Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Talk about anything.

Moderators: Bearbonesnorm, Taylor, Chew

Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

Hi, been getting out on the trails on longer rides a fair bit recently and I’m finding I’m suffering a bit with wrist / shoulder fatigue. I currently have a Brother Big Bro with steel fork, tyres at a sensible pressure and Jones loops.

Brother do a great looking carbon fork for the Big Bro for £299. I was wondering if anyone has made a similar change and how they found it.

Another option is to just bite the bullet and get a 100mm travel fork but I like not having to worry about fork servicing.

Many thanks
Chew
Posts: 2602
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:46 pm
Location: Halifax

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Chew »

Positioning is key to fixing those issues.
It’s about taking the weight out of your arms and having a more relaxed position.
User avatar
Bearbonesnorm
Posts: 23904
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: my own little world

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

Either material can produce a very rigid, rigid fork and either can produce something more forgiving. It's more about what the manufacturer does with the material than solely the material itself.
May the bridges you burn light your way
ScotRoutes
Posts: 8144
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:56 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by ScotRoutes »

Shape and construction matter as much (more?) than material. There's nothing inherently magic about either carbon or steel.
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

I’m set up with the saddle pretty level with the bars. It’s more the bumps I think that are causing the fatigue.

I have upped my mileage a lot recently though (c.100 a month to c.400 a month) so this might have something to do with it. Does your body get used to it? Feel very stiff and sore now after 45 miles off road today (I’m only 40!)
User avatar
Wotsits
Posts: 1364
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:49 pm

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Wotsits »

Are your Jones loops al or carbon?
If al you might find changing them to carbon should improve comfort considerably..
Ever Feel Like You're Being Orbited?!
ton
Posts: 2490
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:53 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by ton »

i have never ridden carbon forks until this year, well since jan. carbon is very forgiving on the road. moreso on crap road surfaces. i have found it more forgiving than steel.
offroad i would still prefer the strength of a steel fork if i were riding at pace. so carbon will be ok for me from now on.... :lol:
User avatar
MuddyPete
Posts: 815
Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 9:47 am
Location: Beds/Bucks border

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by MuddyPete »

Ergon grips are pretty good; you may find it worth fine-tuning your position with them for a month or two, before splashing-out on a fork. I've fitted them to both bikes and both have swept bars (i.e. duplicating the comfortable riding position on both bikes).
They're about £35. :-)

Perhaps raising your bars a cm or two will help, if your steerer tube's long enough.
May you always have tail wind.
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

Thanks all. I have alloy Jones bars but have just stripped my old bike for sale and had carbon jones on it (had a wild moment). They’re on eBay at the moment but might as well give them a go before shelling out on a new fork.
User avatar
Wotsits
Posts: 1364
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:49 pm

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Wotsits »

Tomwoodbury wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:33 pm Thanks all. I have alloy Jones bars but have just stripped my old bike for sale and had carbon jones on it (had a wild moment). They’re on eBay at the moment but might as well give them a go before shelling out on a new fork.
Sounds like a good place to start! The al ones are stiff as fook!!
What length stem are you running? Also worth trying something shorter & with a higher rise as well..
Ever Feel Like You're Being Orbited?!
User avatar
In Reverse
Posts: 1819
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:08 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by In Reverse »

Tomwoodbury wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:42 pm Another option is to just bite the bullet and get a 100mm travel fork but I like not having to worry about fork servicing.
The best option would be to buy a Lauf fork. 65mm travel and no servicing requiements. As someone who used to suffer badly in the hands/wrists/arms they've been a gamechanger,

https://singletrackworld.com/classified ... r-29-fork/
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

That’s my fork!

Selling as it was very sketchy on the few rides I did with it. Anything rocky and the fork was pogoing all over the place making it hard to steer. Think the Lauf is ideal for gravel and sedate trails, but not stuff with rocks bigger than apples.

Stem wise I have a 60mm Thomson. I’ll give the carbon jones a go.
User avatar
voodoo_simon
Posts: 4037
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2013 9:05 pm

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by voodoo_simon »

Grips can help too, I used lock in grips for years but changed over to foam and old school chunky BMX style things and made a difference to vibration/comfort
User avatar
In Reverse
Posts: 1819
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:08 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by In Reverse »

Tomwoodbury wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 7:48 am That’s my fork!

Selling as it was very sketchy on the few rides I did with it. Anything rocky and the fork was pogoing all over the place making it hard to steer. Think the Lauf is ideal for gravel and sedate trails, but not stuff with rocks bigger than apples.

