Fork help?

[aedifica]

I was recently advised that it would be a good idea to replace my fork soon.* That means deciding what to replace it with, though--carbon? steel? aluminum? titanium? (probably not titanium). Curved? straight? I have no idea, I just know that what I have now works, but something else might be even better. Does anyone here enjoy bike-geeking about forks? What I have now is a straight carbon fork on a mostly-carbon road bike, and I ride on roads from smooth to potholey. Advice is welcome, I'm feeling overwhelmed by the technical details when I search on this online.


* Turns out it isn't a good idea to let things hang from your handlebars, if the things are long enough to get caught in the wheel. I bent a wheel to the point where I had to replace the wheel, not just have it trued. I am so grateful that this happened at a time in my life when I could afford the repair! And since there may have been damage to the fork at the same time, better to replace it soon than have it break sometime when I'm out riding.

Comments

[aedifica]

Thank you! That's reassuring to hear. :-) I've been in a tizzy trying to figure out whether there was something even better I should switch to (better for how I ride, that is) and it's good to hear a calm, informed outside voice.

[grrltastic]

It's pretty easy to get caught up in the "I need the latest and greatest or my bike is going to suck!" mentality. I think that, really, unless you're doing a lot of Cat 1 racing, as long as you like the components on your bike, it's fine. :)

[aedifica]

I wasn't even thinking I necessarily needed the newest snazziest--I was considering everything that could be in my budget, no matter how inexpensive! :-)