Linn Kastan, www.vintagebmx.com: We didn't stop making those things for about six years. They were known as "chromoly forks" and that's all anybody called them in those days, was "Redline forks" or "Redline chromoly forks."
Heavy, bladed Ashtabula forks would soon become a thing of the past.
Thomas Goering, www.ridebmx.com, march 2008: Schlachtschiff fork with small stems under the tubes. At this time the front axles always broke and with our idea the pegs clamped into to dropouts and couldnt bend anymore. Each part of the fork could be replaced.
BMX Plus! may 1993: After breaking and bending virtually every stem and fork on the market, Matt Hoffman and Chad Herrington have come up with a revolutionary new design that may be indestructible. Since forks always seem to bend at the steerer tube, they have added an extra piece of metal running the length of the tube, which acts as an I-beam inside for added strength. The tube is also about 2-1 /4 inches longer than normal forks. The aluminum stem is then connected to the top of the steerer tube via a set of Allen bolts. This way there is no stem shaft to get tweaked or come loose. This stem/fork combination is currently going through Kiss of Death testing by Chad as well as Davin "Psycho" Halford and they have had no problems so far. This combo should be available in mid-April (chrome forks with either aluminum or "velvet paisley" colored stem (and will cost about the same as a regular stem and forks.
Mark Noble, Ride BMX UK june 1994: This issue sees the introduction onto the marketplace of a new concept in BMX - clamp-on stems and Aheadset systems. The product has been doing the mountainbike circuit for a couple years now along with the rise in popularity of suspension, and it's a good idea which is slowly creeping onto our bikes. Some people within the BMX industry are claiming that in a couple years the system could replace the standard stem with shaft and regular headset, at least on bikes in the mid-price range and up.
We all know the problems that come with regular stems: apart from headsets that can loosen up, stems slipping from side to side, stem-heads working loose on the stem shaft [and eventually even coming off], stem bolts and wedges easily stripping, the internal thickness of the steerer tube is limited making forks weaker than they should be. The clamp-on stem, complete with Aheadset [a system pioneered by Dia Compe] makes all these problems a thing of the past. The stem has no shaft at all - instead it clamps around the top of the specially extended steerer tube, in much the same way as a seat clamp holds a seattube. This means that there is no shaft to bend or break loose, no wedge to strip out, and because nothing slides down inside the forks the steerer tube can be any thickness you like. This isn't genius - it's logical.
Two Allen bolts clamp down stronger than any regular stem can, tight onto the smooth steerer tube - it's not threaded like regular forks. So how does the headset hold tight? The Dia Compe Aheadset fits on the frame and forks like a regular headset, but instead of screwing down on the steerer tube as usual, it is held tight by an internal adjuster which is bolted up using an Allen bolt and an expander washer inside. The headset does not come loose. Quality on the headset itself is high too -fine bearings, close fitting stuff.
It's already being sold on the GT Fueler, Standard Bicycle Motocross and the Powerlite P61-AL bikes. Hoffman Bikes have Aheadset equipped Big Daddy and Condor frames coming out very soon also, so the system is also Potts Mod and Gyro friendly.
