Sunlite Threaded LW Fork

I had a bent fork on my bike, which I had laboriously hand-painted the preceding Winter, and put a lot of new parts into; so I bought this fork for a bike that was originally a late-'60's Japanese 3-speed. The chrome looks nice. I had to take the boss for the crown race down a little with a file to get it on because I didn't have a press, but the filing was minimal. The threaded portion of the steering tube is amply long to fit the fork and headset of most bikes, at least those for shorter riders. it is a a 26-inch fork, not a 27. Its dropouts worked well with a 3/8" nutted front axle, and the bike steers well now. This fork is heavier than the chrome-moly one I replaced, but I'm a 70-year-old rider who rides slowly on level ground, and this was a low-geared single-speed bike equipped only with a coaster brake, so performance was not foremost in my mind, correct steering was, and I got that.

I ordered this fork to replace the bent original fork on my 1972 Raleigh Grand Prix. I used the Sunlite 1" threaded headset as well. Both products seem to be surprisingly high quality, no issues with construction or aesthetics on either product. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the Sunlite fork, with crown race installed, uncut for proper length, was noticeably lighter than my original fork. The only setback with this fork was the gigantic sticker that was on the steer tube - and very difficult to get completely off. But, that has nothing to do with the actual product, which is fantastic so far. I have about 150 miles on it so far, and I am very pleased.

Look at the space between the head tube and the top of the fork!!! Also look a the space between the brake and rim. It doesn't even reach!!!!! The way it's welded is very dangerous at that!!! The stress point is all wrong!!! I honestly wouldn't even give this away! I would give it negative 5 starts if I could. DO NOT ORDER THIS IF YOU CARE ANYTHING ABOUT USABILITY AND SAFETY!!!!!

The fork, suitable for a 27" wheel but usable also for 700C, has a 100 mm dropout spacing which was straight and exactly centered - the fork was perfectly aligned. One possible problem would be getting two scooped out washers to fit the front and back of the crown for an old style brake. My picture shows how the front washer appears installed. These may not be so easy to get if you haven't got them. If you have old washers to use this fork's a winner.

I rebuild bikes and often the forks are so bent and tweaked that the bike will NOT ride straight and can be felt pulling to the side even when you are not riding no-hands.So this is my Go-To fork for a rebuild bike that has forks that pull. It's not a fancy or super-light fork but it is made of CroMo and isn't too terribly heavy.This fork does ride very nicely though. If you are used to alloy or carbon this fork is just flexible enough to give you a cushy, almost suspension-like ride and a nice lively feel instead of buzzy/dead/bone-jarring ride that many too-stiff but light forks give you. Sure you will save a pound or so with a carbon fork -but you'll pay a lot more money and many folks don't like the look of modern carbon on a vintage steel bike.There are many decent bikes that deserve a new lease on life but are not worth spending a ton of money on fixing back up, especially on just one part like a fork if it needs a new one. This fork puts bikes back on the road instead of into the smelter to be recycled -or worse yet into a landfill :(The quality of the chrome can be hit or miss. I've had some that are just beautifully-chromed and look like they came off of a high-end chromed 80's road bike. I've had others that were not so nice. I guess it depends on who was on the shift doing the pre-plating prepwork at whatever factory in China these are made in. For the low-low price these sell for I won't complain.I put one of these on a Raleigh Pursuit I built up as a long-distance bike and painted part of the top with high-temp paint and baked it until the finish was hard using an oven. It turned out very well and looks nicer than the painted (but bent) fork that came on the bike. Holding the 80's fork side by side with this replacement they are almost identical -they look like they came out of the same factory even.The dropouts have 2 eyelet-holes in them -one front and one to the rear of the axle. This is nice if you have fenders, or a fender and a front rack. It's a nice touch that you don't see on most budget replacement forks.Check out my picture of the fork I painted. It wasn't hard to tape off the crown and make a nice-looking chrome & painted fork with some decals I made up. Looks like it is factory-made by Raleigh.

Bought this for the trashed '79 Ross Gran Tour frankenstein bike that I use for commuting on some days. A previous owner bent the fork and this was a perfect replacement. It works with 27" and 700c wheels. The two pairs of eyelets next to the fork end gives you more options for mounting fenders or whatever. chrome looks nice but I painted mine because I felt like it. I think this is a tough fork that is on par with, if not better than most hi-ten forks that came on the old 10-speeds 30-40 years ago.

I bought this fork to replace the original 1970 27" Raleigh Super Course one I broke. As the title indicates it's an "Econo Fork" but all I now use that bike for is to commute to work so this one will do--for now. The chrome isn't spactaular and I'm suspicious of the crown. I'm convinced that I will need to keep wiping them down to keep off the rust. One nice thing is that it has 2 screw holes on each tip for mounting fenders or whatever.

Excellent value.Very good workmanship and material. Clean braze and plating, smooth finish.Generous sized steer tube with more than sufficient 4" thread to fit most popular sized frames. The extreme tall frame of 62cm and above may need to look elsewhereNot the lightest nor the stiffest, but it does not cost a few hundred bucks either .Its an economy replacement for value priced bike, not mega dollars hand made master piece.As what it intend to be, its great value. One will had a hard time finding a better deal.