[G-Cracker]

Hey all you 's

I recently bought a 99 Cannondale Criterium 3.0 Series road bike off a friend. It's in pretty good shape but a bit on the heavy side. I'm looking to get a carbon fork, and I've come across a bunch on Ebay, but because I'm such a noob, I'm not sure if my bike is threaded or not, and if it is 1" or 1 1/8".

Is there a way to know without taking it apart and measuring?

Can I swap out the headset from a threaded to not (or vise versa) if I need to?

Will this also mean that I need to get a new stem? The current stem looks like an "elbow" with one end going down into the headset,rather than a straight piece.

Help a new roadie out! Thanks!

 

[disclosednot]

First off you have a 1" threaded headset. You can tell because the stem actually connects into the steertube rather than clamps onto as in a threaded set up. A threadless setup would have bolts on the side of the stem as well as the top.

You can switch between a 1" threaded and a 1" threadless setup, but you will also need to purchase a new headset. You may be able to pick up a threaded carbon fork off e-bay, but in my opinion you may want to go ahead and convert the whole system to 1" threadless. Its a little more money, but the fork options are greater and you can tune the bike to your needs now with a new stem angle and such. Yes, you will also have to acquire a stem for the conversion. Check online stores for 1" forks as well because in the past couple of days the forks I have been looking at to get for my roadie have been moving a prices which aren't that much less than the retail price.

 

[G-Cracker]

Thanks so much for the quick answer... I really appreciate it. In my ebay "watched" items, I found a 1" threaded carbon fork, but I'm going to look into your suggestion of converting. I'll have to see how much it costs to convert!

Again, thanks!

 

[Matt D]

Make sure you take a step back and think about what you're working with. I don't know the spec or the condition of said bike, but I see a lot of people throw money into a bike that really just isn't worth it. A hundred bucks here, a hundred bucks there, and some unforseen work will add up very quick.

Not that the bike is bad, but it's much more economical to use what you have for the time being w/o upgrading, and save for a whole new bike.

You can get a brand new bike w/ Carbon fork for as little as $600. For $1200+ you can get a pretty smokin bike!

Just FYI, hope it helps.

 

[G-Cracker]

I hear what you're saying. I'm not convinced I want the carbon fork, nor any other "major" upgrade. The bike is in pretty good condition, though there is a little rust on the steel fork and the paint is bubbling in places (with no rust on the aluminum frame.)

It's good enough for me to enjoy commuting and improve my spinning. I mainly asked just to get a better knowledge of the bike and to just see how much it would take to upgrade.

Thanks!

 

[Wumpus]

You can clean up the rust and then coat with clear fingernail polish.

If you're looking at a new threaded fork, you need to measure the one you have and get an identical steerer. You can't cut them down as easily.

 

[Repack]

I would recomend against a full-carbo fork on a 1" frame, especially if it is a larger size. Look for one with an aluminum crown/steerer. I have seen a few where b/c the stterer was only 1" that they flexed like crazy.
Going threadless will be kind of pircey, but you will drop a ton of weight. You'll be replacing a whole bunch of steel with aluminum and cf.
Also, an all aluminum fork will also save you a bunch of weight. Just make sure you get one with disc tabs so that you can run the Avid road mechs!

 

[G-Cracker]

Alright monkeys:

I purchased a carbon fork with a 1" threaded aluminum steer on ebay. I'm not sure if I'll have to cut the steer or not, but I think it will fit just fine.

Exact measurements aside, how difficult will this be to put on my bike? Easy enough for a nOOb like me to remove the old steel fork and install the new carbon?

Anyone care to explain the process? I found a couple websites but they mostly explain how to remove/install headsets and I'm not sure if I need to do this for the fork.

Thanks again!

* edited *

 

[Motionboy2]

Sorry to say I didn't see this thread until now. Here is a problem. You need to know what rake you need. There are plenty of rakes for road bikes but the most common are 4.0 4.3 and 4.5.

You should ask a dealer which you need before you install your new fork.

Also, a 1 inch fork with a carbon steer is not a bad thing as long as you know what you are getting AND you do not stack it to high.
If you get a decent quality full carbon fork (Reynolds, look, Reynolds, easton, Reynolds ) then you have nothing to worry about.

Again sorry for the late responce but it is info you should look at.

 

[G-Cracker]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I picked up a decent carbon fork (aluminum threaded 1" steerer) from ebay. The fork arrived yesterday and (of course) I have a question before I attempt to get into this.

My concern is the length of the steer tube. It's a brand new fork... uncut.
When I place it next to my current fork (still on the bike) the steertube is so long that the threads aren't anywhere near the headset. If I were to cut the steertube to fit, there wouldn't be any threads left. However, there still would be plenty of steertube for a threadless stem.

Would this work? If I cut off the threads, is it basically a threadless setup? I know I'd need to get a new 1" threadless headset and a stem... but can it be done?

BTW... the rake is exact and I have not thrown a lot of money into this bike, nor will I. I have to save for a new mtn bike now that mine was stolen.

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by G-Cracker

..................
My concern is the length of the steer tube. It's a brand new fork... uncut.
When I place it next to my current fork (still on the bike) the steertube is so long that the threads aren't anywhere near the headset. If I were to cut the steertube to fit, there wouldn't be any threads left. However, there still would be plenty of steertube for a threadless stem.

Would this work? If I cut off the threads, is it basically a threadless setup? I know I'd need to get a new 1" threadless headset and a stem... but can it be done?
...........

Other than weight, I don't see why you couldn't use a threadless stem on the fork. It would be ghetto, but it would also satisfy your need to keep the project cheap. If you are froendly with a shop or have a lot of parts lying around, you may be able to piece together the top half of a threadless hdst for 0.
You can have threads cut. It is something that I have done many times (as a mechanic), but is expensive. The dye and dye handle are not cheap. With threadless all but having taken over, you may also run into issues finding a shop that has the tools, or if you do find a shop there will always be the issue of finding someone qualified to do it. Cutting threads on a fork requires some degree of skill so that you don't just rip the fork apart by applying too much pressure, or putting the cutter on too loose so that the threads get cut "opened up."

 

[Kornphlake]

As mentioned you really can't cut a threaded steerer tube and expect the headset to thread on correctly. I am not sure rather a threadless stem would fit on a cut threaded steerer tube, you'd have to measure each with calipers. I have a feeling that a 1" threaded steerer tube is slightly smaller than a 1" threadless given that a partially threaded 1" bolt will slide nicely into a 1" hole.

 

[G-Cracker]

Originally posted by Kornphlake
I have a feeling that a 1" threaded steerer tube is slightly smaller than a 1" threadless given that a partially threaded 1" bolt will slide nicely into a 1" hole.

Originally posted by Repack
Other than weight, I don't see why you couldn't use a threadless stem on the fork. It would be ghetto, but it would also satisfy your need to keep the project cheap. If you are froendly with a shop or have a lot of parts lying around, you may be able to piece together the top half of a threadless hdst for 0.

Slightly conflicting information, but this is exactly what I wanted to know. I just was curious to know if the 1" threaded steertube is the same diameter as a 1" threadless steertube... so I could basically change the fork from a threaded to a threadless by cutting the threads completely off and using a threadless headset and stem.

I'll measure to be sure, and ask my LBS. Besides, being ghetto is cool, right?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by G-Cracker


I'll measure to be sure, and ask my LBS. Besides, being ghetto is cool, right?

Thanks for your help!

If the stem is a little big, you might as well go ghetto all the way and shim it with a piecec of your favorite beer can. A soda can would be less ghetto and therefore will not work as well.