Terence Hope Posted August 19, 2011 Share Hi guys, right, no laughing, I understand this maybe be a stupid question but im new to this. Could someone please in easy to understand terms explain to me the difference between a straight and tapered fork / steerer. THanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAD4 Posted August 19, 2011 Share If you look at them next to each other, you will notice the following: One is straight. One is tapered. Thinner at the top and wider at the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Hope Posted August 19, 2011 Share I understand the difference between the words tapered and straight, what I was in fact asking is why would you choose one over the other, benefits of tapered or straight etc. Sorry, maybe I didnt ask in the right way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreZA Posted August 19, 2011 Share A straight head tube is the same diameter (1 1/8") top and bottom and tapered starts at 1 1/8" at the top and at the bottom it is 1.5". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimby Posted August 19, 2011 Share Tapered provides a stiffer front end with very little weight penalty - that's the theory anyway. Probelm is you need to check your headtube and headset for compatibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge_Design Posted August 19, 2011 Share It's not necessarily something you get to choose, it depends on your frames headtube design to accomodate the wider bottom end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Hope Posted August 19, 2011 Share i have a specialized epic 2010. would that be straight or tapered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted August 19, 2011 Share i have a specialized epic 2010. would that be straight or tapered? My 2010 Epic's frame is tapered but I use a 'normal' fork with an adapter .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thug Posted August 19, 2011 Share Has anyone scientifically measured how much "stiffer" a tapered steerer tube over a regular 1.125" actually is? I'm willing to bet that most (90% + ) of riders cannot tell the difference, which means that its a marketing gimmick as opposed to pure innovation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebeen Posted August 19, 2011 Share i have a specialized epic 2010. would that be straight or tapered?since you understand the difference between the terms surely you can tell just by looking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeTurbo Posted August 19, 2011 Share A straight fork is heterosexual. I'm guessing the other is gay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted August 19, 2011 Share Its a mission keeping up, different seat posts, stems, bars, forks etc which is why i try keep mine standard as much as i can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Hope Posted August 19, 2011 Share since you understand the difference between the terms surely you can tell just by looking? correct, i could, but im not with my bike right now, and im buying a fork right now. does that answer your question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted August 19, 2011 Share Has anyone scientifically measured how much "stiffer" a tapered steerer tube over a regular 1.125" actually is? I'm willing to bet that most (90% + ) of riders cannot tell the difference, which means that its a marketing gimmick as opposed to pure innovation.Nowadays, whenever some company's marketing material mentions "added stiffness" or such, you know it is post-rationalised BS. The biggest reason for tapered headsets/steerers is manufacturing issues. Nowadays, bike tubes, and especially the down-tube, are much much fatter than before. To fit this to a skinny head tube produces some manufaucturing difficulties. A tapered head tube solves that problem nicely. Afterwards the ponytails go and post-rationalise the change to make people accept it and at the same time, be prepared to pay more for something that produces cheaper manufacuturing. Good bye lemmings, back to work for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAD4 Posted August 19, 2011 Share A straight fork is heterosexual. I'm guessing the other is gay. But a straight fork can be used on both types of frame (with an adaptor on a tapered frame I beleive), kinda like a double adaptor?..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreZA Posted August 19, 2011 Share Nowadays, whenever some company's marketing material mentions "added stiffness" or such, you know it is post-rationalised BS. The biggest reason for tapered headsets/steerers is manufacturing issues. Nowadays, bike tubes, and especially the down-tube, are much much fatter than before. To fit this to a skinny head tube produces some manufaucturing difficulties. A tapered head tube solves that problem nicely. Afterwards the ponytails go and post-rationalise the change to make people accept it and at the same time, be prepared to pay more for something that produces cheaper manufacuturing. Good bye lemmings, back to work for me. Cannondale started this among alot of other things like BB30. They made their tubing so thin, they had to increase the diameter to give it some strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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