Ever thought you could make better use of that empty steerer tube on your tapered suspension fork? So did Miles Schwartz, so he spent three years developing the Fork Cork. And he partnered with Industry Nine to machine and anodize it. The result is a good looking solution to hiding a few extra necessities on the bike and ensuring it fits any modern tapered fork on the market.
Each Fork Cork is milled from a solid core of aluminum, then assembled with a stainless steel screw. Push it into the fork steerer’s opening on the bottom, twist the knob, and it compresses the neoprene washer to lodge it into place.
In addition to keeping water and mud out of your steerer, it lets you secretly stash away things like a GPS theft tracker, space blanket, multi-tool, CO2 and adapter, pocket knife, cash, lighter or matches, poncho, energy bar or “party favors”. Just wrap things in a thin cloth or paper towel to keep them from rattling. Weight is 25g, and it retails for $29.99. Miles said his product line just got picked up by BTI and J&B distributors for the U.S., so any bike shop can easily order them for you, or get it from his website.
One of his original products, the Sticky Pod, has been upgraded and offers a new small size. This one’s designed to fit women’s jersey pockets and hold a few essentials in a lightly padded shell so they don’t jingle about or poke your back:
The entire range has been updated to include waterproof zippers (the shell material is water resistant), and the large size has increased the height of the cell phone pocket to fit the iPhone 7 Plus. The backside has silicone dots to prevent it from sliding out of your pocket accidentally, but not so sticky that it’s hard to remove with one hand. Retail ranges from $14.99 to $19.99, multiple colors (and black) are offered.