# Exotic Carbon fork for 24" bikes...opinions?



## goldenaustin (May 30, 2011)

Curious if anyone has considered this White Brothers clone for their 24". I'm still going back and forth with a old 26" SID, RST F1RST, or a lighter rigid fork, and came across this carbon one with disc brake compatibility. I've ridden a 29" version of the Exotic and love the lightweight benefits. Asides from needing to re-lace the front wheel with a disc hub and buying a front disc brake setup, does anyone have opinions on this particular fork? It's going on a '13 Trek MT220.

CarbonCycles.CC :: Components :: Products :: Forks - Recumbent / Folder / Child Bike :: eXotic Carbon Rigid Fork for 24 Inch Wheel - Disc Only :: CC-F03-24

Amazon.com : eXotic Carbon Bike Fork Disc Specific for 24 Inch Wheel : Sports & Outdoors


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

770gr, not a particularly light weight fork for the $$ you are paying. DIN certification (for an adult rider) means it is massively overbuilt for kid use, switching to disk brakes adds weight too. I dont know that any other 24" carbon forks are actually available but you could easily beat that weight with an aluminum fork for much less cost (provided you can find one).

Compare the weight with the faux-carbon fork with a real carbon fork, the 440gr ritchey WCS 700c cyclocross cantilever fork, these will fit up to 45mm wide tires OK. Empty your wallet and then you just need to cut 2" off the bottom of the fork ends and epoxy new dropouts into the stubs of the fork legs at correct distance for a 407mm rim!


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## goldenaustin (May 30, 2011)

Thanks, good points. Yeah I did find it strange that the 24" version was the same weight as the 29" version that I had. There really aren't other 24"-specific carbon forks available other than the BMX ones without brake mounts. Now if only that Ritchey fork was at least half the cost!


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## Fargo1 (Oct 19, 2012)

Has anyone found a good aluminum fork? Will Specialized or Raleigh or anyone sell their fork as a parts item?


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## Nyquist (May 12, 2005)

> Compare the weight with the faux-carbon fork with a real carbon fork, the 440gr ritchey WCS 700c cyclocross cantilever fork, these will fit up to 45mm wide tires OK. Empty your wallet and then you just need to cut 2" off the bottom of the fork ends and epoxy new dropouts into the stubs of the fork legs at correct distance for a 407mm rim!


CX forks are typically ~400mm AC, which is think is around the same as a 24" suspension fork(?)
Assuming tyre clearance is fine, I wonder how a disc brake CX fork would go on a 24" kids bike.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

24" RST suspension fork I took off an older specialized hotrock 24" has an A-C of 400mm. It does look as if a disk 700c CX fork = suspension corrected 24" fork. Plenty of CX forks are made to be wide enough to run a 29er MTB tire and it also helps with clearance that a 24" MTB is smaller diameter, so the wide part of the tire is down lower where the legs are even wider.

I tried sticking a 24" wheel on my 700c CX fork. It definitely fits but looks a bit strange with 3" of clearance between the tire and the bottom of fork crown. Using a shorter rigid fork around 375mm AC would look more normal but would also make the BB lower and the HTA steeper on a frame designed around a tall suspension fork.


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## goldenaustin (May 30, 2011)

Fargo1 said:


> Has anyone found a good aluminum fork? Will Specialized or Raleigh or anyone sell their fork as a parts item?


I've abandoned the Exotic carbon fork idea just because it's on the "heavy" side of what a carbon fork should be. I'm now looking at aluminum as well. Here's what I'm leaning towards:

Onza 26 24" Sly Guy Forks Magurafit Blu Sil Black 1 1 8" Ahead 7005 Alloy New | eBay

with this:

Onza Magura to Vee Brake Adapters Alloy Lite Adjustable Fit Magura 4 Bolt Mount | eBay

965 grams I assume with uncut steerer.

My son's Trek MT220 has an AC of around 410-415mm, and this fork is 395, so I assume that should work quite well.


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## Fargo1 (Oct 19, 2012)

I noticed the specs on that fork say its for a 26" bike. Do you need to cut it back to fit a 24"? I'd love to find a 24" aluminum fork for kids mtb. It would make my bike search a lot easier. I hate those cheap heavy suspensions.


