This past weekend I installed my
White Brothers Rock Solid carbon fork. My plan is to use this for training purposes
in the coming weeks as I spend time on pavement and bikeways, as well as at the
Berry Roubaix on March 23, and the Gravel Grovel in November. Following the BR
I plan to try it out on some single-track to see whether I could/should use it
at any XC race later in the season.
Anyway, the fork itself is quite
lovely. Maybe not as sleek as a Niner carbon fork or others out there, but
still, it looks fast. Topped off with nice graphics plus the carbon weave, which is
very cool looking (understanding this is my first carbon component so it doesn’t
take much to impress me). And it is light! Stated weight was 760 gram which I thought was sounding a bit too good to be true. I found a online review which weighed the fork in at 925 grams
for the 465 mm version which sounded more accurate. Note, this was before I had the steerer cut down to 8 ¼ and installed
the crown race. Installation was no problem, although the steer was a bit
longer than the one on my Reba, so an extra spacer was needed. Component
 |
| The new fork in all its glory. In my kitchen. With my left foot. |
Just lifting the bike I could a
weight difference, even though the Reba isn’t exactly heavy. I rode out of the
driveway and immediately noticed the front end seemed quicker and more
responsive. My ride Sunday ride took me
to good ol’ Crown Hill. On the way I put the fork through various S- turns,
jumped a few pot holes, and did some out of the saddle sprints. The fork was especially
noticeable on the sprints. When I’m out of the saddle I lay into my bar ends
and push the bike hard. I was used to the cush from the Reba, including the
slight squish when locked out. However, with the rigid, the front end was solid
(almost rock solid…) and fast. It felt great.
My planned ride was to hit as many hills as
possible (another post is coming about my GPS antics on this ride). The fork
felt great on the climbs. While no single-track was in sight, I did take a
disused road (by disused I mean no maintenance or upkeep for at least 25 years)
through an older part of the cemetery. This road was nothing but crushed pavement
and gravel, large potholes, and general nastiness. As expected, the White
Brothers was not as smooth as a ride as a suspension fork, but it wasn’t as bad
as a expected. Much better than the steel rigid fork I initially had on my
Monocog last year. However, it wasn’t uncomfortable and provided good control. There
is potential here for single track usage I think…
Overall I am very happy with the
fork thus far, although the final verdict will be coming following the BR. Interestingly, I was
picking up an almost harmonic sound throughout my ride when I was riding at
higher speeds (20 mph) or into the wind. It sounded like someone was blowing over
the top of an old glass bottle. It seemed to be coming from the fork, but I
wasn’t sure. By the end of the ride I was used to the sound and forgot to
inspect the fork further. I suspect there is a weeping hole or something similar
at the base of the legs but I forgot to check after the ride. Once the Snow
Storm of The Century, and all of its 2 inches of snow ends outside I’ll do a
more in-depth investigation.
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