I Made My Own Bike Forks!

Part 2 • Are My Home Made Forks...
Over 15 years ago I made a rigid fork from a busted suspension fork and it worked pretty well. Eventually the IS style disc mount snapped off but the steerer, crown and stanchions all held up fine.
My idea evolved from making a single fork to making three, fatter stanchions, tapered steerers, burlier crowns, bolt through dropouts and post mount brakes should be a big improvement in strength and stiffness and I couldn't resist the temptation to try a carbon version.
I wouldn't really suggest you try this at home just yet, let me put them through some tests and report back.
I'd love to know your thoughts!
Thanks for watching and see you next week, I hope you have a good one!
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#aliclarkson #fabrication #mtb

[@ambrorzykleks6154]

I love when you do things yourself. This is gold

[@senorspiegel]

This is absurd and very dangerous! But then again, so is trials. You're the perfect candidate to test these forks!

[@danwright7389]

The carbon forks look wicked, almost like old Pace forks and give your Hex a really cool retro look. Interested to see how they all hold up.

[@mrmagoo.3678]

I just bought some "Exotic" carbon forks off of ebay for £120 that look REALLY similar..sick forks.

[@mrmagoo.3678]

I took my "Like" off your comment.. can't mess with the '69'

[@robadobdob]

As a bonus, the tool you used to press the legs into the crown, can now be used as a headset press.

[@pojepoje4054]

they look sick! especially the carbon ones. plus you can insert another tube in there easily for more strength. really cool

[@John-e1w3v]

Finally someone that works like me. Better to try n fail than do what others around you do.

[@aydenhanlon1674]

Very important thing missed here and I dont want anyone copying this. When cutting carbon you must spray it with water or wear a dust mask. Carbon dust is super dangerous!

[@MC_5562]

Come on dude, it's just plastic

[@hemiboyrcbmxerwilliams7599]

This unexpectedly is my favourite video you have made. I’d love to see more of this content.

[@johnoutdoorvideos]

Massive respect for the creativity and drive you put in your unique builds.

[@allanbuchan6947]

I admire your persistence Ali . Good job .

[@raumo123]

This is some serious modding, i like it!

[@nathanclair3495]

Amazing work Ali! You are persistent and creative in your projects and it really shows in the end. Your builds are creative and beautiful and some of my favorite entertainment! Even if they end up breaking, figuring out how to build something teaches so much about the engineering and manufacturing process and challenges of each component, so it’s never a waste of time!

[@michaelfowell223]

This video was extremely useful, I learned that if I need some rigid forks, that I should buy some rigid forks. Thanks 👍

[@Ali_Clarkson]

lol happy to help 😂

[@michaelfowell223]

@@Ali_Clarkson Hi there Ali, thank you for your reply and having a good sense of humour.😂 Just our of interest I was wondering if you had given any of your creations a road test so to speak and if so what are your opinions on their performance?👍😊

[@Ali_Clarkson]

@@michaelfowell223 they need more work 😋

[@michaelfowell223]

@@Ali_Clarkson I appreciate your reply Ali and fully respect your honesty.👍😊 PS as an afterthought it may have been an idea to implement the brace section from the lower legs to add rigidity.👍

[@Metal-Possum]

Litepro stuff is actually quite reasonable. I use a pair of their 20" (451mm) wheels on my recumbent, and they look great and perform just fine. I've also got a soft spot for their cranksets, which look a bit like the classic Cook Bros cranksets of the 1990's. Litepro might be for the Asian market, but they're focused heavily as upgrades for your folding bike, and don't lack in quality at all.

[@ThugZ3r0]

That man is absolutely a legend! So many allround knowledge!

[@screew708]

Some thoughts: when you used aluminium tape as shims, you are relying on the bond of the tape to the upper tubes. This is probably quite a lot to ask from the adhesive. This could come undone over time. Bonding with epoxy would be better. The epoxy you are using also seems quite viscous and there is a bunch of air trapped inside from mixing it with the hardener. This might leave you with a less than ideal glue joint. I like the idea though and hats off for trying this and the courage to ride this thing. I really hope you don't get hurt from failing forks.

[@captainsoom]

THIS! 👆

[@Shtormuotojas]

nah, he'll be fine. unless he unweighs his front wheel so hard, the wheel breaks loose lol unlikely

[@2552legoboy]

agree the tape isnt as good as the coke shim with double sided apxy

[@gearzpop8457]

He could have sanded the surfaces too to promote bonding.

