F3 6.5 or 8.5

[Zman]

Any Serotta riders out there w/ an F3 fork? I have to choose a select a stiffness and would appreciate some feed back.

[Smiley]

what's your weight , my advice go with what they suggest , don't over think it , they developed the fork with rider weights in mind .

[jeffhall]

I just ordered a new F3 with the help of the folks at serotta. I am 5'11", 200 lbs and they suggested the 6.5. Steve told me that the 2 bigger ones are for real big guys and REALLY big guys! I guess I'm just a big guy. The 8.5 and 10.5 are very heavy duty and stiff.

[flydhest]

Definitely engage Kelly and your fitter in conversation about the stiffness. This is a new product and they are still becoming aware of how the customer base feels about the product.

One difficulty for Serotta, being as responsive as they are to customer demands, is that the biking populace in general is under the delusion that stiffer is better. In my view, this notion is completely wrong headed. There is good stiff and bad stiff (think erection versus knees). I can imagine them getting inundated by customers who think they know what they need, and demanding the stiffest fork (or seat stays or whatever) and eventually discovering that super stiff is really only for huge guys who ride really, really hard.

Serotta's responsiveness to customers comes at a price. They will tell a customer what's best for them, but if a customer insists they know best, I think they'll go with the customer's desire. As Smiley said, go with what the designers at Serotta suggest. They know a butt-load.

[Sandy]

I totally agree with Fydhest. :)

Sandy

PS- My friends Gorilla George and Robert Rhino both snapped the 10.5 F3 fork in half. Serotta, noted for its stellar service, said that they would gladly replace the forks but asked my friends if they would be willing to wait until the newer F8 70.5 fork came out in a few years. Both George and Robert grunted yes, as neither were actually cycling when they broke the forks. In fact, George was eating with his and Robert was stamping on his. Serotta knew it could deny the warranty claim as neither of the forks were damaged during cycling. But Ben Serotta himself said that it would be foolish and dangerous to argue with a gorilla or a rhino. Ben is such a wise man!! :)

[Climb01742]

ditto what fly said. also true about climbing. both ben and kelly have said that a stiffer bike isn't necessarily a better climbing bike. more stiffness in the bedroom. less on the road.

[Sandy]

________________
hard, soft.

[Sandy]

I just ordered a new F3 with the help of the folks at serotta. I am 5'11", 200 lbs and they suggested the 6.5. Steve told me that the 2 bigger ones are for real big guys and REALLY big guys! I guess I'm just a big guy. The 8.5 and 10.5 are very heavy duty and stiff.

Very interesting. Certainly most cyclists are 200 pounds and less. So I would assume the vast majority of Serotta F3 forks will be sold as the F3 6.5. I would think that few of the 8.5 and very few of the 10.5 would be sold. The limit for the 6.5 might not even be at 200. I would assume that Serotta might say that it is not just weight, but riding style, but I would assume that weight is the most important criterion by far. I would assume that some more powerful and heavier riders might be told to get the 8.5.


I'm buying a F-18 for Supersonic Speed

Simpleton Serotta Sandy

[keno]

I rode an Ottrott demo a few days last week. The first ride was a reasonably hard 50 on Thurday, and the other a very hard 35 on Saturday. I was somewhat fatigued on Saturday not from just the Thursday ride but the 4 days at Too Tall's camp the prior weekend.

When I discussed the setup of my bike with Paul Levine and Kelly, I told them of my experience with the bike, and that the ride was great in all respects with one exception. That was that on the Saturday ride the bike seemed somewhat harsh, although otherwise performed as I would want. He attributed it to the 8.5 fork and has had feedback along those lines from others. I asked if he had any positive follow-up feedback from riders who after getting the 8.5 switched out to the 6.5, and he did. He suggested the 6.5 for me, 185 pounds, more or less, and that's where I'm going. I do not do crits and am not a hard pounder or strong sprinter, so the change will only be for the best in my case.

I agree with fly and Smiley. Tell him how you plan to use the bike, your riding style and all that good stuff, and put it in their good hands.

keno

[jeffhall]

...but my LBS and I both spoke to Serotta Customer service and the 6.5 was what they suggested. Actually, several of the bikes our shop has sold (many of the higher end for sure) are to Larger, hard to fit guys. Tall, big guys seem to be alot of them, so maybe it's a question of weight and leverage(?) or maybe at 200 lbs I'm not the chunk that all the girls told me I was!!!!

Bear in mind, as a father of 2 teenage girls with a working wife and trying to finish up a Black Belt this summer, a long ride for me is 35 miles. This will get better as my time frees up, but maybe that is the other reason.

My F3 should be here today and I will work it out some this weekend and let you know.

I can say this. I had a beautiful F2 I sold and I now have a Slice (Cannondale) fork on my Ottrott. It is Carbon blades with Al steer and drop outs. I never thought a fork could make that much diff, but boy, it DOES!!!

[Sandy]

I own a Ottrott ST. It is not, in my opinion a plush riding bike, as one might expect for a carbon/titanium mix. Of course the tubing choices can make a significant difference. I feel fine after a 40-50 mile ride. I am not fatigued at all, but then I am sure that I don't push like Keno or others. I would simply let Kelly make the choice, after giving him your desired outcome. He has been doing it very well for years. I don't think the Ottrott is directed towards a plush ride, but more towards performance, in my very humble opinion. There are many more plush rides available, not withstanding the ability for Serotta to dial in what you want, I guess.

The Ottrott is a great balance of attributes. It hardly can be expected to be the best possible of each. It is the remarkable balance of qualities that makes it so superb.

Sandy

[Too Tall]

Somebody with insight pls. chime in with details on the fork. Who is making them, what steerer, insert glued/bung/?, dropout. I'm Glueless

[92degrees]

Somebody with insight pls. chime in with details on the fork. Who is making them, what steerer, insert glued/bung/?, dropout. I'm Glueless

There's a bit about the F3 on the website:
http://www.serotta.com/pages/parts.html

I ordered my bike with a 6.5 and it arrived with an F2 as there were apparently some delays on the F3. I just heard it's arriving to my shop tomorrow :)

[big D]

I may have one of the only 10.5's in existence. I'm 6'2" and a true XXXL in size. I purchased the 10.5 because it is the ulitmate big guy fork and after taken it out for a 50km ride last weekend I can say it is the best fork i have every used.

A little history. I am an ex-offensive guard and have been cycling for over 18 years, mostly off road. I am on my 2nd custom road bike. I have had 3 fork on this bike. 1st was a Reynolds Ouzo Comp (lasted 3 years, I'm 325lbs+ and had put about 3000km on it), 2nd was a Yime Carbon I had as aback up if anything happened tot he Comp and now the 10.5. It has the ride feel of any of the forks I have bought. There is no deflection or wallow. and it tracks straight as an arrow. The fork is great.

all the carbon forks I have had have felt better then the one custom made steel fork i had which chattered and flexed all over the place as well it didn't inspire any confidence at all. I think the only steel fork I could ride would have to made out of Columbus Max tubing (best big man tubing every made, road a mtb made out of it and it was wild).

i will be posting some pics of my upgrade True North soon.

big D

[keno]

what was the thought?

keno

[Sandy]

Wish I knew.


Sandy

[Kevan]

my case.

[Serotta_James]

We take your needs and wants (stiffer, more compliant, crit racer, climber, etc.) and translate them into the bill of materials used for your bike. With the F3 we can do the same thing with the fork. It makes for a more complete customized package.

[flydhest]

what was the thought?

keno

keno,

what difference does it make, life's been good to you so far.

[keno]

good times, bad times, you know I had my share.

keno