Stem wise I have a 60mm Thomson. I’ll give the carbon jones a go.
So it is! :lol:

There's definitely a knack to riding with them - you need to treat them more as a rigid than a suspension fork. I know what you mean about the pogoing. :grin:
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

I think the Lauf fork is an amazing product, but a little limited in application. It’s phenomenal on flatter off road surfaces and is well suited to gravel bikes but on an MTB Bouncing off rocks it made me a bit scared at speed.
BordersSteve
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2020 8:08 pm

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by BordersSteve »

I'd say given your mileage increase its not surprising you're suffering a bit. Shoulders will get used to it, could look to incorporate some shoulder strengthening exercises at home. Wrists (and for me, hands/fingers) take a battering riding rigid but you should definitely experiment with different grips and lever angles to try and minimise. A big help for me is taking finger off the lever and full gripping the bar at a comfortable angle whenever feasible. Maybe the back sweep on the Jones bars is too much for your wrists?

Below might be an option? Never used one though:
https://redshiftsports.com/products/sho ... nsion-stem

I think there reaches a point where the trails you're riding and the frequency you're riding them mean a suspension fork is just the best answer. I've stopped riding certain sections or trails on my Swift because they destroy my hands holding on and it's just not much fun.
Last edited by BordersSteve on Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

Cheers Steve. I’ve looked at the redshift stem and it seems a lot of cash - circa 50% of the cost of a fork upgrade.

Given I’ve got a set of carbon bars I’ll give them a go first but was thinking a carbon fork would perform better than steel over bumps. Having researched this now I’m not so sure.
User avatar
fatbikephil
Posts: 6511
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:51 pm
Location: Fife
Contact:

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by fatbikephil »

I don't think you'll get much difference, carbon or steel as they are mostly straight legged these days so little in the way of vertical compliance. When I first went back to rigid it was on a pair of Surly KM forks and they were pretty brutal with a 2.2 tyre. A big front tyre helps (see the 29+ thread!) as well as a bit of bar flex, and getting them high up and close towards you.
User avatar
Bearbonesnorm
Posts: 23904
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: my own little world

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I don't think you'll get much difference, carbon or steel as they are mostly straight legged these days so little in the way of vertical compliance.
Yes, you might not notice much difference between good steel and good carbon forks but you will know very quickly when you have a 'bad' set of either :wink:

I find using 25.4mm bars helps. I also spend a lot of time riding with my hands resting on top of the bars rather than gripping them.
May the bridges you burn light your way
jameso
Posts: 5036
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:48 pm

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by jameso »

Having ridden Ti and Al loops (feel the same to me) for ages I was suprised how stiff they were when I swapped between the old Ti H bar and the loops on my steel Jones. That has a really stiff fork and the frame's pretty stiff too, I took the loops of it after a while. The same loops feel fine on the Ti Jones , must be some frame and fork give in the Ti frame that negates the stiff bar.

All in all I'd take a more flexible bar and a stiff fork over the other way round.
was thinking a carbon fork would perform better than steel over bumps. Having researched this now I’m not so sure.
I took a (fairly basic) carbon fork off my old Equilibrium and put a Tange Prestige lugged fork on it, the steel fork is comfier. It's just got a bit more flex at the end. Carbon gets a lot of credit for vibration absorption but that's minor compared to simple flex. I guess a flexible carbon fork is the ideal, they just scare me too much : )
I'm not so keen on how comfortable fork flex turns into brake judder or the fork flexing back under hard braking on anything steep - ie no problem on a rim brake road bike, bigger problem on a loaded 29er with big tyres and 180mm rotors.
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

Thanks James. The brother fork is very heavy cro mo and given they market their carbon fork as “an upgrade” I was thinking it’s probably a similar quality to a Whisky No.9 or similar. It would also be nice to shave some weight off the bike too as when loaded it’s a real beast. Almost as heavy as my Pugsley.
User avatar
Bearbonesnorm
Posts: 23904
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: my own little world

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

Travers Prong is one of the nicest riding carbon forks I've ridden.
May the bridges you burn light your way
Tomwoodbury
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:45 am

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Tomwoodbury »

Lauf users - do you think I should persevere with it and try and adapt a bit? Sounds like it’d save my wrists a fair bit.
User avatar
In Reverse
Posts: 1819
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:08 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by In Reverse »

Tomwoodbury wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 7:21 pm Lauf users - do you think I should persevere with it and try and adapt a bit? Sounds like it’d save my wrists a fair bit.
I really would. Start with the mentality that you're going to ride it like a rigid and progress from there, you'll soon get to know where the limit is. It's definitely not supposed to be ridden like a damped telescopic, even though it kind of feels like you can do.
User avatar
Charliecres
Posts: 1453
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:28 pm

Re: Steel vs Carbon forks for reducing fatigue

Post by Charliecres »

A 29+ front is the biggest improvement in comfort and control I’ve experienced in years of riding rigid.

Ergonomic grips and experimenting with bar position (height and angle) also made a big difference.

I had some (non-loop) H-bars that were way more flex than the loops I have now. I didn’t get on with them for some reason.

On-One OG bars are a bit less swept and a bit more flex than a Jones bar. They’re also cheap, so might be worth a go. I rate them.
Post Reply