[@joski9030]

I sold a bike to a lad a week later I saw him with a smashed up face one of the fork legs come up thru the top yoke 😬

[@TrueNomadSkies]

When this came up as a suggestion, I thought to myself wtf why/how would someone go about cutting up forks just to make their own solid fork when they could just find one anywhere... But the 25 minute runtime got me curious and thinking about the potentially interest troubleshooting process. I was not wrong, and even just half way in this is super cool.

[@planet_oith]

I have a pair of seized suntor that had a snapped leg which I sleeved with an alloy tube and JB welded(glued). They hold up but look bad and I won't trust them on heavy ground. Watching this video is perfect for me. Thanks!

[@newttella1043]

Great idea! I might do this to make my own suspension corrected rigid fork. Crapped out forks are the bane of retro bikes! Actually impressed with the build quality of the cheap new forks too.

[@thomaskilloy2534]

Some of the most original bike content, you will have a million subscribers in no time just keep it up.

[@keanoscarermitano619]

The silver ones with the bolt-on brake studs are looking gorgeous!

[@paulrobinson4987]

Cool stuff man, my suspension fork is almost dead, now I know what my next forks are going to be.

[@Anatedu861]

Super fun project and vid! Now I want to try that too! I happen to have an old school (90s) RST suspension fork with crown-bolted stanchions and steerer, on which the elastomere stack has crumbled a long time ago. I could realistically just lock the fork legs in the right spot, but your way adds more bling, unnecessary weight gains and compounds bondage plugs - which I now feel like I definitely need. :D

[@aagelucardie3137]

Fantastic video! I love the humor and the content. Unique in every way. Keep up the great work Ali!

[@customerisalwaysrigh]

Again, im so impressed with the stuff you manage to do in your shop! Keep it up!

[@romeocorvinus3465]

Wow!! I've been wanting to try this but nowhere to reference from. Thank you so much! Now I have a direction of what to do.

[@voyvadaroyva88]

Sick! Fox one looks badass for sure! Respect for ancient technics with can, in old times we used it to fix crankarms - works great!

[@MrPlum1282]

Amazing, Ali! They are all kind of reminiscent to the USE trials fork from way back when! The carbon ones look great on the hex. Bravo buddy, top work! 🤩

[@jgurtz]

Great and I'd trust them for sure. That carbon one looks especially nice! You can make sure about the epoxy if you toss them in a 100-125C oven for a few hours.

[@ilyaanshmidt7160]

One of the craziest things I've seen! Really admire your willingness to experiment! The process of installing the dropouts with the foil and how easy it got installed by hand concerns me. But I hope it will hold up for you.

[@hunterarek]

They all look ridiculously awesome! Also, big yes for the Kashima project :D

[@sapinva]

The heat and cold thing only works on materials with dissimilar thermal expansion. For example a hardened steel race on an aluminum steer tube. You also have to factor in thermal transfer. A good replacement for a hydraulic press is a hydraulic jack. It should give you at least 10,000 lbs of force, much more than a small threaded rod.

[@thetart20]

Absolutely classic Ali C. Top stuff!

[@noedigonnet5322]

Insane, very impressive. Congratulations Ali !

[@michael_emtb]

I absolutely loved this video!! Well done Ali, some great thinking there!! Love the carbon ones on your Hex, they do look cool AF!!! 😎

[@markpeterson8978]

Wow Ali! This is crazy and a super bad idea. I Love it! I really dig your can do attitude and creativity. You have been inspiring me to tackle many projects that I never would have tried. Thank you Sir. and be careful testing those forks. It will be really interesting to see how they perform and how they fail but hopefully they don't. I am comforted by the reality that if they fail you will, most likely, be able to extricate yourself gracefully from the situation. Cheers!

[@andrewsneacker1256]

Mark... Not everybody weights a ton :D

[@mattlawton4715]

Thay can't fail as thay are being pushed together there is a lip on the top mount so it will just stop at that and the bottom is a cup so won't come out under wright load if you get me 👍

[@elmerallasas5173]

A perfect match for my Ritchey P29er with 1 1/8" headtube, thanks for the idea!!!

[@melwalshmtb9121]

Ali this was genuinely one of the most interesting, GRIPPING, if you will (FITTING joke don't you think?) videos I've watched on KZbin. The Fox 34 version reminded me of Intends forks. Amazing video lad, keep it up!

[@dansacco1964]

Excellent work with limited tooling! If you dry ice the tube and put the crown in the oven you would get one shot to fit it quickly. The problem is that the temps equalize almost instantly. I also think you should use easily removable caps so you can carry snacks in the tubes!

