Help with fork choice: Wound Up or Columbus

[Gat64]

I am trying to decide between the following 1" steerer forks for my Hors Cat. I currently have an Ouzo Pro, but since 1" steerer forks availability is shrinking, I wanted to get a backup now.

Option 1: Wound Up with carbon steerer (45mm rake)
Option 2: Columbus Minimal (45mm rake)

I am more concerned with ride quality than aesthetics.

Thanks and Cheers

[Louis]

I am more concerned with ride quality than aesthetics.


IMO there's no way to get around the aesthetics issue for the Wound Up.

On some bikes it looks good. Unfortunately, the number of bikes for which that is true is very small.

[zap]

Wound Up with black ano option.

[Gat64]

IMO there's no way to get around the aesthetics issue for the Wound Up.

On some bikes it looks good. Unfortunately, the number of bikes for which that is true is very small.

Yeah.... I know.... but I would only be looking at it from above my bars...

[DHallerman]

Wound Up with black ano option.

That's nice, but depends on color of bike.

But I'd get Wound Up 1-inch with the steel steerer. Not much extra weight, and tons more extra strength.

[Gat64]

That's nice, but depends on color of bike.

But I'd get Wound Up 1-inch with the steel steerer. Not much extra weight, and tons more extra strength.

My bike is competition yellow with red lettering. All alloy chorus (last alloy year!). So the silver crown might suit the build.

[kceb_cire]

I guess wound ups are love or hate, I love them.
The columbus minimal looks great too... What does the bike look like now?

[Gat64]

I guess wound ups are love or hate, I love them.
The columbus minimal looks great too... What does the bike look like now?

Well, it's all competition yellow - including the fork. And being the Ouzo pro on there now, I guess the Columbus would be more similar. From an aesthetic standpoint, the Columbus might better relate to the curvy rear triangle.

Anybody use a minimal fork before?

[Ken Robb]

How about a new Serotta fork if/when you need one?

[Gat64]

How about a new Serotta fork if/when you need one?

I would love to, but at triple the price, it's hard to justify.

[kceb_cire]

Oh, btw, there is a Columbus Minimal on SFFIxed right now, "full carbon, 45mm rake, 1", 230mm of steerer and 329g with Chris King Crown Race. Will include CK race and an FSA compression plug."
He's looking for $175

[mack]

Very happy with the Columbus Minimal on a Ti concours......

[John H.]

Axle to crown on ouzo is/was 373.
How does that compare to the forks that you are considering?
That will impact geometry and handling.

[MRB]

If you have narrowed your choice down to the Wound Up or the Columbus forks as you mentioned, then I respect your decision, and you can disregard my thoughts, which are based on my experience and experimenting/testing with my HC.

I would have Dave Kirk build you a fork for your H.C. H.C's were designed around the F1 fork, which was basically a carbon equivalent to a steel fork. One of its drawbacks was limited tire clearance. The F1, like most steel forks is shorter (367mm) than most carbon forks (372mm). Thus putting a carbon fork on your HC is changing the geometry and thus the handling.

The HC is a great frame, and it's even better with a steel fork, especially when riding on rough roads / gravel roads. It sounds strange, but steel forks ride nicer on rougher surfaces. Carbon forks do have a slightly better ride on really smooth pavement.

When I got my H.C (from SpamJoshua), I reached out to Smiley for a fork recommendation, and he said "Get an Ouzo Pro and call it good." I got the Ouzo Pro and liked it very much. But then I started reading Tom Kellog's and D.K's opinions of steel forks. T.K recommend getting a spare crown race (Chris King) and swapping out a steel and a carbon fork in order to determine my preference. I took his advice and am now leaving the steel fork on the H.C for good. Another note is that the H.C is a tad heavy for Ti, so the additional weight of a steel fork is not a big deal really.

The above is just my tow cents, but I've been down that road before. Also.....since F.Bs like DK, CPG, etc, love to build 1" steel forks, they really aren't going to be all that scarce provided you like steel forks.

HTH

[false_Aest]

Brah,

Ritchey Logic also offers a 1" road fork.

Alloy steerer though IIRC.

Called something liek Comp Carbon

[Louis]

OK, maybe one of these days I'll learn to read properly.

I just realized that the frame in question has a DKS back end.

Has anyone out there ever tried a straight-leg fork with the curved DKS stays?

I'm wondering how that combo will match aesthetically.

