Big tires on road bikes are so hot right now. But that wasn’t always the case. All City introduced their road bike named Mr. Pink in 2011 when it was a bit of an outlier with the ability to run 32mm tires. Because of the desire to run such wide tires, the straight steerer tube, and the mid-reach rim brakes, there weren’t a lot of options for a carbon fork. Instead, a rad lugged steel fork was produced which is how the bike has been sold.
As much as All City loved the ride quality of the steel fork, enough riders were looking for something lighter that they felt a change had to be made. After partnering up with Whisky Parts Co., the new Mr. Pink keeps all of the features that made it stand out, but drops almost a pound and a half off the frameset thanks to the new fork…
At this point in road bike design, a carbon fork with a straight steerer, quick release dropouts, mid-reach rim brake capability, and the ability to run 32mm tires is pretty rare. Because of that, Whisky whipped up something special just for the Mr. Pink called the No.7 Road Plus Carbon Fork which includes a straight carbon steerer tube. Built around the 47-57mm mid reach road caliper standard, All City stays away from disc brakes for those who still want to run quick release wheels and rim mounted stoppers. However, the bike keeps the ability to run large volume tires with a steel frame for that riding-on-air feeling over multiple surfaces.
The fork will be included with the Columbus Zona tubed frame for the frameset and as part of the complete, but Whisky will also be selling the fork separately for use on other frames. And, even though the pink Mr. Pink is going away, if you happen to own one and want the lighter carbon option, Whisky will be selling a limited run of 30 forks painted in pink to match the previous bikes. If you want the actual numbers, the new Whisky No.7 Road Plus fork is 404g while the steel Mr. Pink fork weighed in at 1060g.
Dropping 1.45 lbs (656g) up front allows them to keep the Columbus Zona steel frame with a double butted downtube and ED coating, as well as all of the little touches that make an All City frame. Otherwise, the frame is pretty classic with 130mm QR rear spacing, external cabling with down tube mounted barrel adjusters, 68mm English threaded BB, fender mounts (hidden on fork), and a standard external headset. Tire clearance is rated to 32mm or 28mm with fenders.
Replacing the current Mr. Pink with steel fork, the 2017 Mr. Pink will be sold in Red/White/Blue for $999 for the frame set or $2200 as a complete with a SRAM Rival 22 drivetrain and Zipp Service Course cockpit suite. The 2017 Mr. Pink is available now and should be at your favorite All City dealer.