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## goldenaustin (May 30, 2011)

Yes, it does say 26" bike, but anyone correct me if I'm wrong with my thought process/plans. Not including the rake measurement, I'm most interested in the Axle to Crown (AC) measurement and the V-Brake mount positioning. As I mentioned before, the stock AC measurement on the MT220 24" bike is around 410mm, maybe even 415mm, as I was just getting a rough idea. Since fork sag is a moot point with the stock RST fork as I can barely compress it, that Onza fork at 395mm has a comparable AC measurement, and also even better if you can actually get the RST fork to sag 15-20%. The other measurement of the Onza fork, is the v-brake mounts, but it's actually a feature of the fork itself. I've confirmed with the seller that it has holes for both 26" and 24" wheels, but you need the 4-bolt to V-brake adapter which is in my second link. You line up that adapter to either the 26" or 24" position. In doing research, I learned that trials bikes use this 4 bolt mount setup for hydraulic rim brakes. Onza takes it a step further and adds extra holes for dual compatibility for 24" or 26" wheels.


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## softbatch (Aug 19, 2014)

goldenaustin said:


> I've confirmed with the seller that it has holes for both 26" and 24" wheels, but you need the 4-bolt to V-brake adapter which is in my second link..


Will they combine shipping? They haven't answered my ebay question.


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## goldenaustin (May 30, 2011)

Yes he will throw in the mount adapters with the fork box so you just pay for the shipping listed in the fork auction. He said to wait for an invoice after going through the Buy It Now option for both items.


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## DPeper (Jan 24, 2013)

If you want to give them a try cheap...Go to your local pawn shop or scrap metal yard. They have mountains of 5+ year old chromo and alu. bikes with 24" everything. I got some 4130 Nishiki MTB forks the first day out. Spend the money on wheels.
While there I also got a couple of nice Revo Twist shifters and friction shifters just in case. Plus they have 7speed wheels and rear ders. sold by the pound. Build the wheels up with QR rather than the standard bolt ons that come on 24" bikes. Just a thought if you're are poor and building light bikes for 2 kids or more.


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## jblockers (May 16, 2009)

goldenaustin said:


> Yes he will throw in the mount adapters with the fork box so you just pay for the shipping listed in the fork auction. He said to wait for an invoice after going through the Buy It Now option for both items.


goldenaustin - did you order and install the 24/26 onza fork w/adaptors? What do you think? Any tips on ordering?


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## Garasaki (Apr 7, 2010)

Hi,

Just wanted to revisit this topic. I'm looking to ditch the crappy suspension fork on my daughters new to us 24" bike and would like to replace with a lightweight rigid.

What has been the experience of others who have gone this route?


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

Garasaki said:


> Hi,
> 
> Just wanted to revisit this topic. I'm looking to ditch the crappy suspension fork on my daughters new to us 24" bike and would like to replace with a lightweight rigid.
> 
> What has been the experience of others who have gone this route?


I'd stick away from alum alloy unless it's for a indoor velodrome ...
it's entirely the opposite of carbon and titanium in that it's a lot less springy than steel and every crack in a road feels like being hit with a baseball bat on your wrists and arms... I suppose you could moderate with a carbon bar ... But realistically it's the steerer and other parts that add a lot of weight, hence why the half carbon bars (or seat posts ) still weigh a fair deal ....

I rode a friends 700c years ago with alloy forks just up and down a smoothish road and it felt like every bump went from your hands up to your teeth compared to a steel fork. He only rode the bike in velodromes not even on the road as it was such a bone jarring experience.


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

thread resurection :thumbsup:


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## dc40 (Oct 4, 2013)

black market bikes makes tech 9 fork:

1.13 kg
395 mm axle to crown

http://blackmarketbikes.com/index.p...&category_id=6&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=7


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

Steve-XtC said:


> I'd stick away from alum alloy unless it's for a indoor velodrome ...
> it's entirely the opposite of carbon and titanium in that it's a lot less springy than steel and every crack in a road feels like being hit with a baseball bat on your wrists and arms...


Steve- I call BS on this. There is nothing inherently "un-springy" about aluminum to make it an unsuitable material for bike forks. Any fork material (CF, steel, Ti, or aluminum) can be made into a fork that is either too stiff or too flexible for the application but that depends on how the builder utilizes the material, wall thickness, tube diameter, etc. For example, some of the early aluminum road and CX frames from Alan and Vitus using small diameter tubes were notoriously soft and flexible compared to the more common steel frames of the time. 
Unless you can find a sub 400gr rigid fork with rider weight restriction appropriate for a 60 pound kid, I would think that ANY commonly available factory made rigid fork will be so overbuilt that it will provide no appreciable shock adsorption for a kid rider irregardless of the material. Aluminum can be used to produce a lightweight fork relativity inexpensively compared to CF and Ti, no good reason to exclude the idea of using an aluminum. In any case, even if a kid gets no shock adsorption from a rigid fork, a properly inflated (NOT-overinflated) MTB tire will provide much more vibration/shock dampening than any rigid fork.



