We caught wind of Whyte Bikes’ forthcoming disc brake only cyclocross bike a week or so ago, and now we’ve got some more photos. Still no official word on which fork is on the bike in these photos, but designer Ian Alexander said he’s testing several along with different frame variations (also knows as ‘test mules’), and that he’s also trying to get one of the 3T forks to test out. Here’s the latest from Keith along with some more photos:
At this stage we’re putting miles on half a dozen frames, trying out different set-ups and so on… I’ve come at the CX project very much from an MTB perspective rather than the more usual road starting point, particularly when it comes to the geometry, as Whyte has been up to now very much a high-end MTB brand where we’ve always concentrated on extremely innovative design solutions in full suspension as well as longer-travel ‘trail hardtails’. Hence the CX frame is disc specific, no canti-bosses at all, and very very generous mud clearances for example.
The fork we have in that bike is a full carbon 1.125″ disc-only fork with an I.S disc mount. It’s not tapered 1.5″ although the frame is… I have been putting miles on a new fork on my bike, which I’ve attached a few photos of in this e-mail. It’s a genuine tapered steerer, and full carbon post-mount brake, which is really very clean. It’s the first sample of this fork which we’re working on in conjunction with a top factory. I think this is what you will see much more of in the coming year or two as the design-led companies push forward with these types of projects. I can’t wait for the hydraulic brake systems too that are rumoured…
Continued with photos…
Now, we can say this: Keith has recently been privy to some 2012 Shimano bits and pieces, and he’s the one that brought up all those hydraulics and rumors…far be it from us to *cough* propogate such hearsay. Now, ’bout those photos:
