How do I choose a BMX fork?
BMX forks are a crucial part of the bike and can affect how your bike will feel. If you race then you will want bmx race forks which are generally lightweight carbon bmx forks. For freestyle BMX street, park and trails you will generally be running 4130 chromoly steel 20 inch bmx forks.
We have a large range of bmx forks for sale at Backyard BMX and probably the main choice when picking your new fork will be the offset. This measurement will affect the responsiveness and stability of your BMX. Shorter offsets of 25mm or less are generally ridden by BMX street riders for a responsive feel and 28mm+ offset forks are the choice of BMX park and BMX trails riders for the stability provided at speed. Please be aware most forks come with an integrated headset race for internal / campy style headsets. If you have an A-headset with cups separate to the frame you will require a fork without this. Once you've decided on the offset your next choise will probably be colour. Whether you are looking for some classic chrome bmx forks, want to go more modern with a set of black or white bmx forks. Most riders tend to keep things simple with the forks and add colour to their build through other bmx parts like pedals, tyres, and grips.
BMX forks can come at different price levels with differing production techniques. Almost all forks sold separately will come with a 1pc steerer tube which ensures there is no weakness in the crucial area of your bike. They can also have butted tubing; this is where the tubing gets thinner in certain areas to save weight and then thicker in other areas for increased strength. Fork legs are generally tapered to also save on weight and the main variable for BMX forks is the dropouts.
Do BMX have brakes?
You will also need to factor in whether you want to run brakes when replacing forks. The vast majority of BMX forks are brakeless so if you're looking for bmx forks with brake mounts be sure to check this prior to purchase.
What is the offset on BMX forks? Tell me more...
The dropouts are where the wheel slots into the fork and are the only place where you can adjust the way the bike will ride. This is done through a measurement called offset. This is the distance from the centre of the fork leg to where the centre of the hub axle will sit in the dropout. Offsets can be anywhere from 0mm up to 32mm, but the average for BMX forks will be between 15-32mm. The shorter the offset the quicker the bike will steer and the easier it will be to do nose manuals. Longer offsets with give more stability at speed and make the bike feel less twitchy. Generally anything shorter than 25mm would suit BMX street riders, with 25-28mm being for BMX park, and 32mm for trail and bowl riders. As ever these will be plenty of exceptions with riders for this personal preference.
When it comes to fork dropout technology there are 2 main types of dropout, either a laser cut or machined chromoly plate or an investment cast chromoly dropout. Investment cast (IC) dropouts are considered a better technique in general as it removes the need for the weld, however some of the strongest forks will have welded dropouts due to the design and welding techniques used.
Forks will also come with an alloy top cap, this will be listed with an H or M measurement. Normally these are H18, H24 or H25 and this refers to the thread which the top cap will screw into. Almost all the time as long as you match up the thread size top caps will be interchangeable between forks.