Steve-XtC said:


> I rode a friends 700c years ago with alloy forks just up and down a smoothish road and it felt like every bump went from your hands up to your teeth compared to a steel fork. He only rode the bike in velodromes not even on the road as it was such a bone jarring experience.


Let me guess, the bike probably had 20mm tires inflated to 140PSI???


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

> Let me guess, the bike probably had 20mm tires inflated to 140PSI???


Yes but then so had his road bike.... Indeed they were identical frames he had both frames made at the same time, same frame maker.
The difference was quite astounding but as you point out that was with road tubeless at well over 100psi.

At no point did I say aluminium forks are unsuitable for kids bikes. I just advised against using them outside a purpose built velodrome or racing on smooth surfaces.

Aluminium alloys are intrinsically inflexible or more accurately components made of it have to be made inflexible because they strain harden and then stress fracture if allowed to flex repeatedly.

This is at a molecular level but it's a inescapable metallurgical property and one that the aircraft industry would spend billions to solve.

You our don't need to see the flexing for it to be present because it's about how stress is transmitted through the material at a molecular level a somewhat apt way to visualise is a tuning fork. Even with air forks fitted my kids ride is less harsh on the small bumps with carbon bars vs alloy.

In in the same way many people complain or at least remark about the springiness of titanium frames.

Its actually really easy to test/see this using some bars or seat posts. Place the end in a bowl of water and then tap the other end with a wrench. The bowl of water is your crude oscilloscope.

The waves will be noticeably different especially between titanium or carbon vs alum alloys.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

Metallurgy for Cyclists | Technical Articles | Support

Good series of articles on metallurgy for cyclists


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## hallin222 (Oct 13, 2005)

Nyquist said:


> CX forks are typically ~400mm AC, which is think is around the same as a 24" suspension fork(?)
> Assuming tyre clearance is fine, I wonder how a disc brake CX fork would go on a 24" kids bike.


This is the approach I'm considering in a few years. There are some companies building nice 24" XC type bikes with rigid forks, like the WOOM 5 Supra, but hanging a carbon, disc-ready, straight 1-1/8" steerer cyclocross fork onto a used kids' 24" MTB frame could be a much cheaper option, and should maintain proper geometry. CX racers are all going to tapered steerers on their newer frames, so straight steerer forks should be cheap to find second hand soon.


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## CJH (Apr 21, 2004)

I ordered one of these forks and it was not the A2C listed. I had set up a fairly complicated jig to figure out what A2C I'd need to get the compressed ride height I wanted for my son and one of their listed products (I think it was the 24" recumbent) was perfect and ended up being over an inch too long.

I ordered it factory direct, IIRC, for less than the listed Ebay or Amazon prices at the time but don't recall what I paid. I might have gotten the wrong product.

Also, I think it has more rake than a typical fork on a 20" or 24" kids MTB.


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

dc40 said:


> black market bikes makes tech 9 fork:
> 
> 1.13 kg
> 395 mm axle to crown
> ...


Only 1130 grams and how do you mount a front brake?


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

Steve-XtC said:


> I'd stick away from alum alloy unless it's for a indoor velodrome ...
> it's entirely the opposite of carbon and titanium in that it's a lot less springy than steel and every crack in a road feels like being hit with a baseball bat on your wrists and arms....
> 
> I rode a friends 700c years ago with alloy forks just up and down a smoothish road and it felt like every bump went from your hands up to your teeth compared to a steel fork. He only rode the bike in velodromes not even on the road as it was such a bone jarring experience.
> ...


Remember we are talking a 50-75 pound kid here. Titanium is often cost prohibitive to many, and carbon fiber might not durable enough if you ride in rocky terrain. Steel is, well, steel (heavy) and counter productive to what most of us are doing in an effort of making kids bikes lighter. This is what makes aluminum so nice.

Also, what you linked above was mostly written in 1994. Suspension forks were barely 4-5 years old at that point. A lot has changed since then! I was riding/racing double centuries on a Cannondale rode bike (CAT2 road racer) in 1994 on an alloy bike with an alloy fork and alloy bars!


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

GSJ1973 said:


> Remember we are talking a 50-75 pound kid here.


Their weight doesn't really matter, we are not talking travel on a suspension fork (in mm) but micrometers and below.

Think instead of very high frequency not huge bumps as the point is not suspension forks but light non suspension folks.



> Titanium is often cost prohibitive to many,


 absolutely though I just got a used titanium seatpost on eBay for £20 ....



> and carbon fiber might not durable enough if you ride in rocky terrain.


I'd agree but then a decent air fork is in order ....



