Hi all, long time listener first time caller.
I've searched these and other forums for information about specific forks in turn, but am at a dead end deciding. Below I will list the four forks I have narrowed down to, but I am trying to fufill these desires:
Carbon Fork
-They exist now and are light
Lowrider Rack Mounts
-And an ability to carry at least 15lbs
Fender Mount
Internal cable routing
-I do not currently have a dynamo hub but plan to in the future
Not overly wide
-I currently and intend to ride 48mm tires 650b, maybe up to 2.1 some day. I would like room up to 58 or 60mm for fenders. Some of these "adventure forks" are made for monster tires and I think have unecessary clearance for me.
I am currently riding a Lynskey gr300 with their gravel fork, which is made stupidly to fit 2.1 650b tires, but narrows sharply at the top so that there is no room for fenders. It has 45mm rake, 395AC height, and ideally a new fork would have slightly more rake to bring my trail down a bit (I am certainly overthinking it). My current fork was cut too short, so this is an opportunity to fix that, get rack mounts, and get clearance for fenders all at once. I hope that it will last many years and be worth the overthinking now.
I have narrowed it down to these four:
Enve Adventure Fork
-This one checks all of the boxes, and is the only one that explicitly says it can carry 40lbs on a low rider rack! Not cheap, but not twice as much as any of the others either.
-When not using a rack it says it can tak 3kg per side (using the three bolt mount), this is essentially what all of the other brands say, so I am wondering if the other brands also can safely hold much more weight when using a rack than they (dont) list.
-https://www.enve.com/product/adventure-fork/
Salsa Waxwing
-they dont list max weight
-https://www.salsacycles.com/gear/waxwin ... lor\_match
Whisky No 9
-This one says the same thing everyone else says more or less: 4kg per side using all three bolts, I don't know how the ENVE so confidently says 40lbs.
-https://whiskyparts.co/forks/no-9-mcx-fork#/
Rodeo Spork 3.0
-This one specifically says it will accept the Tubus Tara low rider rack I want, and says it will take 27.5 additional pounds which is great. It also has interior eyelets so that you can attach a rack with extra long bolts which is smart.
-This one is neck and neck with the ENVE, but the enve has more rake, which could decrease my currently 70+ trail.
-https://www.rodeo-labs.com/shop/forks/r ... spork-3-0/
Runners Up
Seido
-They have a fork but uses the ASTM riding number and lists it at 2, which doesn't make me very confident it will be able to handle weight.
State Bicycle Monster Fork
-This one is much cheaper, doesnt have internal routing, which isn't the end of the world, but it also doesn't confidently list how much weight the fork could carry on the rack.
There are definitely two camps of carbon gravel rack mount forks: ones that are just meant to have water bottles, and then others that are more confident they can actually carry some serious pannier weight. It is hard to differentiate them, especially since I think the large weight camp is a much smaller selection. Only the ENVE and Rodeo Labs say specifically that they can handle the specific tubus rack I'm looking at, but I am not sure that doesn't mean the others would comfortably do the same thing maybe for less money.
I don't intend to take front panniers out on anything more than fire roads, and I have a back rack so I don't need all of my gear on the front fork, but I don't want a fork to fail just because I decided to carry some extra water up there one day.
Three questions: are there any forks I'm missing?
Some of these have a slightly taller AC height, up to 415. Is this going to change my ride a lot? I understand it will increase my trail, which I don't really want, but they also all seem to have larger rake, so in my mind they will essentially cancel out.
Which one do you think looks the coolest (while still being durable and as light as possible!)
I have been riding my whole life, but never with purpose-made touring gear. I am beginning to, so my whole premise may be naive and I am happy to hear entirely different opinions.
Glad to be a part of the community, and my next step is to find some riders here on the forums that are in my neck of the woods!
Fork Help - Gravel w/ Low rider rack mount
Moderator: Moderator Team
I'm in a similar position for a future project. What you might want to buy will depend to some extent on where you are, and thus availability and your paranoia or otherwise about warranty.
