J&L Titanium Rigid Disc Fork

[USAisDOA]

Anyone with any real world experience with this manufacturer and product?

I'm skeptical.. I wonder if stiff enough for a disc.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/121739057251?var=425768058094

[TheKaiser]

Anyone with any real world experience with this manufacturer and product?

I'm skeptical.. I wonder if stiff enough for a disc.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/121739057251?var=425768058094

No experience on my end, but thank you for posting it as I will be curious to see if anyone pops up. Ti forks have always seemed like they could have a nice ride, but yet you see them so rarely, particularly from the big/highly reputable Ti builders like Moots, Seven, etc... which has always struck me as weird. I'd have thought that if a Ti fork was a good thing, those builders who have businesses based off promoting Ti as a bike frame material would have gone that route.

[Steve Curtis]

Ti forks tend to be bendy and prone to catastrophic failure.
They were gaining popularity in the 90s mtb scene until the failures started to happen. Pace forks were known for this.
They don't offer anything over carbon other than they'd look nice on a matching frame.

And coming from J&l they're probably extra crappy.

[USAisDOA]

Your referencing a product line from around 25 years ago.. from one maker??

We hear no complaints of "bendy" titanium bicycle frames?

Again.... Looking for actual experience with the product. By no means sold on going that route, just curiosity.

[Steve Curtis]

Your referencing a product line from around 25 years ago.. from one maker??

We hear no complaints of "bendy" titanium bicycle frames?

Again.... Looking for actual experience with the product. By no means sold on going that route, just curiosity.

Others have made Ti forks which failed but most people know hope, hence the reference.
It was about 25 years ago when they discovered it's a crap material for making forks which I why you don't see them.

Ti is more bendy than steel so they need to use a bigger diameter tube to attain the same stiffness. This isn't possible as the steerer tube junction is a fixed size. They can either make the fragile bendy forks or use much thicker tube which means the fork isn't really any lighter than a steel equivalent and is much much more expensive.

They tend to snap at the steerer junction during testing. Given J&l make some of the most poorly made worst components on the market, im sure theyve been tested and are perfectly ok.

Go buy some and do a review ?

[bikewithnoname]

They were gaining popularity in the 90s mtb scene until the failures started to happen. Pace forks were known for this.

Pace didn't make titianium forks. All thier stanchions were Alu, Steel or Carbon, lots of ti bolts and coatings (on the suspension) but RC 30/31/32 weren't titanium legged.

[Steve Curtis]

They were gaining popularity in the 90s mtb scene until the failures started to happen. Pace forks were known for this.

Pace didn't make titianium forks. All thier stanchions were Alu, Steel or Carbon, lots of ti bolts and coatings (on the suspension) but RC 30/31/32 weren't titanium legged.

Correct, they never released them due to failure. They did the carbon bonded alloy and magnesium versions.

[joejack951]

Others have made Ti forks which failed but most people know hope, hence the reference.
It was about 25 years ago when they discovered it's a crap material for making forks which I why you don't see them.

Titanium is still used for forks: https://bearclawbicycleco.com/titanium-gravel-fork/

Claiming that titanium is ‘too flexy’ to use for forks is simply wrong. For a given tube outer diameter, steel and titanium are going to be roughly the same strength and stiffness (titanium being ~half as stiff as steel but also ~half as dense). Of course, titanium has the huge downside of being way more difficult to machine and weld than steel. So while a perfectly good titanium fork can be built, it isn’t going to be cost-competitive. That’s the reason they aren’t popular relative to steel forks. Factor in carbon fiber, and it is painfully obvious while few builders bother messing with titanium.

[Steve Curtis]

For a given tube outer diameter, steel and titanium are going to be roughly the same strength and stiffness. Wrong, Ti would need to be thicker.

This was relayed to me by two custom bike builders who I spoke to about building a Ti frame and fork. Moots, you may be aware of them. We're one and Carver were the other.
You probably know more than these guys so I'll leave you to it.

[joejack951]

For a given tube outer diameter, steel and titanium are going to be roughly the same strength and stiffness. Wrong, Ti would need to be thicker.

This was relayed to me by two custom bike builders who I spoke to about building a Ti frame and fork. Moots, you may be aware of them. We're one and Carver were the other.
You probably know more than these guys so I'll leave you to it.

I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt since my statement was missing the qualification of ‘holding weight constant’. Yes, titanium will need to be thicker, but it can afford to be because it is half as dense as steel. Which was my point: titanium isn’t yielding a weight advantage but it isn’t giving up anything either.

[CustomMetal]

Tom sturdy seems to manage it... but his are 3D printed and 6/4 not 3/2

[joejack951]

Tom sturdy seems to manage it... but his are 3D printed and 6/4 not 3/2

Has he ever built a fork using those titanium lugs? I’ve seen plenty of frames built but never a custom fork either fully titanium or just with titanium lugs. I’d be curious to see one if he has.

[CustomMetal]

Just check his Instagram! I'm expecting mine before the end of the year.. but quite a few out in the wild and he did extensive testing before release