[Fixed]

If you have narrowed your choice down to the Wound Up or the Columbus forks as you mentioned, then I respect your decision, and you can disregard my thoughts, which are based on my experience and experimenting/testing with my HC.

I would have Dave Kirk build you a fork for your H.C. H.C's were designed around the F1 fork, which was basically a carbon equivalent to a steel fork. One of its drawbacks was limited tire clearance. The F1, like most steel forks is shorter (367mm) than most carbon forks (372mm). Thus putting a carbon fork on your HC is changing the geometry and thus the handling.

The HC is a great frame, and it's even better with a steel fork, especially when riding on rough roads / gravel roads. It sounds strange, but steel forks ride nicer on rougher surfaces. Carbon forks do have a slightly better ride on really smooth pavement.

When I got my H.C (from SpamJoshua), I reached out to Smiley for a fork recommendation, and he said "Get an Ouzo Pro and call it good." I got the Ouzo Pro and liked it very much. But then I started reading Tom Kellog's and D.K's opinions of steel forks. T.K recommend getting a spare crown race (Chris King) and swapping out a steel and a carbon fork in order to determine my preference. I took his advice and am now leaving the steel fork on the H.C for good. Another note is that the H.C is a tad heavy for Ti, so the additional weight of a steel fork is not a big deal really.

The above is just my tow cents, but I've been down that road before. Also.....since F.Bs like DK, CPG, etc, love to build 1" steel forks, they really aren't going to be all that scarce provided you like steel forks.

HTH
I like this idea
Get a fork made for your bike
Cheers IMHO :)

[Gat64]

If you have narrowed your choice down to the Wound Up or the Columbus forks as you mentioned, then I respect your decision, and you can disregard my thoughts, which are based on my experience and experimenting/testing with my HC.

I would have Dave Kirk build you a fork for your H.C. H.C's were designed around the F1 fork, which was basically a carbon equivalent to a steel fork. One of its drawbacks was limited tire clearance. The F1, like most steel forks is shorter (367mm) than most carbon forks (372mm). Thus putting a carbon fork on your HC is changing the geometry and thus the handling.

The HC is a great frame, and it's even better with a steel fork, especially when riding on rough roads / gravel roads. It sounds strange, but steel forks ride nicer on rougher surfaces. Carbon forks do have a slightly better ride on really smooth pavement.

When I got my H.C (from SpamJoshua), I reached out to Smiley for a fork recommendation, and he said "Get an Ouzo Pro and call it good." I got the Ouzo Pro and liked it very much. But then I started reading Tom Kellog's and D.K's opinions of steel forks. T.K recommend getting a spare crown race (Chris King) and swapping out a steel and a carbon fork in order to determine my preference. I took his advice and am now leaving the steel fork on the H.C for good. Another note is that the H.C is a tad heavy for Ti, so the additional weight of a steel fork is not a big deal really.

The above is just my tow cents, but I've been down that road before. Also.....since F.Bs like DK, CPG, etc, love to build 1" steel forks, they really aren't going to be all that scarce provided you like steel forks.

HTH

HTH - Thanks very much for your detailed input. I had honestly not considered a steel fork. I have no issue with the added weight (I am using a hefty brooks saddle on it now). Could you possible post a picture of your bike?

Would be nice, and proper to get DK to make the fork....

[Ti Designs]

In terms of ride and performance, the trick is to match the fork to the bike. I've tried a lot of really bad combinations, there's one quick test I've found works go give you a good idea how it's going to handle as you're getting into a hard turn (not really where you want to find something like this out). Ride in a straigth line, bring the bike up to speed, grab a hand full of front brack and get your body weight down and back. If the fork does it's job well there will be some pull back as it flexes at the top of the blades, and the bike will haul down to speed. If you have a wet noodle up there it'll pull back a lot, which often makes the front end hunt around a little as there's no way to keep the blade flex even between the two sides. I think the worst case is the stiff fork, complient frame (like a DKS) because the frame takes up the load up to a point, then the front wheel breaks traction, hops forward and the cycle starts again.

I had a wound up on my Seven which was a very stiff bike, never liked the way it handled. It was never an asthetic thing, I don't look at my bike much... I tried their tandem fork, I think it was worse. The same model tandem with the Wound Up vs. the AlphaQ was night and day. When I made salt and pepper shakers out of the legs of my Wound Up fork (you see how much respect I have for that fork) I found out why they ride as they do. The internal diameter is the same from dropout to fork crown, the wall gets thicker and thicker as it goes up. It's the answer to the question "how do we mandrel wind fork blades", but they forgot to ask a few other questions...