Personally, I would only consider the Enve, Rodeo or Seido forks, not necessarily in that order. Pros and cons as I see them:
Enve: 49mm rake is about right (for me), and there's (just) enough clearance, plus attachment at the fork crown is via a nice simple screw + nut that will accommodate anything. However, they are very expensive, I'm not in the US or confident about warranty coverage, and there's zero info anywhere I've been able to find on how the "flip chips" to adjust offset work - not even a decent photo of the dropout area. 160 max rotor.
Rodeo: I had a Spork v3.0 for a couple of months (the bike was stolen in the UK), and it worked okay. I would have preferred a bit more than 45mm offset, and with a 71° HTA a Tara wouldn't sit quite horizontal, and yes I did have the fancy rack-specific dropout thingys. The ride was hard - probably true for the others too - but tameable with a Shockstop stem. Having two rather than three mounts on the sides is a bit of a PITA if you want to attach some things, but doable. The dynamo wiring holes are pretty tight, and if you want to run Schmidt coax wiring and plugs some cutting and soldering will be needed; this is likely the case with all forks with wiring ports. 160 max rotor.
Seido: Cheaper than Enve and potentially easier to get, possibly at a discount too. I'd prefer less than 53mm offset and the A-C is a bit taller, okay if your frame is designed with that in mind. Has all the attachment points, however, there's nothing at the rear of the fork crown, so mudguards attach to an eyelet underneath; there are pros and cons to this. From some descriptions it sounds as if there may be ports for internal taillight wiring through the steerer, but the pics and descriptions on Seido's site don't shed any light on this. Can accommodate up to a 180mm front rotor, as well as 160, very useful if riding off-road much, especially loaded; can't fit 140 but I'd never use that on the front anyway.
Since I care about geometry, clearance and function rather than looks (on a gravel/touring bike, really?) IMHO excessive width or clearance is an impossibility; YMMV. Since I dislike low trail the Enve 55.5mm axle position is irrelevant to me, and the Seido 53mm offset and taller A-C require a bit of front end revision too.
The ASTM numbers are about airtime and jumping, not luggage carrying, so are mostly irrelevant unless you expect to be doing backflips or 540s on a loaded bike Me, I wouldn't be taking a gravel bike (or myself!) to Red Bull Rampage, but again YMMV.
Personally, I would only consider the Enve, Rodeo or Seido forks, not necessarily in that order. Pros and cons as I see them:
Enve: 49mm rake is about right (for me), and there's (just) enough clearance, plus attachment at the fork crown is via a nice simple screw + nut that will accommodate anything. However, they are very expensive, I'm not in the US or confident about warranty coverage, and there's zero info anywhere I've been able to find on how the "flip chips" to adjust offset work - not even a decent photo of the dropout area. 160 max rotor.
Rodeo: I had a Spork v3.0 for a couple of months (the bike was stolen in the UK), and it worked okay. I would have preferred a bit more than 45mm offset, and with a 71° HTA a Tara wouldn't sit quite horizontal, and yes I did have the fancy rack-specific dropout thingys. The ride was hard - probably true for the others too - but tameable with a Shockstop stem. Having two rather than three mounts on the sides is a bit of a PITA if you want to attach some things, but doable. The dynamo wiring holes are pretty tight, and if you want to run Schmidt coax wiring and plugs some cutting and soldering will be needed; this is likely the case with all forks with wiring ports. 160 max rotor.
Seido: Cheaper than Enve and potentially easier to get, possibly at a discount too. I'd prefer less than 53mm offset and the A-C is a bit taller, okay if your frame is designed with that in mind. Has all the attachment points, however, there's nothing at the rear of the fork crown, so mudguards attach to an eyelet underneath; there are pros and cons to this. From some descriptions it sounds as if there may be ports for internal taillight wiring through the steerer, but the pics and descriptions on Seido's site don't shed any light on this. Can accommodate up to a 180mm front rotor, as well as 160, very useful if riding off-road much, especially loaded; can't fit 140 but I'd never use that on the front anyway.
