Right the story goes , I bought a 2004 Jake the Snake last year and loved it, but me being me and not being able to resist an Ebay bargain I bought another cross bike with what i thought was brilliant spec.

Kinesis Crosslight Pro 4
Full Carbon Crosslight forks
Mavic Krysium Elites
Full Campag 10 spd Veloce/centaur
etc etc
I did end up getting as much for my Kona ( much lower spec) than i paid for the Kinesis.
Now i think my new bike looks the part and obviously the parts are ok but i have a few issues....
1. I am getting extremley bad fork chatter ( tektro oryx) I have tried 3 sets of pads but i still get at least 2" movement on the fork and the wheel locks, the 3 rd set of pads worked ok for 5 miles then bad as ever, i am at the point where i am falling out of love with the bike cos i don't now whether to:
Change the Brakes.
Change the forks ( i can't believe i have to go to a lesser fork, project 2 or Kinesis alloy) Kinesis must have designed this fork to be better than the alloy one.
Change the headset
Change the Frame and forks
2. Even if i do sort the chatter ( without changing the forks) can i really trust a full carbon forks for the type of riding i do on the bike ( I use it where i use my mountain bike including rocky descents etc)
3. Are the wheels over the top for the bike , i'm a bit worried about trashing them..

So to conclude without going on all night have i got the right bike or do i need something more hardcore and if i do what are the options, On-One Ti-Cross, Planet -X or another Jake The Snake.
Please could i have some options on the front end, Brakes,forks etc. also will a Chris King headset go with the integrated fork/frame ( i have the adaptors)
Sorry i have gone on but I am losing faith in my bike and just need a bit of reassurance.
thanks for listening
Anthony from sunny old England

get some froggleggs or some spooky's. then search these archives, there is a Czech mfr of brake pads (they say for ceramic but can be used on anything) that will kill the fork chatter or squeal. I don't know if they make a version without the post though which is why I'm telling you to go this route. they modulate great,stop real well and eliminate chatter and crap. the downside, they wear pretty quick.

For the brake issue, I'd try the following approach:

1. Make sure your pad bolts are torqued to spec and all brake hardware is torqued to spec. The fact that the brakes were fine for five miles and then started chattering makes me suspect a bolt has worked loose or a pad has slipped.

2.. Increase the toe-in of the brake pads until the chatter stops.

3. Try cleaning the rims on your wheelset or, better yet, try a different wheelset and see if you still have the problem (maybe something about those wheels or rims).

4. Buy new brakes. I second ATP's suggestions and add Paul's to the mix if you can afford them.

I've always had good luck with using Kool-stop pads and then either step #1 or #2 above fixed any chatter issues. I don't run the Tektro brakes but I use Avid Shortys which have the same issue.

Not sure about the fork question or the wheels.

but I don't know if my crazy Czech pad maker makes cartridge pads.