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8/29/2010
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Grand Junction, CO
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Edited Date/Time
12/25/2019 9:18pm
Just a thought for the masses. With the direction of enduro racing, and the lack of barspins/x-ups among most of the trail crowd, is it reasonable to think we will see some dual crown forks aimed at trail use?
As a bigger guy, I can absolutely feel a large difference in flex when comparing a single crown to a dual crown fork. I also feel bike weight is something we've sort of figured out. My race bike is somewhere between 31-33 pounds. An extra pound for a dual crown fork wouldn't matter one way or another, especially if performance is better.
The other really big advantage I see to this is one could much more easily play with offset. Swapping crowns is a lot easier than swapping uppers. Plus you could give the rider the ability to play with head angle (via where the fork sits in the crown)
And yeah, I know, Specialized did this way back when and it failed miserably.
Thoughts?
As a bigger guy, I can absolutely feel a large difference in flex when comparing a single crown to a dual crown fork. I also feel bike weight is something we've sort of figured out. My race bike is somewhere between 31-33 pounds. An extra pound for a dual crown fork wouldn't matter one way or another, especially if performance is better.
The other really big advantage I see to this is one could much more easily play with offset. Swapping crowns is a lot easier than swapping uppers. Plus you could give the rider the ability to play with head angle (via where the fork sits in the crown)
And yeah, I know, Specialized did this way back when and it failed miserably.
Thoughts?
Poll
and sort of this but not really...
seriously though, could prob see it happening but aren't some the switchbacks in france too tight?
Only upside I see for a double crown is to always have your stem perfectly aligned with the wheel
Just grab the front wheel between your legs and press at the extremity of your handlebar. The flex is mad on a simple crown fork.
Remember the first gen Fox 40's? They were too stiff. Fox made the second gen ones flexier on purpose.
-the bar itself
-bar/stem interface
-stem torsional rigidity
-stem/pivot/headset interface
-frame/headset interface
-fork itself
-fork/hub interface (plus bearing play inside the hub)
-wheel rigidity
Now some of those are obviously preposterous ( I mean who is really going to feel a stem flexing ) but some are very real. Look for example at Intend stiffmaster headset, according to some pink media review, it plays a big role on this flex...
So my point is I don't think most people need a double crown fork, you can first work on different axis to reduce flex. And as it was said before, a little flex is a good thing to maintain grip and limit fatigue.
Or I'd just go out and ride trails on my Super 8. Just stand up to climb.
On heavy and rough braking zones, I'm not a big fan of the flex I can feel with my single crown fork. That's an example of where I'd like to have more rigidity.
If I could afford to build a bike right now, it would be an XL Alloy Nomad in that new Juliana Purple with a Boxxer with Lyric guts.
Few thoughts...
First, I do agree with Rems and DCamp in that there are a lot of variables involve in "front end flex". I do not want the crazy stiffest thing going. In fact, I currently run a 31.8 bar (that flexes a fair amount) and am not the guy to look for the stiffest wheel out there.
That said, the thing I can feel a lot of as a bigger guy is the wheel folding under my bike (or vibrating back and forth through some terrain). This isn't the "good" kind of flex. This makes it harder to control the bike as well as a less than inspired feeling.
I can't help but think if I was wrong, we'd see a lot more single crowns on the DH circuit, but we really don't, and those that do it (Sam) are incredibly talented/not the biggest dudes out there.
As far as hitting your knees on the crown, I really think in this era of long reach bikes it wouldn't be that big of an issue. Plus, I'm really talking about this as a specific enduro thing, not really a trail bike thing. (turns out enduro and trial are not the same thing...)
Anyway, I'm probably dreaming. Or maybe not...and I'll figure out a way to lower a Boxxer and put it on my next bike
https://youtu.be/dJEl736xuzA?t=177
Now as far as the North America Broduros, I agree. Its overkill. Though even a lot of them are adding legit stuff to their races...
But there is also the space efficiency of the design - being able to pack more travel into the same axle-to-crown length. And the ability to adjust head angle easily.
Honestly I think aesthetics is part of it. Dual crown looks awesome on a DH bike but kinda weird now-a-days to be pedaling around... compared to older days of freeride anyway.
I usually run the fox 40 stanchions as high as possible in the clamps to drop the front end a bit, except at whistler where i run them maxed along with a riser bar.
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