Since I care about geometry, clearance and function rather than looks (on a gravel/touring bike, really?) IMHO excessive width or clearance is an impossibility; YMMV. Since I dislike low trail the Enve 55.5mm axle position is irrelevant to me, and the Seido 53mm offset and taller A-C require a bit of front end revision too.
The ASTM numbers are about airtime and jumping, not luggage carrying, so are mostly irrelevant unless you expect to be doing backflips or 540s on a loaded bike Me, I wouldn't be taking a gravel bike (or myself!) to Red Bull Rampage, but again YMMV.
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Did you look at OEM forks? Didn't look at dimensions, but thinking about Trek Checkpoint's fork. I think I saw 450gr, no weight callout, the more recent ones have brake hose routing. I think it's got ATSM rating of 3 and a 33lb capacity.
Last edited by jfranci3 on Fri Nov 04, 2022 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
fantastic write up, you have been very helpful. you have mentioned all my concerns and some new ones. decision definitely easier now.satanas wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 12:02 pmI'm in a similar position for a future project. What you might want to buy will depend to some extent on where you are, and thus availability and your paranoia or otherwise about warranty.
Personally, I would only consider the Enve, Rodeo or Seido forks, not necessarily in that order. Pros and cons as I see them:
Enve: 49mm rake is about right (for me), and there's (just) enough clearance, plus attachment at the fork crown is via a nice simple screw + nut that will accommodate anything. However, they are very expensive, I'm not in the US or confident about warranty coverage, and there's zero info anywhere I've been able to find on how the "flip chips" to adjust offset work - not even a decent photo of the dropout area. 160 max rotor.
Rodeo: I had a Spork v3.0 for a couple of months (the bike was stolen in the UK), and it worked okay. I would have preferred a bit more than 45mm offset, and with a 71° HTA a Tara wouldn't sit quite horizontal, and yes I did have the fancy rack-specific dropout thingys. The ride was hard - probably true for the others too - but tameable with a Shockstop stem. Having two rather than three mounts on the sides is a bit of a PITA if you want to attach some things, but doable. The dynamo wiring holes are pretty tight, and if you want to run Schmidt coax wiring and plugs some cutting and soldering will be needed; this is likely the case with all forks with wiring ports. 160 max rotor.
Seido: Cheaper than Enve and potentially easier to get, possibly at a discount too. I'd prefer less than 53mm offset and the A-C is a bit taller, okay if your frame is designed with that in mind. Has all the attachment points, however, there's nothing at the rear of the fork crown, so mudguards attach to an eyelet underneath; there are pros and cons to this. From some descriptions it sounds as if there may be ports for internal taillight wiring through the steerer, but the pics and descriptions on Seido's site don't shed any light on this. Can accommodate up to a 180mm front rotor, as well as 160, very useful if riding off-road much, especially loaded; can't fit 140 but I'd never use that on the front anyway.
Since I care about geometry, clearance and function rather than looks (on a gravel/touring bike, really?) IMHO excessive width or clearance is an impossibility; YMMV. Since I dislike low trail the Enve 55.5mm axle position is irrelevant to me, and the Seido 53mm offset and taller A-C require a bit of front end revision too.
The ASTM numbers are about airtime and jumping, not luggage carrying, so are mostly irrelevant unless you expect to be doing backflips or 540s on a loaded bike Me, I wouldn't be taking a gravel bike (or myself!) to Red Bull Rampage, but again YMMV.
Thank you, good idea. Unfortunately I can't find a way to buy the fork itself aftermarket, and I'm less confident about resorting to ebay.
I specifically want to mount these nutty 58mm carbon fenders, so when I reached out to companies to ask for clarification, I mentioned fender clearance as well as Tubus Tara lowrider rack mounting ability and weight limit.
Some alternative forks whose manufacturers I reached out to, none ideal
1. Curve Cycling - Ride 400 GXR Fork
-They provided a diagram showing 58mm clearance, so 58mm fenders should fit.
-They say it was not designed with rack fitting in mind, so 6kg remains the limit.
-They recomend an aftermarket part to spread the load of a rack, so this choice is out.
