"the world's first gravel fork"

[avalonracing]

"The world's first gravel fork"

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


Okay gang, what do you think?

[AngryScientist]

Enter Lauf:

“Hold my beer…”

[prototoast]

Outside of the marketing, it looks like an interesting fork and I would be interested to try it on a gravel bike. But really now, that marketing is over the top.

[dsimon]

Didn't Hincapie use a straight bladed rock shock? Or is this all about marketing

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by dsimon

Didn't Hincapie use a straight bladed rock shock? Or is this all about marketing

Like half the field at Paris-Roubaix was on Rockshoxs after Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle won in 1992 but they were falling out of favor by the mid-1990s. Rockshox had a good run, 3 wins, several podiums, hundreds of forks used by the peloton before time marched on.



Hincapie's relationship with Paris-Roubaix is one of the small tradgedies of modern cycling. So close but never there. I believe this is his first race there, in 1994 when Andrei Tchmil won, also using a rockshox.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

Like half the field at Paris-Roubaix was on Rockshoxs after Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle won in 1992 but they were falling out of favor by the mid-1990s. Rockshox had a good run, 3 wins, several podiums, hundreds of forks used by the peloton before time marched on.



Hincapie's relationship with Paris-Roubaix is one of the small tradgedies of modern cycling. So close but never there. I believe this is his first race there, in 1994 when Andrei Tchmil won, also using a rockshox.

Such great pics and stories.

Yeah, there’s nothing new under the sun. I’m also of the mindset that if a course needs suspension it’s likely time for mountain bike. But everyone has to ride what works best for them.

The coolest of the suspended road bikes were the Bianchi dual suspension bikes at Paris-Roubaix from about 30 years ago. They didn’t win and a few years later the same riders were winning on Colnago C-40s with no suspension.

[steelrimbrake]

Agree with others, thought of Lauf right away...

[54ny77]

Yet again...LeMond....long ahead of the curve.

I'll guess some of the designers weren't even born when LeMond was racing cobbles with a modified Rock Shox fork.

What's old is new.

[EB]

40mm of damped air sprung travel is just not enough to be useful. There are physical limits here. All of this has been learned decades ago.

Go to 100mm and we’d have something to talk about, but geometrically that’s a hardtail and I guess you can’t market that to the “road” audience?

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by EB

40mm of damped air sprung travel is just not enough to be useful. There are physical limits here. All of this has been learned decades ago.

What gravel suspension forks have you ridden? 30-40mm in a modern fork is so much different than it was decades ago. We learned a lot back then that has been overtaken by events, or in many cases was untrue.

I don't think suspension is a good fit for every course but it definitely has a place for some courses.

The issue isn't how well it works - it's how much it costs, how much it costs to service within the warranty period, how much service it requires, and the aero penalty.

The actual functional aspect is a huge improvement on rougher gravel there's not really any argument there.

[spoonrobot]

"Keeeeegan NOOOOOO! 40mm of damped air sprung travel is just not enough to be useful! Stop before you win another bike race!"

[spoonrobot]

If your gravel looks like this, a suspension fork probably isn't going to be for you:


If there's miles and miles of this (and rougher), a suspension fork might be something to consider:

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

If your gravel looks like this, a suspension fork probably isn't going to be for you:


If there's miles and miles of this (and rougher), a suspension fork might be something to consider:

Exactly.
With such a wide range of bike designs, individual physical ability/limitation, and terrains ridden, a quality 40mm suspension fork might be a godsend to someone.
2 people riding the same terrain might want different equipment.
2 people riding different terrain might want different equipment.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

If your gravel looks like this, a suspension fork probably isn't going to be for you:[/IMG]

If there's miles and miles of this (and rougher), a suspension fork might be something to consider:

Deleted images for brevity...

I ride trails like that regularly on a vintage LiteSpeed Blue Ridge with a 1" Alpha Q 'cross fork. Redshift stem, 40mm Panaracer gravel tires, tubeless.

As long as I'm not in too much of a hurry, my setup is perfect for the terrain in both photos. I'll slow down to pick my way around the big bumps...if they are frequent, I'd be questioning my choice of bike rather than fork.

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

What gravel suspension forks have you ridden? 30-40mm in a modern fork is so much different than it was decades ago. We learned a lot back then that has been overtaken by events, or in many cases was untrue.

How much different is it really? 40mm of undamped travel versus 60mm of oil damped, air travel.

What is different is the average rider has gone from 145 lbs to 200lbs. As a people, we have gotten fat - and stupid.

Everything old is new again. Even Fox's new 32mm, reverse arched, spring backed IFP piston fork - is basically a Manitou with an Intrinsic damper from 2005.

What I don't doubt is that the new stuff is much better made.