I’m busy converting my hardtail into a commuter bike, a winter project that ballooned from sorting out another bike for the GF.

Part way through, it struck me that I don’t need that heavy fork at the front and the Recon SL could well benefit her more than me, so maybe I should think about going fully rigid for the winter.

A quick browse of the internet did not give me much choice on forks to swap the Recon for and was wondering what the consensus is on the carbon forks that seem to litter eBay these days. Is it worth it to take a punt on something like that, or should I just go with something metal that should stand up to potholes?

Is there anything else I should take into account when moving to rigid, or is it normally a straight swap?

What wheel size?

I fitted a set of Surly forks, didn’t want to go the carbon route.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that… 26″. The Recon is a 100mm version I believe, with lockout (yes, I could just lock them out, but rigid would be lighter).

It’s going to be disc-specific too and may require mudguard fitments

Similar sort of interest here – thinking (dangerous I know!) of building a boost rigid for winter, so the fork is an issue for me too – Kinesis do one but they’re nearly £300 🙁

I went steel, not as light but it meant I could fit mudguards

I was thinking of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carbon-Fiber-MTB-Road-Bike-Fork-Disc-brake-Straight-tube-Rigid-Forks-26-27-5-29/172853259577?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=471634926249&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

That would appear to fit the requirements, but there is always that concern about QC…

I went steel for mine after toying with the idea of no name carbon. Salsa Cromoto

Lots of folk are happy with the Exotic forks from Carbon CC

http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=0&rb=6&

I bought some no-name Boost carbon forks off ebay and have been running them for over a year now. Looks like Shand Cycles use the same ones on some of their bikes now too.

Yep, beat me to it. I’ve had exotic carbon forks on 2 different 26er bikes during winter. I’ve left one set on one of the bikes I was so happy with them. Not having to worry about servicing is great. I put a zefal universal mudguard on mine, served me fine.
It was worth paying the extra over spurious ebay carbon purely for the peace of mind. I didn’t want to be worried about suddenly losing my teeth if I went for a quick ride off road during breaks in bad weather.