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The nightmare was that some clueless rider with a good lawyer would pedal through a high-speed corner, catch a pedal, spin out and crash. Once the marketplace had become accustomed to high bottom brackets, manufacturers became afraid to sell bikes with low ones any more. This is a good thing for serious off-road riding, giving better clearance for logs, rocks, ruts and other obstacles. When mountain bikes became the default style of bike for most buyers, people got used to 11 1/2", 12 1/2" or even higher bottom brackets. Everybody knew that they shouldn't pedal while leaning sharply into a high-speed corner. Traditional bikes for road use normally had bottom brackets about 10 5/8" from the road. Better older English and French road bikes often provide considerably more ride comfort at the front end, without making the forks unduly weak. While everybody wants a reliable fork, many newer bikes have over-reacted to this concern, resulting in bikes with a harsh, jolting ride. Lawsuit-shy contemporary manufacturers tend toward a "belt and suspenders" approach with a part like a fork which is likely to cause injury if it breaks. The blade is as strong as it needs to be, and more flexible. After the tube is tapered, wall thickness at the bottom is only as great as it is at the top. Reynolds taper-gauge fork blades, and similar fork blades from other makers, start out as tubes with tapered wall thickness, thinner at the lower end.
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As a result, the wall thickness increases at the lower end, resulting in more strength than needed, and in unnecessary stiffness.
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Then the tube's diameter is squeezed down toward the lower end of each fork blade, using rollers. Some aren't even tapered.Ī low-end tapered steel front fork blade starts out as a tube of constant diameter and constant wall thickness.
#MURRAY BIKE MODELS 12 SPEED FULL#
Many of today's forks have straight fork blades, or blades that curve forward gradually over their full length. The curve of each fork blade is concentrated in the most flexible part of the fork, also making for a smoother ride.
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The traditional fork extends in a straight line with the steerer tube, then curves forward where its diameter is smallest at the bottom. This was partly accomplished by different geometry (less upright head-tube angles, more fork rake) and partly by selection of the thickness of the fork blades. Older European bikes had forks that were designed to be purposely flexible, to act as a sort of "suspension" on bumpy surfaces. Sales of higher-end bicycles also increased during the bike boom, and many of these are gathering dust too. And, as the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all ships. It is more often a concern that many components - brakes, rims - but above all, drivetrain components - were not as good as the ones sold today. Usually, the frames were OK, though you do need to be on the lookout for incomplete brazing. Some lower-end Bike Boom bikes were assembled hastily. The manufacturers were caught by surprise, and product was suddenly in very short supply Suddenly hordes of baby boomers were standing in line demanding 10 speeds. When the Bike Boom hit, the industry was stood on its head. While many bike shops also carried a few adult models, the bulk of the business was focused on children. Prior to 1973, going back to the late '40s, bicycles were primarily seen as children's toys. The "Bike Boom" led to a revolution in the U.S. (It is commonly believed that the bike boom resulted from the 1974 oil shortages, but in fact, bicycle sales were already on the decline then).