an implausible material for a mountain bike fork, and hearing that
other people have broken them is enough to deter me. I don't know if
that's rational or not, since CF handlebars and seatposts are common on
mountain bikes, and those parts are just as critical as forks...

-Vee

One bloke said he broke a set, another had his run over. Ah well I
kinda agree with you anyway but the evidence suggests otherwise.

i would buy it if i were building up a singlespeed for specifically
moderate terrain, and nothing more.

Ah I didn't realise they were a singlespeed fork, I'm so sorry I got
misxed up and thought they could be used on geared bikes as well <slaps
head> what a dumbass I must be.