Non-carbon fork road bikes?

[Buster]

Hi! I'm looking to buy my first ever road bike, and my husband (an experienced cyclist) has said that I should not get a bike with a carbon fork (he's worried about weakness and having it break). With that said, it seems like a lot of the bikes I've been looking at (Specialized Dolce, Trek 1.2/1.5, Fuji Finest 1.0) all have carbon forks.

Is there a road bike out there w/o a carbon fork that you'd recommend? Also, any other recommendations you have for me would be great. I've been riding a cheapo hybrid bike and was initially looking to get a better hybrid, but my husband thought that it was time I got a road bike (I've been talking about getting one for a while).

Thanks!!!

[ilima]

Aw, there's nothing wrong with carbon forks in general. Some are better than others. But the vast majority of modern road bikes come with carbon forks. I definitely wouldn't use the fork as the leading criterion when bike shopping.

There are exceptions, usually steel bikes. For example, Bianchi's Volpe has a steel fork. It's more of a cross-touring bike that a true road bike, though. And heavy. Really heavy.

As to recs, take a look at Felt, they have some nicely spec'd bikes and something is certain to fit your budget.

http://feltracing.com/09-catalog/road.aspx

[Mr. SR500]

I would not worry about a carbon fork, it's seems that 99% of the new bikes have them anyway. Some people are concerned with carbon steer tubes (the upper part of the fork), as these can be damaged if the stem is overly tightened. However, carbon steer tubes are only on very high end racing bikes. Most carbon forks use alloy steer tubes.

We just replaced the steel fork on our tandem with a carbon this year. Lighter weight, and very nice ride.

Another option if you feel you must have a steel fork would be go custom. Waterford makes very light steel bikes that can be spec'd with carbon or steel forks. However, you are looking at more then $2000 for just the frame.

[Thorn]

Surly Pacer. It is a heavy bike, but it has an amazing amount of snap for the price. I think the Salsa Caserole also has a steel fork.

But, dig down on why you don't want a carbon fork. Last year I built up a custom Waterford and, while I shied away from carbon, I had no qualms about putting on a carbon fork. Forks have been carbon for a long time and the reliability factor exists.

OK, I'm also building up an S&S coupled Waterford and on that one I'm putting a steel fork. The usage of the bike is different. The S&S coupled bike will spend a lot of time travelling; packed, unpacked, case kicked around by baggage handlers; bike partially unpacked by TSA, etc. etc. Because the bike is out of my control in ways that could damage the integrity of the carbon fork I chose to go with steel. But, for my primary road bike that I take care of and pamper in ways that make my cats jealous? I trust my carbon fork.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm a big fan of steel bikes, and I don't like carbon bikes for myself. But my new custom steel bike has a carbon fork and it's great. Carbon forks can be easily replaced if they break (unlike the hassle of having a carbon frame crack). They also give a smooth ride and are very lightweight.
I like carbon forks even though i don't want a carbon bike.

[Buster]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to test ride some bikes this weekend to see what I like...

My husband is starting to come around on the carbon fork, although he remains unconvinced (and him snapping a carbon oar at rowing practice 2 days ago hasn't helped this discussion!)...

[eofelis]

Surly Pacer. It is a heavy bike, but it has an amazing amount of snap for the price. I think the Salsa Caserole also has a steel fork.

I have been riding my Pacer for 4 years now. It's probably not as fast as other road bikes, but I really like the ride. Or maybe it's just me that's slow!

I really like the steel fork on it. I tried a Reynolds Ouzo Pro ($$$$) carbon fork on it once and I didn't like the way the bike rode with it. So I put the steel fork back on it.

Someday I'm going to upgrade from the Pacer to a custom geometry Gunnar Sport frame and I intend to get a Waterford steel fork to go with it.

Soma also makes some nice steel frames/forks.

[ridebikeme]

Everyone here has made some good suggestions. The fact is that unless you are buying an entry level bike, touring bike, or some of cyclocross bikes... most will come with a carbon fork. With that said, you could always swap out the fork(sell the carbon fork), but there are bikes out there without carbon. What exactly are you looking for? KHS offers a Flite 220 w/o a carbon fork, a touring bike the TR-101, and Redline also offers a couple of their cyclocross bikes without carbon forks.(Conquest)

If you are looking for something custom, look at Lunacycles.. she does a wonderful job and you'll get everything that YOU want!