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Carbonda fork vibration

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jannmayer:
I've been having some vibrations on the fork of my Carbonda 707 gravel bike. Some times when I am riding on a bumpy surface and braking lightly, the fork will start to vibrate, like a shudder almost. I can't get it to happen on smooth surfaces, and it seems worse if I have less weight on the front wheel. The headset appears tight. I squeezed the front brake and rocked the bike back and forth and couldn't feel anything loose. The hub seems fine. I didn't check the brake rotor to make sure it's tight, but it doesn't feel or sound like that was an issue. The brakes are GRX with Shimano resin pads and Shimano rotors.


Does this indicate a problem with the fork? Or am I just somehow exciting its natural frequency in some conditions?

FullCarbonAlchemist:
If the headset seems otherwise tight, maybe double check the carbon plug?

I forget, are you using the OEM headset? ACR cable routing?

jannmayer:
I am using the factory headset and plug, no ACR routing. I will check the headset tonight if I have time

jannmayer:
I reinstalled the carbon plug. The top bolt wasn't very tight, so maybe that was the issue. It felt more like the fork flexing than a loose headset though.

FullCarbonAlchemist:
Carbon plugs are always tricky in my experience. They have to be checked, tightened and even re-settled pretty often.

This (plus ease of trimming the steerer tube, higher stack height and 15mm axle compatibility) is a big part of why I’m trying a suspension fork on my initial 707 build rather than the OEM carbon fork. After carbon plug issues cropped up several times with my fat bike when it had a carbon fork I just like the peace of mind of a star nut system.

I also use FSA headsets instead of the Carbonda OEM ones because I’ve had some creaking and slight knocking/play develop in the one that came with my FM1002. Swapping out for an FSA no.55R-558 (no cable routing) solved that immediately. At some point if you’re still feeling shudder despite the plug being tight, you may want to consider that upgrade before looking at a different fork.

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