Thoughts of Serotta fork

[TimS]

Have'nt seen a lot of Serotta f1 "ti" forks on the boards. Have a friend looking to sell one. What do you think? Should i go for it or a newer one?

[victoryfactory]

The F1 fork has carbon blades, Ti dropouts and a steel steerer.
It is one of the first carbon forks and was over engineered
and is heavy compared to newer designs.

They are beautiful, and many people love them, especially if you are building up
a 1" head tube quill stem bike.
but at this point it would
be hard to find one in the right color and steerer length to match up to
your needs. I think they stopped making them in ~2002 or so.

I would go with a new carbon fork.

Good luck

VF

[Pete Serotta]

The F1 while not the lightest, is one of the strongest and best riding for spirited riding. Most use the old style stem, which is good for it is adjustable up and down. Another option is to get a new S3 of F3 fork (yeah I am biased).


Industry "Marketing" primarily focuses on lightness, for the customer does also :D . But when the F2 fork came about, it was a twin of the Ouzo Pro at that time, except it was heavier and handled better.. Ben's requirement was the "handling" and that meant it was not the lightest.

The "original" Ouzo Pro was a wonderful fork, but marketing required a "lighter" fork and that meant something had to give, for price was to be kept about the same. So the new lighter Pro fork came about!!!. Ben Serotta said he wanted the handling of the F1 so that evolved into the F2 which looks much like the Ouzo but was somewhat heavier and better handling.

You might ask why not the F1 today - well the company that made them was not one that could continue to provide a steady stream of product to us - so we had to switch... This is where the F2 came about.

After that, Ben decided he wanted to manage his own supply and quality so he bought the facilities in CA and hired the talented staff there... This is where the S3 and F3 fork came about. These forks are 2nd to none and come in many different "stiffness" and rake AND can be sold without you buying a frame. (although I would love to see you get a frame :D :D )

Pete

[Mike748]

There was for a time, at least in the catalog, an F1 "Ti" which I think had a titanium steerer. I think I read someone (D. Kirk?) say this wasn't such a good idea... the steerer flexed too much.

I have two bikes with steel steerer F1's and love them.

[Ahneida Ride]

I have an F1 ...

It simply will not flex ...

Purchase it if in decent shape.

[Marcusaurelius]

I would go for it. I've had two and it's the best carbon fork I've ever had. Of course I'm assuming your frame has a 1" head tube.

[Ahneida Ride]

I would go for it. I've had two and it's the best carbon fork I've ever had. Of course I'm assuming your frame has a 1" head tube.

and if not (like my Legend) CK offers the Devolution Headset.

[David Kirk]

If you weigh over 73.5 pounds I'd pass on the Ti steerer. Too flexi.

dave

[Brian Smith]

If you weigh over 73.5 pounds I'd pass on the Ti steerer. Too flexi.

dave

I'd give slightly more leeway than that Dave...
How about 105 pounds, or 125 pounds if one is not planning to install a front brake?