"the world's first gravel fork"

[Old School]

0700 Press Release ""The world's first gravel fork"

0900 Direct messages from RockShock, Fox, Cannondale, Lauf,

1100 Now hiring Ad Copy Writer, Cane Creek NC

[prototoast]

[Nomadmax]

I think:

1 The same thing that happened to mountain bikes is happening to "gravel bikes". (it started with the re-boot of suspension stems).

2 That it'll be heavy and Cane Creek expensive.

3 It'll be manufactured somewhere else for pennies on the dollar and Cane Creek will still fly the American flag over it so they can make bank.

4 If you need a fork like that on a "gravel bike", you really just need a mountain bike.


Other than that, I got nuthin.

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by Old School

0700 Press Release ""The world's first gravel fork"

0900 Direct messages from RockShock, Fox, Cannondale, Lauf,

1100 Now hiring Ad Copy Writer, Cane Creek NC

Beat me to the punch(line)

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

I think:

1 The same thing that happened to moutnain bikes is happening to "gravel bikes". (it started with the re-boot of suspension stems).

2 That it'll be heavy and Cane Creek expensive.

3 It'll be manufactured somewhere else for pennies on the dollar and Cane Creek will still fly the American flag over it so they can make bank.

4 If you need a fork like that on a "gravel bike", you really just need a mountain bike.


Other than that, I got nuthin.

This kind of hyperbole may tick off a few people, but it will get more eyes on the product than without the hyperbole. It's just ad-copy clickbait, but it often works. We're already up to 4 pages of discussion just on the first day - would we even be discussing the new Can Creek fork at all if they hadn't made some grandiose claim?

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

This kind of hyperbole may tick off a few people, but it will get more eyes on the product than without the hyperbole. It's just ad-copy clickbait, but it often works. We're already up to 4 pages of discussion just on the first day - would we even be discussing the new Can Creek fork at all if they hadn't made some grandiose claim?

This approach definitely generates more engagement online. Less clear if it generates more sales of actual Cane Creek products.

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

I think:

1 The same thing that happened to moutnain bikes is happening to "gravel bikes". (it started with the re-boot of suspension stems).

This is true, it's been happening (Fox AX came out in 2017, Cannondale Slate in 2015) and it's going great. It took what? 40+ years for MTB to become really good?

We're moving at least 3x that timeline with Gravel, and one could argue that today gravel bikes are already as mature as MTB.

It's incredible to be able to skip right through two or three entire decades of junk to get to the good stuff. I rode MTBs in the 90s through today and it's not even funny how much better they are. Gravel bikes from 2012 are much closer to gravel bikes today than a 90s/2000s/2010s MTB is to a 2024s MTB.

[Spoker]

Dylan Johnson races a suspension mtb fork on his gravel racer too. Personally I like low pressure mtb tire on an otherwise rigid mtb frame. The weight, the feedback. No question that downhill is nicer with any amount suspension. Not racing though.

[glepore]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

What about the Cannondale Slate. That was available with both a rigid and suspended lefty fork.

My only gravel bike is a Slate. 80mm travel, works well. No remote lockout, but hey, the crown is right there. Not light, but the later Olivers fixed that. I ride chunky mountain gravel and its appreciated.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by avalonracing

"The world's first gravel fork"

https://canecreek.com/introducing-in...t-gravel-fork/


Okay gang, what do you think?

Isn't the Lauf Grit a gravel fork?

[bicycletricycle]

Inverted forks have come and go over the gears, I wonder why they don’t take over? If they are lighter and stiffer and smoother and whatever.

I had a halson a long time ago, probably the first inverted fork for bicycle?

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by glepore

My only gravel bike is a Slate. 80mm travel, works well. No remote lockout, but hey, the crown is right there. Not light, but the later Olivers fixed that. I ride chunky mountain gravel and its appreciated.

80? I thought they were 30.

I would love to read how this new fork compares to the lefty oliver.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

Inverted forks have come and go over the gears, I wonder why they don’t take over? If they are lighter and stiffer and smoother and whatever.

Within the constraints of bicycles, mainly weight, there are serious stiffness compromises.

For motorcycles this is a non issue and has been the performance standard for 30-40 years.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by palincss

Isn't the Lauf Grit a gravel fork?

Love mine. 30mm of travel is enough to take the edge off most gravel I’ve ridden. It’s not going to help much with technical single track, but it’s a gravel bike and not a MTB, and the Lauf certainly helps with washboard and the dirt/gravel farm roads I encounter in the NE.

[bicycletricycle]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Within the constraints of bicycles, mainly weight, there are serious stiffness compromises.

For motorcycles this is a non issue and has been the performance standard for 30-40 years.

I figured as much, I guess they didn’t want to make a larger diameter / stiffer axle solution because of adoption and weight concerns. Well, maybe it works great excited to see one in the wild