[edit] Steerer tube

This is the part of a fork which protrudes from the crown. It is probably one of the most common areas that forks fail at, to combat this many manufacturers use oversized tubing for the steerer tube and inserts near the crown to increase strength and stiffness.

Generally there are two types of steerer. There is the older bonded steel type where a steel tube is bonded to the fork's crown using a chemical adhesive. This method of manufacture has fallen out of favour with many manufacturers as it often does not give satisfactory strength. Secondly there are aluminium steerers. These are welded into the fork's crown and sometimes reinforced with inserts.