Fork stanchions

john robert bould · Mar 12, 2011

I have just received a email . "Your Dampers are to thick to enter the tubes" all 200 sets are 23.5 mm max dia, is 26mm the Normal internal bore dia, ? As any one had stanchions with THICKER wall thickness ?

bwolfie · Mar 12, 2011

I had a set of aftermarket ones that had a smaller bore, the stock springs barely fit. Actually I had to rework the tubes and massage the springs, It looks like a problem with their fork tubes.

john robert bould · Mar 12, 2011

bwolfie said:
I had a set of aftermarket ones that had a smaller bore, the stock springs barely fit. Actually I had to rework the tubes and massage the springs, It looks like a problem with their fork tubes.

For the springs to be tight the stachion wall must be quite thick?, At least 2mm smaller, Makes you wonder who is doing the spec?

No doubt these after market items are made in India ,ordered by None-caring .profit inspired Fools! Makes me bleedin STEAM!

bwolfie · Mar 12, 2011

Unfortunatly I have no Idea who made mine. I got them out of the basment collection of a local, now closed, cycle shop, about 12 years ago, and who knows how long they were down there. The chrome was beautiful and they looked realy nice. It's a shame people don't take pride in copying parts. it's not that hard. Buy from trusted known sources.

Flo · Mar 12, 2011

bwolfie said:
Unfortunatly I have no Idea who made mine. I got them out of the basment collection of a local, now closed, cycle shop, about 12 years ago, and who knows how long they were down there. The chrome was beautiful and they looked realy nice. It's a shame people don't take pride in copying parts. it's not that hard. Buy from trusted known sources.

I buy from trusted/wel known sources & still get crap.
Nobody cares anymore.

swooshdave · Mar 12, 2011

Flo said:
I buy from trusted/wel known sources & still get crap.
Nobody cares anymore.

I don't think Les counts... :wink:

ZFD · Mar 12, 2011

As the saying goes "you get what you pay for". Why a Chinese/Indian/English pirate should care about dimensions is beyond me- they know who buys their crap, and the importers and/or retailers of their stuff couldn't care less.

In order to just get the correct original specification seamless steel tubing to make the fork stanchions Andover Norton has to buy two tons at a time- it is not the run-of-the-mill general purpose steel pirate ones are made off. We then machine them to original drawings. If you want cheaper ones, I know at least three manufacturers/wholesalers of cheap imitations. Are they the correct steel? No. Are they chromed and then ground to size? No. That is probably why their chrome looks so shiny and "beautiful".

Sometimes I wonder why we bother- people are quite happy to buy inferior stuff.

Hobot · Mar 12, 2011

Oh Ugh, a new out of the box or bin let down. I just learned a couple months ago that by far most the fork friction comes from springs rubbing and binding inside the stanchions. Trixie Combat forks had about froze up just sitting a couple years and checked everything to be frustrated till putting back together noticed the spring resistance then the rust on springs and inside stanchions. Sand paper on long tube in drill got back normal Roadholder smooth action. Glad to know Anover has made the effort for us, sometimes I hear they ain't so good.

john robert bould · Mar 12, 2011

ZFD said:
As the saying goes "you get what you pay for". Why a Chinese/Indian/English pirate should care about dimensions is beyond me- they know who buys their crap, and the importers and/or retailers of their stuff couldn't care less.

In order to just get the correct original specification seamless steel tubing to make the fork stanchions Andover Norton has to buy two tons at a time- it is not the run-of-the-mill general purpose steel pirate ones are made off. We then machine them to original drawings. If you want cheaper ones, I know at least three manufacturers/wholesalers of cheap imitations. Are they the correct steel? No. Are they chromed and then ground to size? No. That is probably why their chrome looks so shiny and "beautiful".

Sometimes I wonder why we bother- people are quite happy to buy inferior stuff.

My local Chrome Plater charge's £120 to hard chrome and grind/polish,,,Ebay dealers are now selling stanchions for £39 :!: Makes me think what sort of "Door handle" chrome they use :x

Fork stanchions

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