Kinesis Wedge

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Raleigh R700 Ultegra 9 speed triple.

Summary:
This fork came stock on my Raleigh R700. After slightly more than 20,000 miles on the bike the right hand blade snapped in half. The aluminum prong failed at the top of the carbon blade. The carbon/aluminum bond did not fail. I noticed a creaking sound started a couple of days prior to the break when I got out of the saddle to climb. I wrote this off as drive train noise until the fork snapped. I clean and inspect the bike every 5-10 days and never noticed the break. I weigh 165 lbs and ride about 5000 miles/year in the SF Bay area. I'm writing this to urge anybody with this fork to watch for the problem I had. Try to slip a piece of paper in the joint to check for a gap. I was fortunate that the fork broke when I was climbing at about 10 mph. My previous ride had a 40 mph descent and I know the crack had alreay started becasue there was brake residue present on the fractured surface. Pay attention to this one!

Weaknesses:
Watch this fork for developing fractures after a few thousand miles!

Price Paid:  $65.00 at Pearland Cycles

Favorite Ride:
Texas Hill Country

Bike Setup:
Steel GIANT Kronos bike with full Shimano RSX groupo and 11/19 7 speed cassette mounted on MAVIC CXP 10 rims with RSX hubs and Vredstein Ricorso tires. TIME pro Equipe pedals, Sella Italia ProLInk Gel saddle, Specialized Competition Cyclocomputer

Summary:
Wanted a nice fork to replace the stock cromoly one I got with a bike I purchased on EBay. Was told by my LBS that this one was my ticket to better handling and looking "cool" He was right on the first count and my cycling buddies say I still need more than this fork to up the "coolness factor". That's okay, because I still can kick their ass!!!

Strengths:
Handling and dampening. Very lightweight and affordably priced.

Weaknesses:
Pain in the butt to mount the sensor for my cyclocomputer due to the shape of the fork. Leaves little room for adjustments of the sensor's positioning.

Similar Products Used:
Standard cro moly forks that come stock on bikes circa early 1990's

Price Paid:  $0.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
Cannondale Multisport

Bike Setup:
TT/aero frame with full ultegra and velocity wheelset

Summary:
This fork seems to be as good as any other carbon fork I have used. Average weight for a carbon fork and pretty aero compared to a regular road fork.

Strengths:
Looks nice and seems to handle good also. I am close to 200 pounds and it has held up well, so it must be strong. They are not very expensive compared to most of the forks.

Weaknesses:
A little on the heavy side, but for $50, I can't really complain.

Similar Products Used:
Kinesis airfoil, Profile BRC, Forte allegro

Favorite Ride:
Corin Dam, Namadgi

Bike Setup:
60cm Avanti Corsa (Easton Elite), threadless, ITM Stem and bars, wheels; Velocity Aero's (36H 3X) and CXP33's (32H 2X).

Summary:
Other than being stiff, these forks have no particularly endearing qualities.
Rides nice on smooth surfaces (but then so does anything else).
Would 'look the part' on a Tri or TT bike but offers no real aero advantage.
For road racing where dampening and handling finesse are important there are a lot better forks than this one.
I weigh 180lb, l/w riders will find this fork too harsh.

Strengths:
Stiff fork. Lighter than steel or alloy. Aero looks. Straight blades. Mid priced.

Weaknesses:
Feels shrill and harsh on coarse road surfaces (ie feels undampened).
Handling nothing special, feedback is vague.
Aspect ratio of cross section less than 4:1, therefore offers no real aerodynamic advantage.

Similar Products Used:
Time Sprint carbon forks, alloy and steel forks. Test ridden Trek and Bianchi carbon forks.