Price Paid:
$100.00
at Performance Bicycle Favorite Ride:
summit of Mt Diablo, CA Bike Setup:
62 cm bonded Aluminum Trek 1100 upgraded to 27 speed Dura Ace 7703 shifting and Matrix OCR rims. Cane Creek S2 1" threadless headset. Summary:
The ones I purchased between 2002 and 2006 are indentical to the Kinesis RF20i (including the paint at the tips), and the other forks they sell have "Kinesis" stamped into the dropouts -- so I'm pretty sure of the ID. With no bonded-on Al fork crown race, I was able to increase the 370 mm hub-to-crown spacing to the 385 mm (typical of 70s and 80s frames) needed for my '88 Trek 1100. All it took was oversize carbon stem spacers, epoxy resin and some carbon cloth. NOTE: the current catalog shows a 43mm (rather than 40mm) offset (rake), so they may have changed suppliers. Strengths:
The increased trail (provided by the reduced rake) and the change from steel to carbon allows me to descend bumpy roads at speeds which racerboys half my age can barely manage on their $5000 machines. Its design (C steerer bonded to C fork crown bonded to C blades bonded to Al dropouts) is perfect for upgrading my old 1" headset bikes. It has withstood many bumpy descents with a 175-185 lb rider without failure, and also will clear tires up to 28mm wide. Weaknesses:
Only early 90s bikes (8-speed era) have that combination of fork crown height and 1" steerer. Only with a 1 1/8" steerer do you have the option of a Cane Creek S3 plus 5 headset to avoid lowering the front end. Similar Products Used:
Nashbar carbon fork w/ Al steerer
| 
4 of 5
5 of 5