2. Columbus - Futura Cross+
-Looks good on paper, will fit 58mm fender
-They specifically told me that it is not meant for a rack, just "anything cages" so this choice is out for me.
3. Ritchey Logic - WCS Carbon Adventure Gravel Fork
-Great fork on paper, will fit 58mm fender.
-In an email they said to stick to 3kg per fork blade. 6kg/14lbs is useable even including the rack weight itself, but I would be worried about hitting a bump hard and breaking something.
Some manufacturers I heard back from that are ideal:
1. Enve Adventure fork
-They told me it specifically will fit the Tubus Tara lowrider rack, and it is rated for 18kg/40lbs with a low rider rack!
-2.4in clearance, and here is where I am being picky, I don't need all this clearance necessarily.
-49mm rake
-160mm brake
2. Rodeo Labs - Spork 3.0
-They told me specifically it can fit a Tubus Tara, and rated for 12kg/27lbs.
-Same 2.4in clearance.
-45mm rake
-160mm brake
Still waiting to hear back from Salsa about Waxing Deluxe, Fairlight about their Cempa fork, Veloci about their No 11 fork, Wilde about their Wayfinder fork (though they list clearance and a 20lbs weight limit), and Seido about their RGT fork.
as Satanas said, I don't know how the ENVE flip chips work, and if that is detrimental in any way since I probably will only use it in one configuration. Also mentioned that the Seido allows a 180mm disc brake, which could be a nice upgrade for loaded touring, though I never intend to carry all that much weight at any given time anyway.
Some alternative forks whose manufacturers I reached out to, none ideal
1. Curve Cycling - Ride 400 GXR Fork
-They provided a diagram showing 58mm clearance, so 58mm fenders should fit.
-They say it was not designed with rack fitting in mind, so 6kg remains the limit.
-They recomend an aftermarket part to spread the load of a rack, so this choice is out.
2. Columbus - Futura Cross+
-Looks good on paper, will fit 58mm fender
-They specifically told me that it is not meant for a rack, just "anything cages" so this choice is out for me.
3. Ritchey Logic - WCS Carbon Adventure Gravel Fork
-Great fork on paper, will fit 58mm fender.
-In an email they said to stick to 3kg per fork blade. 6kg/14lbs is useable even including the rack weight itself, but I would be worried about hitting a bump hard and breaking something.
Some manufacturers I heard back from that are ideal:
1. Enve Adventure fork
-They told me it specifically will fit the Tubus Tara lowrider rack, and it is rated for 18kg/40lbs with a low rider rack!
-2.4in clearance, and here is where I am being picky, I don't need all this clearance necessarily.
-49mm rake
-160mm brake
2. Rodeo Labs - Spork 3.0
-They told me specifically it can fit a Tubus Tara, and rated for 12kg/27lbs.
-Same 2.4in clearance.
-45mm rake
-160mm brake
Still waiting to hear back from Salsa about Waxing Deluxe, Fairlight about their Cempa fork, Veloci about their No 11 fork, Wilde about their Wayfinder fork (though they list clearance and a 20lbs weight limit), and Seido about their RGT fork.
as Satanas said, I don't know how the ENVE flip chips work, and if that is detrimental in any way since I probably will only use it in one configuration. Also mentioned that the Seido allows a 180mm disc brake, which could be a nice upgrade for loaded touring, though I never intend to carry all that much weight at any given time anyway.
58mm VO Wavy fenders definitely fit on a Rodeo Spork 3.0 as I had them; I can't speak for anything else. Sorry no pics.
Also, I'm pretty certain the Fairlight carbon fork is rated for cages only. It might be worth your while to look at Ortlieb Fork Packs and/or the various Tailfin options too, rather than focussing only on front panniers.
Also, I'm pretty certain the Fairlight carbon fork is rated for cages only. It might be worth your while to look at Ortlieb Fork Packs and/or the various Tailfin options too, rather than focussing only on front panniers.
Any trek dealer can help. Trek has the part numbers on their website with the full build bikes and frame sets.
https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/search/checkpoint-fork They only have the external routed forks here.
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