Brazing a steel bike fork requires two people at work simultaneously. This is necessary to keep uniform the heat applied during the welding. Furthermore, the head must be brazed simultaneously to avoid overdoing it and overheating the steel, which could lose its strength if it comes into contact with a flame with excessive heat. In the worst cases, it could even create a hole in the steel. It is therefore important that the two people work in a coordinated manner to achieve the desired result. For this reason, brazing a steel bike fork requires great attention and great skilled technique.
Is a steel bike fork or a carbon fork better?
Steel bike forks weigh between 650 and 750 g. They are much heavier than a carbon fork, which usually weighs only 350 – 400 grams. Although both types of fork guarantee robustness on and off the road, the more excellent elasticity favours the steel fork, which translates into greater ride comfort. In addition, steel is more resistant to wear and tear and has a longer service life. Or at least this is the hypothesis estimated based on the experience acquired so far. In fact, carbon is a relatively recent material. Another point in favour of steel is the ability to attach additional luggage and weights to the fork. This is also a feature of carbon forks, but it’s more straightforward in the case of a steel fork. In conclusion, choosing a bike fork depends on how you want to use the bike and the characteristics you wish to obtain. But the big difference is often the aesthetics: in fact, many people love the retro style of the steel fork, and that’s why they choose it.
Different types of steel bike forks
The forks we produce in Daccordi in steel are for gravel or vintage-style bikes. In the past, they were also built for MTBs, but have now been entirely replaced by suspension forks. The major limitation of steel bike forks is the steering tube, usually with a diameter of 1 inch. There are also larger dinghies but which inevitably lead to weight gain. For this reason, the frame must be created to accommodate such a fork. On more modern frames with tapered head tubes it is not advisable to use a steel fork due to the significant increase in weight.
Steel bike forks can be unicrown, lugged or flat crown.
Unicrown steel forks
Lugged forks
Flat head forks
