Whisky’s new fork was the focal point of the newest All-City Mr. Pink, but it’s also available as a stand alone fork. Why does that matter? Well, in terms of what the No.7 RD+ offers, there isn’t a lot out there that fits the bill. Between the massive tire clearance and the complete lack of disc brake mounts, this fork is in stark contrast to the current trends. Which means it might just be the perfect fork for builders out there who just haven’t been able to find what they were looking for…
Photos from the Whisky Parts Co facebook page
On the All-City Mr. Pink, the No.7 RD+ fork is used to clear 700 x 28c tires, but it can fit up to 35mm casings (Mr. Pink has a tire limit of 32mm, likely due to the clearance at the chainstays, not the fork). Of course, it is rim brake only – designed around a 47-57mm mid-reach brake caliper.
What makes it really interesting, is that it will also fit 650b wheels with up to a 47mm tire like the WTB Horizon.Whisky Parts Co. points out that the Tektro R559 brake works very well since it has the reach, and it has the width to clear the tire.
Offered with a straight 1 1/8″ carbon steerer tube, the fork uses a standard 100mm QR dropout with hidden fender mounts. Axle to crown measures 373mm with a 45mm rake, and weight is claimed to be 385g with an uncut steerer. The forks are in stock now at QBP and available through your local Q dealer for $399.
HOw many 650b rim brake RIMS are available to the market?
Hed Belgium Plus, Velocity A23, Velocity Atlas, plus some others. But not a lot.
Most of which are too narrow for a nearly 2″ tire….
A23s carrying Compass BSP 42mm … not a problem.
Narrower than ideal, but it wasn’t all that long ago that we ran 2.2’s on MTB’s with rims that had 13-14mm bead-to-bead widths.
I got some fairly wide ones from Velo Orange. More for touring and not lightweight, but at least they’re an option for rim brakes.
Too bad it doesn’t come with enough rake for small bikes
Weird… I think tapered steerers are pretty uncontroversially better. The only real reasons I could think to go with a straight one these days are either you’re trying to fit older frames, or aesthetics.
Tapered on a steel frame requires a bigger, heavier headtube for basically no advantages. Industry acceptance of tapered has to more with manufacturing and safety testing than real world advantages.
Tapered steerers are absolutely controversial for people shopping for a new fork for their frame with a 1-1/8″ non-tapered head tube.
Remember, this is an aftermarket fork. Think about how many bikes are out there now that can only = take 1-1/8″ straight-steerer forks. The size of the market is absolutely a consideration when trying to justify the cost of a new mold.
Carbon forks are easier to manufacture with the large crowns that tapered steerers facilitate and they more easily pass Euro safety tests with large crowns, just as Fork Dork asserted. Consumers love to shout, “Dude, stiffness!” but the engineering side of things is more complicated.
agreed. and looking at this crown and overall weight, i’m almost suspect.
How many bikes come with a 383 axle to crown though?
so safety not a real world advantage, i kinda like the idea off a fork that wont fail
If you can accept a certain reasonable weight, there is no safety issue. Re-read Jason K’s post for more insight..
You forgot keeping production costs low. This fork was designed around the cost of an All-City, I guarantee it.
Is there a tapered version? Could use one for my Heretic 🙂
You could always put an oversize crown race if you don’t mind the transition, they make them to fit old MTB forks to new frames.
Novelty item
FYI according to Whisky’s comments on IG, a tapered version is coming.
I like it, and have been waiting for this. I agree that there isn’t a huge market for this fork but there are several bikes that would work well with this fork…
All City Mr. PInk, Cielo Sportif, Rivendell Roadeo (dont tell GP), Comotion Nor’Wester, Soma ES, Black Mountain Cycle, New Albion Homebrew, Breadwinner Continental, Gunnar Sport, Hampsten Strada Bianca, Signal Saltzman.
That’s 11 right there with many more. From high-end to more budget oriented frames. I hope to see custom builders using it at NAHBS.
Unfortunately, the Roadeo is 1″ threadless, so this fork won’t work.
I mean, did you really expect for GP to come out with 1 1/8″ headtube…?
Ha ok your are correct, I got one wrong. Good point on the 1 1/8″ headtube GP would never approve.
The old caliper brake Salsa Casserolls as well (their geo chart shows 383 and 45 rake). Its a hair taller than the fork that comes on the Surly Pacer (376 v. 383).
Don’t forget Surly Pacer, I’m sure there are a few of those out in the wild. I’ve got a Black Mountain Cycles Road frame and I’m pretty stoked on this fork.
Should’ve been a 50mm offset at least given effective tire OD + fender and resultant toe-overlap on small/med frames.
Why in the world is it rim brake only?!
Because there are like a hundred disc forks that already work this way?
The Velocity Cliffhanger is the rim you want for this.
Unless some of the pics are suffering from serious wide angle distortion this is the first fork I’ve ever seen that has straight blades when viewed from the side, but curved blades when viewed from the front. Why?
Why not? Rim brakes offer builders a fork that can offer flexible fork blades for a better ride. When you have blades that have a disc mount they need to be rather stout. Yes carbon offers great vibration dampening but actual flexing of fork blade to really suck up irregularities. Everyone wants the latest and greatest to keep up with the Joneses…carbon, disc, tapered steer, thru axle, etc.