> Steel is, well, steel (heavy) and counter productive to what most of us are doing in an effort of making kids bikes lighter. This is what makes aluminum so nice.


It's a bind ... But equally we are making them lighter to make them more rideable ... (OK and because it can be fun) but don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

Decent steel forks especially Mg alloys are not that heavy, mainly because it's not such a big bit of metal.

The point of titanium and carbon forks isn't just about weight but how the material properties affect riding. Think carbon seat posts .. Many don't save much weight at all because the seatpost itself is only 1/2 the weight ...but the ride is smoother. Same with carbon forks... The extras (non carbon parts) are where the weight is .... Same with saddle rails and why they use Mg alloys as do forks ... It's not just lighter it's about how vibrations are transmitted.



> Also, what you linked above was mostly written in 1994. Suspension forks were barely 4-5 years old at that point. A lot has changed since then! I was riding/racing double centuries on a Cannondale rode bike (CAT2 road racer) in 1994 on an alloy bike with an alloy fork and alloy bars!


I'm not talking about suspension forks but rigid.

Almost nothing has changed in aluminium alloys since 1935.... In fact 6061 is still best all round. 2024 is not very usable for bikes due to corrosion and other advances are superseded by different materials such as (carbon fibre) and yet others are so expensive to produce that Titanium is cheaper.


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## jblockers (May 16, 2009)

goldenaustin said:


> I've abandoned the Exotic carbon fork idea just because it's on the "heavy" side of what a carbon fork should be. I'm now looking at aluminum as well. Here's what I'm leaning towards:
> 
> Onza 26 24" Sly Guy Forks Magurafit Blu Sil Black 1 1 8" Ahead 7005 Alloy New | eBay
> 
> ...


I actually bought this Sly Guy fork from the same ebay seller a year ago and installed it on a 2008 Trek MT220 with the v-brake adapters. I think I paid around $75 for everything including shipping. The ebay seller did combine shipping and was pretty good about everything. It dropped the front off the bike just slightly. With adapters and a trimmed steerer it weighed 1030 grams, which was exactly half the weight of the stock fork which was 2060 grams (as measured on my cheapo kitchen scale). It terms of weight savings it was a great bang for the buck and easy to install, although I would spend money on 24" Rocket Ron tires first.

Another option is to shorten a X-lite rigid fork with straight stanchions. I found a 29er X-lite aluminum fork on craigslist that had v-brake mounts and shortened it for a 20" bike. Worked great and weighed around 900 grams, plus you can get the exact length you want. You have to remove the dropouts with some heat, shorten the stanchions, and then re-attach the dropouts with loc-tite retaining epoxy. These forks (disc only version) are about $80 with shipping on ebay right now.

Also, I don't think I can sense any difference in vibration between a rigid steel vs. aluminum fork. Both are harsh compared to a shock, but are much lighter than stock forks. Good luck.


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## Garasaki (Apr 7, 2010)

Reviewing a lot of the rigid carbon options, many of them (even ones built for 700c wheels) have the appropriate axle to crown length (in the 400mm area) for a 24" bike. 

It'd be interesting to really examine the material performance of the fork. I can totally see the idea that aluminum would be much less compliant then carbon, yet when you are talking a 50lb to 70lb rider, not going very fast, I would expect that the difference is minimized if not totally negligible. 

When I look at the race BMX market, I do see that they outfit those bikes with either 4130 cromo steel or carbon forks, very rarely aluminum.


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## CJH (Apr 21, 2004)

jblockers said:


> Another option is to shorten a X-lite rigid fork with straight stanchions. You have to remove the dropouts with some heat, shorten the stanchions, and then re-attach the dropouts with loc-tite retaining epoxy.


I finally torched the dropouts off of the Exotics Carbon fork I mentioned earlier in this thread. I was going to save it for another project but figured I was going to have to shorten something anyways so why not use the one I already had.

Do you clamp the dropouts into a hub to hold them square to each other when you epoxied them back onto the stanchions? That's how I plan to do it but wanted to see if you ended up doing something else first.


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## Trekkie8 (Jan 21, 2016)

MAX24 Kinderbike Carbongabel - VPACE Bikes

Maybe a bit late but this aint what you looking for?


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## jblockers (May 16, 2009)

CJH said:


> I finally torched the dropouts off of the Exotics Carbon fork I mentioned earlier in this thread. I was going to save it for another project but figured I was going to have to shorten something anyways so why not use the one I already had.
> 
> Do you clamp the dropouts into a hub to hold them square to each other when you epoxied them back onto the stanchions? That's how I plan to do it but wanted to see if you ended up doing something else first.