[@up.grayedd]

the whole build took me back i did a build back in '95ish when i put a Votec doublebridge rigidfork on my overpowerd chinaaluframe (that was awesome btw) the votecfork came with canti/vbracke clamps too - i put them to good use wearing some campagnolo cantis (early vees - still did them by a very flat cantycable - they bit so hard) the clou about the clamps is to get a breakboost - use them wisley angeled, so they bite while they drag - only some °s.

[@R3ddyyg]

I will have nightmares from all the screeching and crumbling sounds the forks made... Great video, loved it!

[@harrie205]

nice video but be carefull with the fire(many metal parts are heat threated and can becomemuch weaker if you heat them above a certain point("destroying" the heat thretment)) ps nice forks and nice idea

[@gtasomogyi]

Nice tutorial! Well done!

[@glennpettersson9002]

That was an amazing hack, thanks.

[@Dwaynefreeman]

Imagine doing a rigid fork using a fox with kashima coating and leave the sag ring, hilarious

[@brucemacdonald5532]

Alongside Niko Mulally's Frameworks series, really enjoying these self-builds! If you could get the support, it would be really cool to design and weld your own custom trails frame. Shout out to Stirling Bike Doctor by the way, sad to hear he's closing. My dropper was badly seized in the frame last year and I was really keen to removed it without damage to either the bike or post as they were both basically new. However, Andy managed to get everything apart without incident which was a massive relief. Cheers Andy!

[@craftyukraine]

Awesome and relaxing video to watch.👍🏻Can’t wait to see the test ride.😊

[@benm8605]

Really cool project-- The carbon forks remind me of my old Manitou Supernova X-Vert, I ran them with the decals removed for a while, showing the carbon. Like the look of the gold ones you made too, +1 for a kashima build. Another idea to find long tubes-- older used DH forks / bikes, I see good deals pop up, old marzocchis / rockshox triple clamps

[@feedbackzaloop]

Amazed as always with your surfacing skills! Those crowns look like from sand blasting

[@Dwyane1st]

Not my first time watching this but Ali's DIY works are on LTT level in terms of jankiness. Love it

[@draggonhedd]

Love this sorta thing. I always love the pace style forks but they are difficult to find on this side of the pond, so i was gonna make my own. Love that you just had the same idea The carbon one is cool for sure, but i think the all bright aluminum one is the one for me! I'd like to see one of em on your cannondale

[@shawnemerylalfarosuyo5738]

I love it! Keep up the great content Ali! Huge inspiration for bikers and mechanics!

[@JosephBank]

I really enjoy your riding videos and was a little unsure if I would enjoy this, but man was it good. Great job on the video.

[@twinshock175]

Plenty of "bodge" happening in the video, including using shifter adjustable spanners. End result - pure craftsmanship!

[@justaperson1812]

crazy that it all worked out, very interested to see if they survive the tests

[@weareallbeingwatched4602]

Ali Clarkson needs a mig welder, a pile of one inch box, and a bottle jack in the post. Paging AvE to the thread. They have nice big rocks in Canada, too. You guys would kick it. Yea that steerer tube press did the job.

[@ThugZ3r0]

Wow! Can't even tell, how impressed am I of you really did it possible! Looks really danger, btw!

[@mattlawton4715]

They look great I can't see them failing as the weight will only push them together and no way the wheel can fall off under it's own load in a jump etc. Keep doing these project great content 👍

[@joeldriver381]

Cool project. They look nice. I am always amazed with your hacks and your ability to pull it off with basic tools.

[@caerba1969]

awesome job! thanks for sharing.

[@dotianifrancois7699]

Looking good🙂 I always have fascination towards rigid tubular MTB forks

[@hellochair7202]

Man I didn't know i liked hitting things as much as i liked watching people hit things, excellent

[@lesliewiltshire4519]

That was awesome Ali. Well done.👍✌️

[@chrisl2656]

When you hit a handheld thing, most of the energy just goes into the spring/damper system that is your other arm. You really need the most rigid fixture you can to get a high force spike.

[@letsgocamping88]

Kashima 😂. When you're using heat to expand the outer you need to get lots of heat in quick so you don't heat the tube in the centre. Aluminium has a really low melting point so torches can be a bit aggressive. You can end up melting them. I find a heat gun works well. My friend used rag wrapped around crank arms and boiling water poured on them to free them from a BB spindle

[@jukos3]

Oh my god. I work like high end automatic machine designer and this happy path of creation is nice, horible, crazy, lucky and awesome at same time. I wish good luck.

