Please don’t ask for a disc brake on steel forks, we simply won’t do it!
We use raked blades, these are exceptionally comfortable, they will withstand the forces of cycling (and have done so for generations) but raked forks will not withstand the forces generated by a disc brake, which are very different to the forces generated by V brakes, even at the same rate of retardation. We have seen 3 ways that other manufacturers have “accomplished” this, they all seem stupid to us.
(1) We have had customers complain that a well known custom builder’s raked steel forks have permanently bent under braking.
(2) We have seen hideously uncomfortable, thick walled, straight blades used by another manufacturer, these forks don’t fail, but I expect that an owner’s hands and elbows soon would!
(3) The most ridiculous “solution” of all, is a heavy left blade and lighter right blade. The different blades must have different elastic properties (isn’t that supposed to be the point?) and therefore the axle must twist, when a bump is hit. If the axle twists, then so must the front wheel. If the front wheel twists, then the bike consequently alters course.
Isn’t hitting bumps comfortably and safely the main function of a bicycle’s fork?
Why compromise comfort and safety, in order to fit a brake, which is not the most suitable choice, in the conditions that the steel fork will be used in?
