All of the forks you've listed are good, but why are you replacing the Chord??

I not to long ago bought a P3 and wanted the bike shop to put on the Reynolds Ouzo Aero Pro in a 43mm rake. When I got my bike I found out they put this fork on in a 40mm rake. I have had a 43mm rake fork on order fro Reynolds for months now. I believe they make them in small supply. I am still waiting.



Good Luck...

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"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky

http://www.slowtwitch.com/...h_string=rake;#37486



Somebody asked me the other day if I have something against Reynolds forks. This was based on a post I made on this forum. I had written that there had been some problems with Ouzo Aero 700c forks on P3s, but my answer was a bit short due to limited time and the fact that I had written the long version just days earlier.

So in case others have gotten the same incorrect impression, I just want to say I have nothing against Reynolds forks (I think they are very well made) and do recommend them from time to time (no pun intended). My problem is with 40mm rake forks being put on Cervelo TT/tri bikes, and with the Reynolds Ouzo Aero being a popular fork and having a 40mm rake, this is the problematic combo we hear most about. But it also applies to other forks with a 40mm rake. So there is no problem putting a reynolds fork on your Cervelo, just make sure it's not a 40mm rake but a 43mm (for 700c).

Gerard
Cervélo Cycles
gerard@cervelo.com

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

As part of the deal I made with my local bike shop - they will upgrade the fork.

The Chord struck me as okay but not outstanding.

My understanding is that there is very little time to be saved by upgrading forks.

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

I guess my "concern" is that if you haven't ridden it, how do you know if you need to "upgrade". Also, with a 1" steerer tube, using aero bars so there is a lot of weight over the front end, a steel steerer tube strikes me as a bit less risky than carbon. Just my opinion though, I haven't seen anything personally to suggest it would be unsafe to use a carbon steer tube in this application.

I'm not sure why you need to replace the fork with a 43mm rake. Its possible that there is some harmonic instability with the 40mm fork, but in the absence of that, the fork should be chosen with the desired handling characteristics in mind. Relative to a 43mm fork, a 40mm rake will slow down the handling, and should be less twitchy. A 45mm fork will increase the responsiveness (or twitchiness depending on your perspective).

Last of all, I've been using the Easton EC90 SL for about 6 months now on my road bike. I highly recommend anything that Easton makes. Their stuff seems to be of a higher standard than just about anyone else. Profile - good, solid stuff, but I wouldn't consider it to be any better than the Chord.

Reynolds also makes an in-between aero / roadie fork, the Ouzo Pro Peloton. You should also check that one out, I haven't seen it in person though.

jasonk,

Thanks, I wanted the Reynolds forks so I am waiting for the 43mm rake. I would like to keep the 40mm Reynolds I have on my P3 if these would work. However Gerard at Cervelo said they have had problems with the 40mm raked Reynolds forks on their tri bikes, and to stay away from them. What does this mean? I dont know that much about forks and rakes to say. I just wanted my bike set up correctly.

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"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky

I think you may have fork rake and trail confused.

On the same bike if you increase the rake, the trail is decreased and vice versa.

More trail increases the bicycle's tendency to steer straight ahead. A bicycle with a bigger trail dimension will be very stable, and easy to ride "no hands". A bicycle with a smaller trail dimension will be more responsive (or twitchy).

So more rake = more responsive

less rake = greater tendency to go straight ahead.

Another option for you is the Reynolds Ouzo Comp Aero. Basically a less expensive version of the Ouzo Pro Aero. It has an aluminum crown and steerer instead of carbon, so it would also address the concern of having too much front-end weight on a carbon fiber steerer (though I don't think this would be an issue as the Ouzo Pro Aero was designed specifically for TT/Tri applications). The Comp Aero is only available in 43mm rake, so it should work fine on the P3, and it'll save you some coin to boot.

http://www.reynoldscomposites.com/OuzoCompAero.asp

jkatsoudas,

This is great, I am making a call in the morning to get the Reynolds Ouzo Comp Aero. I dont care about the aluminum vs. the carbon, I just want the correct rake and this looks like a great solution. I have already paid for the Ouzo Pro Aero so looks like I will also get some cash back.

Thanks Again,

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"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky

Nice. Let me know how you like it. I'm considering the same upgrade for my P3, but it's in line behind the Hed aero bars and the FSA compact crankset.

            I just got the Reynolds Comp Aero. Beautiful fork. Excellent workmanship. They are made in Taiwan and they just started coming into the country. I've only ridden on the trainer with it ( more snow tonight) so I can't say much about the handling. Another poster from down Florida way put the Pro Aero on his p3 and posted about what an improvement it is over his original fork. One more thing, with a discount I got it for under $200. Great buy!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Isn't that what I said???

I just checked my trusty Colorado Cyclist catalog, they list the Ouzo Pro Peloton as coming in a 43mm rake. That might be a good option for you.

Cheers.

This is what I used to think until I was rubber-side up in a crash. You are partially correct, except that a tendency to be too stable will not allow the bike to steer. You need the ability to steer to make evasive manouvres. You also need a certain amount of straight-line stability.

A fork has to be picked with the rake that was spec'd by the manufacturer. Too little rake on a shallow head tube can make your life a living hell. I should know, as I still have a bad back from an evasive manouvre that rendered me on my back.

Too much rake on a steeper head tube can cause lots of havoc, as well.

Some manufacturers spec different fork rakes within one line if they change the head tube angle on the different sizes. Some manufacturers change the offset of the fork on smaller sizes of frames, some build their head tube angles around one fork to make stocking forks simpler. It totally depends on what the builder's philosophy is.

I know the problem of 40mm rake forks on Cervelos, as a pal of mine made that mistake. Luckily, he did not have the extreme handling problems that I had encountered from (stupidly) switching out a fork with too little rake.

My take on it: unless you are an experienced frame builder who knows geometry, it is best to not manipulate handling characteristics with the fork rake. Always get the fork with the frame manufacturer's spec'd fork rake.

In principle I agree with you. Stick with the manufacturers specs for fork rake.

However, sometimes the manufacturer does a really poor job with the geometry, or you have the bike set up with an unusually long or short stem, or something else such that the bike does not respond the way you want it to. For example, I have a 'slightly' unorthodox approach to TT and Tri equipment, simply because I have had a hard time finding a frame through my LBS that will allow me to achieve the position I need. I'm 5'10", the solution I found (far from ideal, but it works mostly) is to use a 49cm Klein, as opposed to the 56cm OCLV road bike I ride. This gives me a nice position, low armrests, and a moderate seat angle with the saddle pushed forward. (I would have bought a Cervelo, but they were having trouble getting one in at the time. The only other option was Cannondale, who didn't make anything that would work for me). Only problem, the bike is damned "responsive". The way I figure it, if I switched to a fork with less rake, that should help settle the bike down. I haven't done that yet, since I might change the frame next year anyway. For the amount I ride the TT bike, its not worth spending huge amounts of cash on it.