[@ReturnOfTheGhoulScouts]

"I'm not convinced fire will work for removing the legs but I like fire" - brilliant! 👍😄

[@damir3668]

Ali, that's true ingenuity! Hats off to you! I think the original fork still looks better on the hex, though

[@compt3ck]

The forks remind me of the vintage YESS bmx forks. I had a pair for a few years.

[@renewrestoreexteriorcleani5273]

Next time use the top cap the way it was meant. Fit a spacer under it that can push against the tube as it is threaded in. May take several spacers of varying sizes if it would work. The threads may not be strong enough.

[@jackguthrie6282]

AWESOME!! cant wait to watch

[@lonoreturns]

Awesome. Love all the forks. Mibbie one with some nice intricate steel roadie lug type designs in the future???

[@tummy_fritters]

And with that, ALI-fork™ was born: the best trials fork manufacturer in Ali Clarkson's garage.

[@TNWWDGTFilms]

@Ali you are the best, honestly about 800-1000 euros into a small benchtop lathe, and tooling you'd be able to make this video again or possibly a 3-4 part series of you learning to use it, making forks and testing them.

[@absolute___zero]

lathes are obsolete things, now we are using CNC routers which are able to machine anything, including all parts of this fork. A chinese CNC router for 700 USD would be able to make this fork and no glue would be required

[@prototypecomponents]

Great video! Hope the forks last longer than the Lauf forks or the fox gravel forks or the trek fat bike forks or ... wait a min I'm noticing a trend here... Good luck! lol. - I made some forks 24" steel street trials forks out of T45 steel 20years ago and still have the scare on my chin from when I snapped them!

[@nipon56470]

Long time ago I tried with a friend to removed a stucked seat-post by feeling it with liquid nitrogen, and torching the frame at the same time... didn't worked, but that was legendary!

[@ericm8811]

Hey Ali Clarkson! A man, a hacksaw and his brain can do almost anything! You almost lost points for creating something useful but you gained them back because some people will disapprove of your creations! Ride ride ride!

[@aliastagami2346]

This is peak mad lad status for your channel.

[@renceonmc681]

Its cool and those carbon will flex alot so gonna give comfort ay

[@fjodorgrigorow3851]

Thank you Ali that was supercool! Your patiency and craftman knowledge is great too! :- )) Enjoy your new babies! And have great success with them!

[@charlieamos6640]

Good job you made 3 forks awesome

[@moustachiox3562]

Somebody get this man a mill and a lathe and hopefully his own component design company.

[@jp119]

So cool. They all look mint!

[@TimInertiatic]

Good work I fancy trying that! Although...cutting the lowers at different lengths makes my teeth itxh

[@torist043]

“Or make one of dropper posts to hav adjustable length “ that would run to see, and most interesting would be if you could find a practical use for it 😁 love your build vids!

[@desmondlee1550]

Again. You are my hero Ali !! I kept laughing cause I can humbly relate to the urge of problem solving lol

[@godskitchen82]

Love the “Look Around You” reference 😂

[@jiebenmetal216]

I really like the way you build it

[@TheKevinAdventures]

Franken forks! I love this sketchy home building!

[@maxschubert3940]

Awesome video. Getting some Allen Millyard vibes here.

[@Kohlwheelz]

Very entertaining vidro I'm always looking forward to Friday but I would love to see more trials videos😀

[@phrixos2826]

I have to admit, watching you chop up those fox forks, made me cring a bit, but, the finished result is beautiful! i love these style of rigid forks. Well done!

[@11jeopardy11]

Thanks Andy! thandy!

[@constantinehatzis2807]

I really admire the enthusiasm to modify. Some advice though....sell a few pairs of forks an buy a metal lathe. You will really be able to do some great mods. All the best.

[@supervortex8363]

bloody good job that,hope they hold

[@maucina12]

cant wait for kashima version

[@babylonbroken]

Nice "Look around you" reference.

[@Jaymoid]

Thanks Andy... THANDY!

[@babylonbroken]

yes @@Jaymoid - Yaymoid

[@TryboBike]

Those suspension forks are actually pretty OK... EDIT: In order to free a press-fit legs ( or steerers ) you need a hydraulic press. You can get one for less then all those forks cost, really.

[@RamsayMacFarlane]

Nice work Ali! 👏

[@6stringsmonk]

Reminds me of Fournales forks Coustellier brothers used to ride on (with Coustellier St.Blaise frames).