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There has been a lot on here about Chinese carbon frames but I have not seen much about forks. Anybody with any feedback about quality, delivery etc ?
I had been thinking about a rigid fork for my Smax for awhile but don't want to pay for a steel fork that weighs nearly as much as the suspension fork it replaces
I bought a boost/650 carbon fork off eBay, mostly because nothing if a known brand was available at the time. That was 4 (?) years ago and I'm not dead yet.
^ it can take a while for a void to turn into a delamination ; )
Some will be good, some will be bad and some will be absolutely catastrophic. The problem is knowing which one is which.
They might all come off the same line, be the same batch and look identical but one of the things they’ve (probably) saving money on is quality control as it leaves the factory as that’s often an expensive and time consuming part of manufacturing.
Personally for critical components like forks and bars I would be staying clear of cheap unbranded crap as if they fail it’s not going to be nice. If a wheel, seatpost, cranks, etc fail you’ll have a bad day but will most likely walk away from it. Having your bars or forks go at a critical moment is going to be a trip to the ED. Even a frame going is often not too bad (unless the head tube snaps off!)
My std response here is "not with a 100ft pole" because neither the cost or the weight savings are worth the risk, for me.
Some are good, some are too variable to be considered good. I've seen some enough in carbon forks and the factories to make me wary. All you need to ask is how you will assure yourself they're good and what the consequences of being wrong might be.
(ha, beaten to it ^ )
Its a funny one this because most people will say don't do that, silly. However, take my Sonder Camino for example, clearly the fork is a catalogue/open mould Chinese carbon fork but nobody would question buying it. I think just like Chinese carbon frames and wheels, its a case of do your research.
http://chinertown.com forums may help you.
Google "carbon fork recall"
Have three ICAN carbon fatbike forks and all have been fine. The identical shape ones are fitted to many named brand bikes so I assume they make them for other people too.
I've had prob 4 or 5 sets over the last 10 or so years on different bikes.
26 / 29 / 27.5 and fat - none failed in my ownership. The only one I had an issue with was the 29r which the rotor bolts I had knocked on the carbon slightly - changed the bolts for some slimmer profile one and it was fine.
The fat ones did the most miles, xc, DH and enduro races.
Its a funny one this because most people will say don’t do that, silly. However, take my Sonder Camino for example, clearly the fork is a catalogue/open mould Chinese carbon fork but nobody would question buying it.
The difference there is accountability. If someone snaps a Sonder fork, it'll tarnish the brand. If it happens a few times it could be disastrous for them. If someone snaps a <insert Chinglish Ali Express pop-up brand name here> fork, then the seller will just change the name of the Ali-Express store front.
Speaking of Sonder, they had a bucket of (mk2?) Camino forks in their Hathersage Alpkit shop last weekend. £30 each IIRC. Obviously the colour might not match your setup but (as a mk2 Camino owner) they seem decent and they were cheap.
Pity, the Alpkit ones are q/r and I need 15mm through axle
Sonder forks are £99....
I'd get them..
DrP
I got a pair of rigid fronts for my commuter, Exotic Carbon tubular ones. They were corrected for 120mm suspension and have been faultless so far. Genuinely no complaints with them.
They were more expensive than the no-names off eBay, but they were/are really decent for the money.
I've got the Alu' Exotic forks, look the same as carbon ones, probably a bit heavier but ride really nice. Very happy with them.