Anyone ever extended the fork neck?

[Dauntless]

So the forks I originally wanted to use are too short for the frame. I think of things like another piece of pipe bolted at the end, but that sounds like the sort of thing where you outsmart yourself.

The junk forks it came with gotta go, not sure anything like this would fit. (If they do, are these worth it/any good?) https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bop/d/cerritos-rockshox-duke-suspension-fork/6837064115.html

Or is an extension a reasonable approach?

 

[flat tire]

Don't outsmart yourself. Get a fork that fits.

 

[amberwolf]

If it's a threadless system, then it's possible to press out the existing steerer, and press in a new one, for at least some (probably many) forks. So you could buy the right length steerer (or press it out of one, and into another).

If it's threaded, it's probably welded in place.

It is possble to extend a steerer, but if it's welded, or pinned, etc., the join might end up weaker than the rest of it, and if taht's in a stressed spot, and it did fail, well...there goes your steering. (been there, when the stem broke on the bike that later became DayGlo Avenger, shortly after I received it brand new). If it's a double crown fork, and the join is between the crowns, (preferably between the bearings) it might be less stressed.

I did extend the 1" threaded steerer on my Delta Tripper's fork, by using a seattube upside down on it, using the seat-post-clamp to secure it to the steerer. Worked ok, but I didn't have any other practical options for that trike design, with parts I had (and nobody I know makes a 2-foot-plus steerer)

 

[dogman dan]

If you weld good, you could cut another fork, and weld that on to extend it. Leave a tiny gap, bevel both ends, fill it, then grind smooth. It would help though, if you had another tube that fit perfect inside the extension. To reinforce, and also weld into it and get really strong. I'd need to do that, the way I weld.

 

[2old]

Bumps, potholes put a lot of stress on a front fork and the ramifications of a failure might be astronomical. Wouldn't consider anything but a good fork. You can but an excellent rigid fork (Surly or equivalent) for < $75 new or lots less used or used suspension fork for $100 - $200. Why gamble?

 

[Chalo]

Bumps, potholes put a lot of stress on a front fork and the ramifications of a failure might be astronomical. Wouldn't consider anything but a good fork.

This is true, but there are sections of a fork's steer tube that are under much lower stress than the areas near the headset races. Manufacturers use taper butted tubing for fork steer tubes (thicker at the bottom), and a few go so far as to externally machine away some of the wall thickness in the middle of the tube where it isn't needed.

For my cycle truck, I needed a fork for a 20" wheel, with a long 26" threadless steer tube. The best fork available to me had a much shorter, threaded steer tube. So I cut off the threaded part and attached a length of chromoly tubing, using a piece of angle iron as a guide to keep the pieces aligned.



In the past, I've machined replacement steer tubes for suspension forks, and used an arbor press when necessary to remove and replace them. Recent model suspension forks tend to have press fits in all three bores, which complicates the process compared to those that can be disassembled first.

 

[dogman dan]

Welding a steer tube at the base is something I would not trust my welding for.

But the middle of the tube should only get the load from tightening the headset. It should not be able to bend in the middle of the steer tube.


I would reinforce my weld, because I weld that badly.