[Gat64]

Looks like DK might agree with you: http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=72670&postcount=15

[AgilisMerlin]

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0037/3982/products/bird_grande.jpg?102100

[rockdude]

I love my would up. I found it to be better than my edge, F1 or Reynolds. Stiff but smooth.

[bfd]

I am trying to decide between the following 1" steerer forks for my Hors Cat. I currently have an Ouzo Pro, but since 1" steerer forks availability is shrinking, I wanted to get a backup now.

Option 1: Wound Up with carbon steerer (45mm rake)
Option 2: Columbus Minimal (45mm rake)

I am more concerned with ride quality than aesthetics.

Thanks and Cheers

Does anyone here know what is the widest tires that can fit under a 1" Columbus Minimal fork? I am interested in this fork and run 25mm wide tires (700x25). Let us know. Thanks!

[mack]

Hi bfd........I've got the columbus minimal on a Serotta concours Ti, I find the fork comparable to the ouzo pro and there is lots-o-room for 25's, probably could pull off 28's.
Cheers -mack

[bfd]

Hi bfd........I've got the columbus minimal on a Serotta concours Ti, I find the fork comparable to the ouzo pro and there is lots-o-room for 25's, probably could pull off 28's.
Cheers -mack

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know!

[FuelForThought]

Hi bfd........I've got the columbus minimal on a Serotta concours Ti, I find the fork comparable to the ouzo pro and there is lots-o-room for 25's, probably could pull off 28's.
Cheers -mack

Hi Mack,

I am very curious about the Columbus Minimal 1 in to replace the wet noodle on my Ritchey Road Logic (unicrown steel fork, couldn't afford anything else at the time). The fact that the Minimal sells for $225 shipped to my door while a current ebay listing for a NIB Ouzo 1" is already over $350 makes the Columbus a neat option.

Have you measured the axle to crown length of the Minimal?

My current fork has 43mm of rake and 366mm A-T length and the 58cm frame has a head angle of 73.5º. I heard that the minimal had 369mm A-T which would keep the trail right smack at 55mm.

Thanks,
Max

[mack]

Just measured the crown to axle fork leg length....can confirm the 369mm measurement. Note; it is my understanding the minimal comes with a 45mm fork rake, I have not seen other rakes available with the Columbus minimal.....just saying.
Cheers -mack

Hi Mack,

I am very curious about the Columbus Minimal 1 in to replace the wet noodle on my Ritchey Road Logic (unicrown steel fork, couldn't afford anything else at the time). The fact that the Minimal sells for $225 shipped to my door while a current ebay listing for a NIB Ouzo 1" is already over $350 makes the Columbus a neat option.

Have you measured the axle to crown length of the Minimal?

My current fork has 43mm of rake and 366mm A-T length and the 58cm frame has a head angle of 73.5º. I heard that the minimal had 369mm A-T which would keep the trail right smack at 55mm.

Thanks,
Max

[FuelForThought]

Just measured the crown to axle fork leg length....can confirm the 369mm measurement. Note; it is my understanding the minimal comes with a 45mm fork rake, I have not seen other rakes available with the Columbus minimal.....just saying.
Cheers -mack

Thanks for the measurement!
369mm A-T brings the head angle to 73.2º which together with 45mm rake yields a trail of 55mm.
Current fork gives head angle of 73.5º and its rake of 43mm brings trail to 55mm.

Calculations done with http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailcalc.php
Other tools give the same result.

Placing my order for the Minimal now!

[mack]

Good...I hope that works well for you.
Curious how you determined the new head tube angle with the 3mm longer legged fork? Seems like a large HTA change to me?

respectfully -mack
Thanks for the measurement!
369mm A-T brings the head angle to 73.2º which together with 45mm rake yields a trail of 55mm.
Current fork gives head angle of 73.5º and its rake of 43mm brings trail to 55mm.

Calculations done with http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailcalc.php
Other tools give the same result.

Placing my order for the Minimal now!

[bobswire]

Another fork I am highly impressed by in a 1" steerer is Ritchey Comp.
I had purchased a Cervelo Prodigy and needed a 1" fork last year
and got a good deal on the Ritchey.
Figured I could get something more high end later but at the time I wanted to build up the Cervelo.
No complaints and no reason to upgrade,tracks and handles great.
BTW axle to crown is 366mm 43mm rake
http://i50.tinypic.com/29y0ff5.jpghttp://i46.tinypic.com/2yv2snq.jpg