1.5 inch forks

[imperfectionst]

So I have a Huffy Re-bike with the 16 inch front wheel, and I was thinking about trying to replace it with a 26 inch wheel. The head tube is 1.5 inch, but the forks I see on line are high tech 1.5 inch non-threaded stuff intended for mountain bikes. Is there anywhere I can find a cheap threaded-type fork intended for the 1.5 inch?

 

[Alaskavan]

Junk yards and yard sales?

 

[iRide Customs]

There are these little things called headset reducers that will convert a 1 1/8'' head tube to 1''. You simply insert these in your 1 1/8'' head tube and your 1 '' cups into the reducers. Here's a link...

http://www.choppersus.com/store/product/635/Headtube-Reducer-1-1-8-to-1"/

Alan at Choppers/Cycles US is great to work with and he has quite a bit of cool stuff. He ships world wide as well.

If your head tube is actually a 1.5'', they only make reducers that go down to 1 1/8''.

http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPHSRED/HD9904

Hope this helps,

Dan

 

[ocscully]

So I have a Huffy Re-bike with the 16 inch front wheel, and I was thinking about trying to replace it with a 26 inch wheel. The head tube is 1.5 inch, but the forks I see on line are high tech 1.5 inch non-threaded stuff intended for mountain bikes. Is there anywhere I can find a cheap threaded-type fork intended for the 1.5 inch?

First what are you measureing that is 1.5 in.? My guess is that it is OD of the head tube of the bike? The measurement that is critical when swapping forks is the outside diameter of the steering tube. The most common diameters are 1in., & 1&1/8", Since the bike you are asking about is a Huffy my guess would be that the fork has a 1in. dia steerer tube and just about any beachcruiser or department store mountain bike would be the same diameter. Then you will have to take into consideration the length of the head tube relative to the length of the steerer tube and how much thread is available. This is all assuming that you don't care about how much this change is going to raise the front end of your bike and affect its handling? Its not that what you are asking can't be done it can but you need to know exactly what you want when dealing with your local bike shop or on line retailers as they won't understand and will tell you no it can't be done. When making changes like you are contemplating you are pretty much on your own. You might want to check out Sheldon Browns Web site and do some searches for things like forks and steerer tubes and headsets. His site has a wealth of informatin about these things and has great tables and charts outlining the various sizes of various parts. Time spent there will go along way to help you avoid a lot of trial and error purchases. http://www.sheldonbrown.com

ocscully

 

[imperfectionst]

Yes 1.5" is the OD of the head tube. I don't know how this would effect handling, it's an experiment. Thanks for your help, I'm still a newbie...

 

[turkeyssr]

Yes 1.5" is the OD of the head tube. I don't know how this would effect handling, it's an experiment. Thanks for your help, I'm still a newbie...

The size of the fork (as described) shouldn't effect handling. It's the rake of the fork and it's relationship to the frame. In other words, your new fork should, if at all possible, have the same rake as the old fork. If you change the fork rake, you will change how quickly the bike turns and in essence, the handling characteristics. For example, I changed it on my old Schiwnn road bike by switching to a fork that brought the front tire closer to the down tube. Now, it turns far faster and it is 'twitchy'. It's difficult to ride no handed, but for me, it isn't a big deal. (This bike isn't motorized)
Just some thoughts...

--John

 

[imperfectionst]

The re-bike is twitchy now, I'm hoping to make it more stable, better braking, smoother ride. It came with springs attached to either side of the fork to make it center better!

 

[kevbo]

I forget the brand, but there is one suspension fork in current production that has replaceable steerer tubes that you can get in 1". I'm sure it is a good fork, and they are quite proud of it. (meaning it was too expensive for me to consider)


Pretty much everything else is out of production for 1" steerers, but they show up on ebay at reasonable prices (under $50) fairly often. The exception is the "springer" style cruiser forks, that are widely available. These are popular on motored bikes, probably due as much to the retro look as to any bump attenuation they offer.