I want to change the fork on my R2.5 for a lighter model, but am stick between the following choices. Reynolds Pro Ouzo (which I had an aero on my Kestrel and liked), Easton EC90 SLX or Alpha Q Sub 3.
What are your experiences with these forks or have you any other forks for me to consider?
Well, you’ve pretty much hit “the big three”. I believe the Alpha Q is the lightest, but my vote is for the Reynolds. I love light weight, but I’ll take a rock solid fork (with damping qualities still) anyday for a little extra weight. I replaced a Look HSC on my Litespeed Vortex last year with an Ouzo Pro and I couldn’t believe the difference in road feel/stability.
Now that’s interesting, Rod. I thought I would get a pretty much unanimously pro Easton response. I have no personal experience or heard from a Q alpha owner, but feel that the Easton makes a good middle ground weight-wise. So it’s down to other people’s experiences for now.
i HAVE AN R2.5 WITH AN EASTON EC90 AND THE FEEL IS GREAT, IT ALSO HANDLES GREAT. i HAVE A p3 WITH AN ALPHA Q AERO AND IT IS ALSO A GREAT FORK. SO IN OTHER WORDS YOU CANT’T GO WRONG JUST GET THE ONE WITH THE BETTER SUPPORT AND/OR PRICE
I went with a Reynolds Ouzo Pro Aero on Ves’ recommendation. I believe it was his preference primarily because the (available) rake matched the geometry of my bike the best, and if I went with Easton he’d have to modify my headtube angle a little bit outside of what he considered ideal for my requirements.
I’ll let you know how I like it in a couple of weeks. 
Get Gerard to bring back the Wolf.
I know someone who put an Easton SLX on his road bike, but found it was a bit more flexy than he was looking for. He would probably not have gone with the SLX and went with the SL hoping that it would be a bit stiffer. He’s not a big rider at 5’9" and about 165 lbs. He felt that the stiffer fork on his other road bike felt better when: climbing out of the saddle, sprinting, and during fast cornering (crits and descents). The best choice for you will depend on what characteristics you are looking for.
The smaller fork on the outside of the regular fork is for salads. I have no idea what the one at the top of the plate if for. Of course, those tiny ones are for picking the pimento out of the olives, right?
As far as bike forks, I have a Litespeed on my Talon, and it seems such a much better fork than the original Kestrel. I had a Reynold’s Ouzo Pro Aero on my Yaqui…I think it went very well with that lightweight Scandium tubing…maybe giving it a bit more stability when standing? Hard to tell. I have the Easton Aero on my TitanFlex…this is the stiffest frame of all three bikes when pulling up on the handlebar while standing on the pedal going uphill, and the Easton doesn’t detract from cranking hard…it MIGHT be a little more forgiving than the Reynold’s…which could be a good thing on such a stiff frame, but, again, it’s hard to tell.
You guys all hit it. Alpha Q is light, Easton is light, but again, I prefer a nice, stiff front fork. I stand and crank pretty hard on the hills and there is NO flex in the Reynolds, yet it rides beautifully. Other than the price, what more could I ask for
I have zero experience with an Alpha Q fork - can only “assume” with it’s weight that it will perform similarly to an Easton Fork (that I have ridden a bit). I do also like the Look HSC line as they have the one thing that Reynolds does not - very cool looks! (and of course that matter to triathletes)
Thanks guys for your suggestions and comments.
I had already decided to ensure that the same rake was used for the new fork to maintain the handling characteristics as Khai suggested. As regards the question of the flex in the X (!), I recall that Tom D. has either an SL or SLX on his 2.5 so will check in with him on his return. USD racer commented on the Cervelo Wolf but can’t recall if that was full carbon, it might be worth checking in with Gerard to see if there are any lying around and for his comments.
So it seems that the Q alpha is at the back of the field with the Reynolds Pro Ouzo (non-aero) and the SL/X are neck and neck right now. I will keep you posted on how things go.
Tom is using the SL, Aderhold swapped out his Easton SLX for the sleek new Ritchey WCS full carbon. The Ritchey was 307 grams trimmed to fit Mike’s frame.
I’m 205# and am not a fan of the SLX. I swore by the Time Avant’ Stiff until this winter when I broke the steerer tube off the crown(!) by grabbing alot of front brake. I was skeptical and tried the superlight Ritchey and the fork is rock solid. I’d recommend it to anyone. Can’t go wrong with Reynolds also, probably one of the few universally accepted “good” forks with very little back feeback to report from all different types of end users.
Enjoy, the new ride,
-SD
Hey Julian,
Are you going to be in Vancouver over the next couple of months? I've been playing musical forks on my Kestrel, and I now have a few extra if you're interested. I have both the Easton SL and SLX as well as a Reynolds Ouzo Pro Lite with the nice matte black finish. Let me know if you want any more details.
Greg.
Dave, would you rate the SLX for me at 150 lbs? I was wondering whether Aderhold still has his. I am going to look up the Ritchey also. It’s looking like a new contender has appeared!!
THanks for your help, you on the 'drome this weekend?
Hey Greg, regretfully, it will be mid August before I can get back over, but am aiming to get over to Tom’s for a long weekend in the next 6 weeks, availability of 2.5s permitting. Fortunately, my gf doesn’t read the forum so I shouldn’t get sprung!!
Might I see you in Penticton?
Julian, It looks like I’ll be in Penticton, as my wife just informed me last night, she wants to race now. So now I’m thinking if I’m going to be there anyway…maybe I should start training !
Greg.
I assume your wife has arranged an entry previously? I look forward to meeting you along with the rest of the BC 'twitchers. Seems like it will be a case of friendly tribe t-shirts at dawn, eh?
I’ve never been 150 pounds, but I know that there are big guys who do like it. It is specced on our F1C in a 60cm, and there are some big guys riding that. With my steerer tube length, there was ALOT of torsional give: if you hold the front wheel you could rotate and thus deflect the steerer tube torsioanlly about 30 degrees, not so good for predictable handling.
-SD
Sounds like it’s between the Ritchey and the Reynolds now, Dave.