Carbon Fiber Fork, Get your $$$$$ ready

Ohlins is testing their new Carbon front fork at Sepang. I can't even imagine what it would cost to buy. Supposedly there over a pound lighter.

 

Broome will have 4

 

Dammit.

 

I got a new lacrosse shaft a few weeks ago. Carbon fiber/ composite and it's well under 4 oz. An ultra light aluminum/ scandium shaft is right around the 5 oz and a regular one is anywhere from 6 or 7 and up. A lot of the CF/ composite shafts coming out now have flex ratings, flex zones and reinforced check points. Amazing shit all in all and prices are tumbling fast.

Problem I see is they will have a very limited usage life and they might be dumpster bait after one stiff shot. Crazy light is sano as all f@ck but sometimes that's not enough to justify the huge outlay.

 

Man Dave, you get way to excited over a long black shaft.

 

For a D pole, I wouldn't waste the $$$ on CF. My buddy's sons play HS lax here in Syracuse, one is a long stick. He's tried a few of the carbon shafts but they didn't hold up to the beating. The other boy is a middle and uses CF exclusively. Says it's a much better application.

I played D in high school. Had a buddy who's dad made long sticks from mahogany. THOSE were awesome!

 

dude there was carbon kevlar shafts back when i played in middle school/high school (mid-late 90's). that's been around a good while. i DID see one get shattered back in the day tho on a really cold morning. im sure the resins have improved since 20 years ago. Ti accomplished the same exact goals in that application tho, why even bother with carbon?

 

The long poll my wife and daughter got me for christmas is a damn heavy STX aluminum pole. I call it the festivus D-pole and I'm going to put christmas lights on it next year.

Anyways, I agree on CF for a pole. I want a bamboo one but I;m in no rush since I'm relearning the fun of the long stick. Rusty gates are mother f@ckin' pimp!

Back to the forks, CF forks might be sano but I'm not convinced it's needed or even desirable.

 

For a second I thought I had logged into a cycling forum...

A pound? Really? Meanwhile a third of the paddock can barely fit into their leathers.

 

That's a fucking record. Bikes to LAX in three posts.

 

FTFY.....

 

The difference between the ones then and the ones now are night and day. You can still get them to go pop and if you're slap happy. In which case a sci/ti or full aluminum is the way to go. The old ti shafts were heavy and a bit brittle. Wood is still cool and eventually I'll get an ash shaft again.

Why carbon? weight and coolness factor for some. They are also building in flex zones for more snap and speed. I'm maybe getting another couple of mph out of a strong shot but the great shooters are seeing 10 mph plus out of them.

The one I got that is sub 4 oz is just a fun novelty t just dick around with. Plus it's cheap fun which is crucial for me since I'm poor.

 

You LAX guys have it easy. The top hockey sticks are now going for $300. When I was coaching travel there were many times that I saw kids breaking multiple sticks per game. And this was friggin AA travel. Parents just kept doling out the cash, because obviously little Johnny was the next Gretzky.

 

What parts of the fork are going to be CF? Is it just the outer fork stanchions or is it the fork tube and internal pieces as well?

 

You can get there easily with a stick. Head can set you back $100, shaft another $140, mesh, stringing. . .

Stringking dropped a bomb on the industry with a $99 stick that can be used for kids, high school, college and even some pros use it. The shaft is meh and the mesh is good but not great but the pocket is damn good (best factory stringing and pocket I've ever seen) and anyone can use it and be throwing in minutes.
They just did it again with a $59 stick for the peewees.

 

I remember about 30yrs ago this guy showed up at the DragStrip on his Fuel HD with Carbon Fiber push rods...I looked at them an may have actually laughed out loud...he seemed offended and ask what was so funny, I said "Those Fat BicPen PushRods"...
He went into his schpeel about how light they were...and the translation to less cam drive strain..."UhHuh, Riiiiiight, Plastic ain't gonna cut it for pushrods"...he just walked away.

I watched him fire up the bike...roll it into the water and whack the throttle for the burnout........Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..Booom...
The little black plastic pushrods folded up and went flying....again I laughed...walked over picked up two of the four and handed them to one of his crew...
I really do wonder, just how much lighter they were than the normal aluminum ones racers where using at the time...some things just shouldn't be plastic...or CF.

 

Fixtit4ya

 

CF is a cool idea. I could see it allowing more flex while leaned over yet being very stiff for braking.

 

Pretty sure it's just a CF cover over an aluminum body. There's a picture somewhere that shows pretty much that.

 

Turning a thread about Carbon Fiber Forks into playing with your hairnets attached to a stick and balls. Only the BBS.