Fork stiffness ?
 

[Closed] Fork stiffness ?

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Ok, we hear all the time things such as "my Fox 32's are all noodley" etc etc. But i've never seen any actual data for for stiffness. Have anyone?

Obviously, a set of Boxxers is going to be stiffer than a set of 32's, but how much?

Seriously thinking of building a little frame with a dial gauge and loadcell and measuring my forks for deflection vs load!


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:18 pm
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Would be interesting... Need to do different forces, fore and aft, sideways, twist...

You also need to add a "princess and pea" factor IMO... Yeah my boxxers are stiffer than my Sids, but I've honestly never thought "Oh this flex is really holding me back..."


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:25 pm
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Seriously thinking of building a little frame with a dial gauge and loadcell and measuring my forks for deflection vs load!

I foresee an upcoming classified add.....

Fox 32 forks, slightly bent, spare or repair


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:41 pm
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๐Ÿ™‚

Isn't this exactly what a lot of the German bike mags do a lot of - testing with actual numbers rather than vague summaries about cut and paste handling, etc? ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:43 pm
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I had some Fox 32 150mm Floats. People who read too much kept telling my how noodly and flexy they were. It never held me back even when I doing uplift days.

I started out on Bomber Z1's and I wasn't complaining then either. Everything I've had since has been an improvement.


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:50 pm
 DezB
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[i]testing with actual numbers rather than vague summaries about cut and paste handling[/i]

Yeah! Stupid idea to tell people how they ride. Numbers are where its at ๐Ÿ˜†


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:51 pm
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It was a little tongue in cheek - too far either way is bad (m'kay)


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 4:58 pm
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This video is strangely hypnotic...


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 5:01 pm
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That test is also pointless, as there is no "control of parameters" during each test.

i was just going to turn up a "fake" steerer tube, mount a fork in it with the headset bearings, clamp that whole lot in a vice, and hang weights off the axle. say 10, 20 and 40kg, not enough to get any plastic deformation, and do that at various "extensions" of the fork.

The exact method doesn't matter as long as it is repeatable, as all i am trying to do is actually compare forks, not rate them in absolute terms.

Could also use a dial type torque wrench to apply twisting force to the axle and measure the forks torsional stiffness etc


 
Posted : 22/01/2014 5:40 pm