# What is an Ashtabula Front Fork?



## Robert Troub (Feb 22, 2021)

I see these bring big $$......so I'm parting out a 1981 Schwinn Tornado......these forks look exactly like a pair that sold on ebay.......did schwinn use a "different fork" on these bmx style bikes?
The fork looks like a standard schwinn stingray fork.....hence my confusion....your thoughts are appreciated


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Feb 22, 2021)

I believe at the end of the run Schwinn  added some extra gusset welds on the top of there standatd fork to make it more ridged when cornering during BMX races. The flat blade flexed to much compared to the tube type  fork. Schwinn was just about to start making more modern style and get away from astrabula forks. Some later forks had Astrabula on them even maybe even  in  the casting. i would believe both examples would be somewhat desirable. I'm no expert Birdzgarage knows a lot. There are a bunch of Schwinn guys who will know for sure. Good luck


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## 49autocycledeluxe (Feb 22, 2021)

pretty sure all the forks were ashabula forks... but they did make some heavy duty forks, stems and cranks that were embossed. here's a complete set. the fork has extra bracing.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Feb 22, 2021)

49autocycledeluxe said:


> pretty sure all the forks were ashabula forks... but they did make some heavy duty forks, stems and cranks that were embossed. here's a complete set. the fork has extra bracing.
> 
> View attachment 1362449
> 
> View attachment 1362450




Really nice set haha, no really those are awesome. Are there a lot of that stuff out there? I imagine they didn't make them for many years did they?


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## 49autocycledeluxe (Feb 22, 2021)

I really don't know much about them, I had an embossed Ashtabula goose neck on a Stingray back in the day. I had seen the forks but never knew they made a crank... these pics are from the internet.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Feb 22, 2021)

Never seen the crank either. Learning every day.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Feb 22, 2021)

Robert Troub said:


> I see these bring big $$.




Are the forks embossed? if so I'm interested


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## birdzgarage (Feb 22, 2021)

The heavy duty ashtabula bmx stuff is completely different that any of the factory schwinn forged blade forks.its the embossed /stamped stuff that brings the cash.ashtabula may have made the forks for schwinn.i dont know.the heavy duty bmx forks have a brace under the crown.they are also oversize in length.a 20"fork is actually 24" dimensions to raise the bottom bracket for better pedal clearance.the 24" hd fork actually will fit a 26" wheel.a true 26"hd forkbwas never made.schwinn did the 24" black fork on the early scramblers but they were not braced.just a painted black 24" fork.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Feb 22, 2021)

birdzgarage said:


> The heavy duty ashtabula bmx stuff is completely different that any of the factory schwinn forged blade forks




Do you know when the embossed stuff was first produced and for how long? roughly


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## birdzgarage (Feb 22, 2021)

I think 76 was the first year for the fork.the 75 forks just had a decal.im pretty sure the stem and cranks the same.ive got some black embossed 80 dated cranks so at least till then.i also have some chrome plated chromoly 83 cranks with no external marks just on bb area.


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## bloo (Feb 22, 2021)

The Schwinn blade forks are probably all Ashtabula.

Ashtabula's aftermarket forks for BMX use had the welded in reinforcement, but did not always have the embossed name. Most of the ones I saw back in the day did not have the embossed name. This goes for stems and cranks too.

Most Ashtabula aftermarket stuff has a black oxide finish, but some of their Chrome Moly cranks are Chrome plated and look just like postwar Schwinn cranks, but available in longer lengths than Schwinn offered. Speaking of postwar Schwinn cranks, many of those were Ashtabula too, ones marked "SA".

IIRC Schwwin may have used some of the reinforced ashtabula forks on their BMX bikes. They had been using the regular Ashtabula (non-reinforced standard duty) forks on all sorts of bikes for decades.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Feb 22, 2021)

bloo said:


> Most Ashtabula aftermarket stuff has a black oxide finish,




Yes after reading this post was looking on feebay lots of black oxide cranks non embossed. I don't ride hard enough to need more then the regular Schwinn forks but i will be looking out for the reinforced and embossed ones.


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## Schwinny (Mar 4, 2021)

They are called Ashtabula forks because they were made for Schwinn in Ashtabula Mississippi. Whatever the foundry company name was that actually made them, they made forks and cranks and other cast iron bicycle parts for sure. Schwinns from the 50's have Ashtabulah forks, maybe earlier? There are at least three different styles of Schwinn Lightweight Ashtabula forks that I know of. If its Schwinn,and cast iron, it's probably Ashtabula.


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## furyus (Mar 18, 2021)

Ashtabula, Ohio. Ashtabula Bow Socket Company, 1880-1982. RIP.


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## Schwinny (Mar 18, 2021)

furyus said:


> Ashtabula, Ohio. Ashtabula Bow Socket Company, 1880-1982. RIP.



There ya go. I didn't remember and didn't bother looking it up. I knew they were named after a the town the foundry was in tho. 
Was there something else Schwinn in Mississippi ? Hmmmm.


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## furyus (Mar 18, 2021)

I think they (Schwinn) moved manufacturing to Mississippi towards the end. A Murray factory I believe. Mid-80's.


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