What does “pair of forks” mean?

All of my bikes have only one fork each. A singular fork shaped item at the front to hold the wheel in place.

Very often when people are referring to forks they use the phrase “a pair of forks” or ” a pair of suspension forks”. Even in the LBS the sales staff talk about pairs of forks, or a “set of forks”.

How many pairs of forks does one person need?

Same as pants innit.

As far as I’m concerned I’m wearing a pant.

Got 2 legs.  Unless you have a cannondale fork which is just wierd

That’s the things with linguistic pedantry, oftentimes what seems ‘incorrect’ is actually perfectly fine. Because everyone knows exactly what’s being referred to, so the word performs its function as signifier.

I know a person (from Australia, which might explain things), that finds the English use of the word ‘hosepipe’ very bizarre. To them it is just a hose, and the pipe bit of the word is some antiquarian oddity. Which is true when you look at it, but at the same time, we have no doubts about the thing it refers to.

Isn’t it because each leg of the fork is different, e.g. oil one side and air/spring on the other, so without a pair it doesn’t work.

But each leg is a prong. So one fork is a pair of prongs. And a pair of forks is a quadprongle.

Same as pants innit.

Pefect. Thread over. Well, southerners might enjoy some pointless to and fro about what “pants” are…

As far as I’m concerned I’m wearing a pant.

Ruined it! Right, I’m off to find a belt to hold this trouser up.

To them it is just a hose, and the pipe bit of the word is some antiquarian oddity. Which is true when you look at it, but at the same time, we have no doubts about the thing it refers to.

Two hose make a pant?

Or is it one hose and one pair of pants that make up one pair of trousers?

I know a person (from Australia, which might explain things), that finds the English use of the word ‘hosepipe’ very bizarre. To them it is just a hose, and the pipe bit of the word is some antiquarian oddity. Which is true when you look at it, but at the same time, we have no doubts about the thing it refers to.

Had a spanish bike guide warn us that the upcoming steep trail had a “big hose” in the middle. I thought that it was a pronounciation quirk (in his otherwise impeccable English) and there was a hole…

No, there was a 200 diameter plastic pipeline that had become exposed via soil erosion.

It’s not a bracket and it’s not at the bottom, but hey ho.  Well I suppose it is at the bottom, near those pedals we clip into.  Yes, them. The clippess ones.

That’s the things with linguistic pedantry, oftentimes what seems ‘incorrect’ is actually perfectly fine. Because everyone knows exactly what’s being referred to, so the word performs its function as signifier.

I know a person (from Australia, which might explain things), that finds the English use of the word ‘hosepipe’ very bizarre. To them it is just a hose, and the pipe bit of the word is some antiquarian oddity. Which is true when you look at it, but at the same time, we have no doubts about the thing it refers to.

Unless you get confused and water your garden with a sock…

Pair of trousers, pair of pants, pair of glasses, pair of forks..  all standard in the bizarre language we call English. No point trying to make sense of it.

And a pair of forks is a quadprongle.

Lolz

However just to get a pedant point in – its a tine not a prong

Here is your answer

https://www.orangebikes.com/stories/view/orange_phase_ad3

The CSU is a fork.

The lowers are a fork.

That’s a pair of forks where one slides into the other.

Two hose make a pant?

Panty hose make a pant, surely ?

Here is your answer

https://www.orangebikes.com/stories/view/orange_phase_ad3

That’s brill. Makes my eyes go funny :D

Don’t seem to be able to quote but from above clipless is fine as it’s referring to toe clips, which they don’t have, or something?

But each leg is a prong. So one fork is a pair of prongs. And a pair of forks is a quadprongle.

My niece and nephew are of the opinion that a fork is a fork becuase it has four prongs

A plastic takeaway fork has three prongs so is actually a threek

and a wooden chip-shop fork is actually a twook

The only person I know who wears a pant or a trouser is Lowly Worm.

My niece and nephew are of the opinion that a fork is a fork becuase it has four prongs

A plastic takeaway fork has three prongs so is actually a threek

and a wooden chip-shop fork is actually a twook

Your bike has a twook?

Pair of pants is easy enough

According to some, the phrase “pair of pants” harkens back to the days when what constituted pants—or pantaloons, as they were originally known—consisted of two separate items, one for each leg. They were put on one at a time and then secured around the waist.

Not sure on pair of forks though

I do also hate the term clipless. It means the opposite of what it is to everyone who has got into cycling in the past 30 years. You can’t explain it without giving a tedious history lesson about something that most people have never used.

The only person I know who wears a pant or a trouser is Lowly Worm.

Now he definitely wears a hose!

Bifurcated cantilever.

Its also A fork, there is a single bifurcation.

A fork in a river

A fork and knife

A fork in the road.

Set off forks – uppers and lowers – both have 2 prongs

Got 2 legs. Unless you have a cannondale fork which is just wierd

I suppose a lefty is technically a ‘Prong‘?

TBH, this is the reason I hate selling on eBay now, some utter dick will obtusely claim a lack of familiarity with common and accepted terminology, and end up stating they thought you were selling them two identical “forks” not a “fork” singular and demand a 50% refund…

The one that really bugs me is when people refer to “Front Forks” which would pre-suppose there’s something commonly known as “Rear Forks” on a bicycle… If you call the chain stays, seat stays or an FS bike’s swingarm “Rear Forks” I just have no time for you.

Suddenly Manitou (and Marin) spring to mind.

Set off forks – uppers and lowers – both have 2 prongs

Lowers aren’t  a fork…

A braced pair of parallel linear bearing sleeves

and all those instructions to “add three more clicks of rebound” to your fork rather than “increase the rebound damping by three clicks”………..

surely it’s one in each hand to make eating spaghetti more efficient?

All this brings to mind the question:

Are forks called forks because they fork, or are things that fork called forks because they look like forks?

Tines.Tines.Tines. It’s tines, guys and gals.

Not prongs.

Well thats just straight up bollocks.

Prong and Tine are almost completely interchangable.

And lots of forks have legs, branches, reaches.

I’m just going to grab a Cannondale Lefty and leave it here in an elephant in the room sort of way…

So my Scalpel only has half a fork?

For the fork you eat with, or dig soil with, it’s a tine. You can stick a prong up your… ?

edit: where have those emojis gone?

Tine and prong seem to be interchangeable. I thought maybe a prong was bigger.

You can stick a prong up your… ?

Hopefully not much bigger.