Finally got a ride in with the new fork and I should have done that last year. Big reason I didn't was because I didn't know Surly still made or at least had quick release forks in stock. I think all their bikes have been through axle so I just assumed replacement forks would be too so I was just watching the used market. A problem with used forks especially for a large frame is they can be cut too short to fit a large frame although it looks line with many modern geometry designs the head tube may be the same length across multiple size frames.
I would say the overall ride experience is much improved. Steering feels much more smooth and responsive. Just general pavement or hard pack riding I think it feels better. Maybe the steel fork does better for absorbing tiny vibrations? Jumping a curb I think the old fork was doing something but its not like its that different or hard to control the bike and how often do you jump curbs anyway? Its not like curbs are really adding to the fatigue. Really the only place I did notice where the old fork was MAYBE better was potholes.
My regular ride has a couple mile road that is really in bad shape. It doesn't have much traffic so most of the time I can just weave all over the road and pick the smoothest line. There is only one spot maybe 300' that you can't avoid the pot holes and that stretch was a little rough with the new fork. If I had to do a daily commute where there was no way to avoid miles of pot holes maybe full suspension would help but for just typical riding I don't think the steel fork is a better ride.
Now if me plus the bike and battery were not well over 300 pounds and maybe if it was a $500+ fork things would be different but I don't think I'm the only overweight person riding a 'cheap' bike with an equally cheap suspension fork. If that sounds like you the reader this may be an upgrade consider. I don't know how many forks Surly HQ (where mine came from) has in stock but I suspect they have more than a few since many of the online vendors were also showing stock. It was $130 but I believe its a quality fork. I didn't look but I assume I could find one for $20 if I wanted to but I don't think I would trust it especially with my fat ass on top of it.
An unexpected bonus of this upgrade was also I can now ride no hands. Pre E conversion of this bike I could not do it. After conversion I could not. I thought it may have been just because I was out of practice or too old and fat but I could sort of do it on my Pug if I had the 29er wheels on it. It had to be flat and straight but I could do it for sort bursts on that bike. I wasn't more than a mile into my test ride with the new fork yesterday and I didn't even notice I was doing it. I just sort of noticed I was going no hands and could even steer. That was awesome. Just gives more positions I can ride in when things start to hurt. I did notice when I sit fully upright I need more air in my suspension seat post. Without leaning over the bars I was pretty much fully compressing it.
I also wonder how much difference the new headset made? The new one is a Funn brand. I don't think thats an especially great brand but it is the 'good' style that uses the sealed cartridge bearings. I had to buy the lower and upper separately but I think the total was about $60. I don't buy a lot of headsets so I don't know that that is cheap but its for sure way nicer than the original was.
The original was not adjusted properly when I got the bike. The lower bearing cage was either damaged to start with or I damaged it trying to fix it. Since its an odd size I ended up using loose bearings which is fun to install. Its not so bad like a wheel where you are only dealing with like 9 balls that are like 1/4" each but try getting like 35 3/16" ones to stay put while you try and insert a 300 pound fork in your 500 pound ebike. I had it so it wasn't loose and it didn't seem to bind but its soooo much smoother now. I wonder how much difference just upgrading the headset would have made? I doubt it would have got me the improvement I have now but maybe it would have helped?
I would say the overall ride experience is much improved. Steering feels much more smooth and responsive. Just general pavement or hard pack riding I think it feels better. Maybe the steel fork does better for absorbing tiny vibrations? Jumping a curb I think the old fork was doing something but its not like its that different or hard to control the bike and how often do you jump curbs anyway? Its not like curbs are really adding to the fatigue. Really the only place I did notice where the old fork was MAYBE better was potholes.
My regular ride has a couple mile road that is really in bad shape. It doesn't have much traffic so most of the time I can just weave all over the road and pick the smoothest line. There is only one spot maybe 300' that you can't avoid the pot holes and that stretch was a little rough with the new fork. If I had to do a daily commute where there was no way to avoid miles of pot holes maybe full suspension would help but for just typical riding I don't think the steel fork is a better ride.
Now if me plus the bike and battery were not well over 300 pounds and maybe if it was a $500+ fork things would be different but I don't think I'm the only overweight person riding a 'cheap' bike with an equally cheap suspension fork. If that sounds like you the reader this may be an upgrade consider. I don't know how many forks Surly HQ (where mine came from) has in stock but I suspect they have more than a few since many of the online vendors were also showing stock. It was $130 but I believe its a quality fork. I didn't look but I assume I could find one for $20 if I wanted to but I don't think I would trust it especially with my fat ass on top of it.
An unexpected bonus of this upgrade was also I can now ride no hands. Pre E conversion of this bike I could not do it. After conversion I could not. I thought it may have been just because I was out of practice or too old and fat but I could sort of do it on my Pug if I had the 29er wheels on it. It had to be flat and straight but I could do it for sort bursts on that bike. I wasn't more than a mile into my test ride with the new fork yesterday and I didn't even notice I was doing it. I just sort of noticed I was going no hands and could even steer. That was awesome. Just gives more positions I can ride in when things start to hurt. I did notice when I sit fully upright I need more air in my suspension seat post. Without leaning over the bars I was pretty much fully compressing it.
I also wonder how much difference the new headset made? The new one is a Funn brand. I don't think thats an especially great brand but it is the 'good' style that uses the sealed cartridge bearings. I had to buy the lower and upper separately but I think the total was about $60. I don't buy a lot of headsets so I don't know that that is cheap but its for sure way nicer than the original was.
The original was not adjusted properly when I got the bike. The lower bearing cage was either damaged to start with or I damaged it trying to fix it. Since its an odd size I ended up using loose bearings which is fun to install. Its not so bad like a wheel where you are only dealing with like 9 balls that are like 1/4" each but try getting like 35 3/16" ones to stay put while you try and insert a 300 pound fork in your 500 pound ebike. I had it so it wasn't loose and it didn't seem to bind but its soooo much smoother now. I wonder how much difference just upgrading the headset would have made? I doubt it would have got me the improvement I have now but maybe it would have helped?
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