That is what I did, just bolted a hub to hold everything square as soon as I got the dropouts on with epoxy. Worked almost like a charm. If I was to do it again I would make sure my wheel was true and centered and use the entire wheel instead of just a hub so I could get it better aligned.

I found it was difficult to get the stanchions exactly the same length without some machinist measuring tools. I just tape measured, hack-sawed, and went for it, which was ok, but I should have spent some time with a file to get the exact length on both sides. I was probably only a millimeter off on one stanchion, but that was noticeably too much with the wheel installed. I had to dremel the inside surface of one dropout where it rests on the axle to effectively shorten one side.

It is easier if are doing disc brakes because you only have to get the approximate axle-to-crown distance, but if you have v-brakes you must get the exact axle-to-brake-post distance.


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## Garasaki (Apr 7, 2010)

That looks pretty much about right, except that it runs $250 bucks.


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## jblockers (May 16, 2009)

I recovered the pics from my phone and made a thread showing what I did to shorten the 29er fork.

http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/rigid-fork-option-20-24-bikes-shorten-29er-fork-1011514.html


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## Tjaard (Aug 17, 2007)

Actually, if you are outside the EU, you don't have to pay sales tax, so the price would be about $193 for that fork.


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## Negotiator50 (Apr 21, 2012)

Anyone know if this fork will work with a 24" Trek MT220 using the Onza Magura to Vee Brake adapters linked earlier in this thread:

Onza Lite Guy Fork Disc Brake Magura 4 Bolt or V Brake Converter Gloss Black | eBay

Are there any other 24" rigid fork options to replace the heavy and useless suspension fork that comes with the bike?


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## Fargo1 (Oct 19, 2012)

Negotiator50 said:


> Anyone know if this fork will work with a 24" Trek MT220 using the Onza Magura to Vee Brake adapters linked earlier in this thread:
> 
> Onza Lite Guy Fork Disc Brake Magura 4 Bolt or V Brake Converter Gloss Black | eBay
> 
> Are there any other 24" rigid fork options to replace the heavy and useless suspension fork that comes with the bike?


That listing says its for a 26" wheel size. You might want to just keep eyes open for a 24" bike with rigid forks. You could then swap the forks and sell the other bike again.


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## Negotiator50 (Apr 21, 2012)

Fargo1 said:


> That listing says its for a 26" wheel size. You might want to just keep eyes open for a 24" bike with rigid forks. You could then swap the forks and sell the other bike again.


Probably the best way to go at this point. I just am stunned by the lack of 24 inch Threadless rigid forks with v brakes. I literally have not found even one available other than the eBay one noted in this thread. Can anyone point me to something from a reputable US based internet company for a threadless rigid fork with v brake mounts for 24 inch wheels?


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## bme107 (Jul 23, 2008)

That ship has sailed. It's hard enough finding a 26" fork with v-brake bosses, forget about 24". For what it's worth my 11yo had ridden that Exotic carbon fork for 3 years in 26" form with discs. Bike soon to be passed down to daughter. My daughter has ridden that Exotic fork in 20" form with custom modified bolt-on brake bosses for 2 years. There were warnings all over the fork and bosses about not doing it though. It works for the speed, weight and strength of an 8yo on the trails.


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## Trekkie8 (Jan 21, 2016)

Starre Gabel für 24" Mountainbike (Disc oder V-Brake)

Here u go


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## Negotiator50 (Apr 21, 2012)

Trekkie8 said:


> Starre Gabel für 24" Mountainbike (Disc oder V-Brake)
> 
> Here u go


This is spot on but it doesnt look like they ship to the US.


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## Negotiator50 (Apr 21, 2012)

Anyone else have any suggestions for a threadless 24inch rigid fork with v brake mounts available for purchase in US? 

Could I use a threaded fork on the bike, a Trek MT240?


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

Negotiator50 said:


> Anyone else have any suggestions for a threadless 24inch rigid fork with v brake mounts available for purchase in US?
> 
> Could I use a threaded fork on the bike, a Trek MT240?


Kinesis list such a fork in their catalog, no idea how you would go about ordering a single fork, perhaps alibaba or else a LBS with access to their distributer? Kinesis industry CO.,.

THe frame headtube is not specific to threaded or threadless. You can interchange on the frame but do of course need threaded or threadless specific headset, fork steertube, and stem.


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

Re-resurrecting this thread to mention this listing: 
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...1be7e12&transAbTest=ae803_1&priceBeautifyAB=0

almost pulling the trigger if not for the fact that my kid actually likes his heavy and sticky RST F1rst - which is supposedly one of the best 24'' suspension forks on the market.


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