FWIW, I still remember how in my pre-Rivendell life I had a steel Gunnar cyclocross bike that naturally came with a steel fork. Since at the time I believed carbon was better (but somehow loved how the Gunnar rode more than my high-end Specialized Roubaix), I ordered a carbon fork right away (and removed one pound off the weight of the bike) which I proceeded to use on the bike with 23mm tires.
Then one day, the top cap of the fork separated (it was glued to prevent the tip of the carbon steerer from being crushed by the stem) and I took it back to my LBS to have it reglued. For reasons I cannot recall now, I had to leave the fork at the LBS for about a week or so, which left me no option but to re-install the original steel fork. I did that, and on my next morning commute to work, when I reached a stretch of road that had several large ruts in the pavement that always made me nervous because I felt they wanted to catch my tire and throw me off the bike, I braced myself as usual to ride over them. To my greatest amazement, I rode over them and didn't feel a thing. I mean, all of a sudden it was as if I had suspension on my bike. No sense that the ruts were trying to throw me off the bike, no jarring as I rode over them. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say, I left the steel fork on the bike and rode it like that until I sold it when I bought my first Rivendell bike. The fit and position of the Gunnar were just wrong for me, but I loved how it rode with its steel fork better than my way more expensive Specialized Roubaix. That one I sold after I fully understood that there was no way I was going to ever be able to ride it with any semblance of comfort after I had switched to the Rivendell fit. So, if I was able to get an identical carbon frame to any of my Rivendells, I'd still prefer the steel ride. If I was going to go custom, however, I'd consider a Ti frame. I don't know if there are Ti forks or how they ride, but most likely I'd put a steel fork. On the other hand, between a custom lugged steel frame and a regular welded Ti frame, I'd think I'd end up going for the steel lugged frame. That is, assuming I found a custom builder that gave me the option... :-) The same experience happened to me years ago when living in Venezuela. I had an aluminum Titus dual suspension frame that rode wonderfully, but fear of riding it on the street made me get a cheaper hard tail. Unknowingly to me at the time, I found a great deal on a Jamis Dragon hardtail steel frame and proceeded to build it. In case you haven't guessed it, the bike I ended loving more for its ride was the steel hardtail (with tubeless tires) instead of the fancier dual suspension bike (also with tubeless tires). So I learned my lesson twice: steel bikes ride like no other bikes for me. René -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
