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Crust Cargo Fork Build

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Crust Cargo Fork Build

Old 12-09-16, 02:36 PM
  #1  
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Crust Cargo Fork Build

Hey all-
I spend most of my time in the C&V forum but figured I would post here. I live car-free and decided to build myself a hauler using Crust Bikes' Clydesdale Fork and an oldish rigid mountain bike.

The frame is a 1990 Giant ATX 760. Pretty decent rigid MTB at the time. The bike I got was in relatively poor condition but rehab-able. It's got a roughed up but still cool black chrome finish instead of being painted. If you want to read about the rehab of the frame you can do so in the C&V thread.

The bike rides really well with or without load. Obviously a lot of stuff on the rack affects the handling but not nearly as much as previous bikes I have with normal front rack/basket setups. Pics:












Some things to note about the fork, and some useful info on it not specified on Crust's site:

-It's a burly piece of equipment. The dropouts are very long and thick. Not sure if it's powder coated or something else but it has a thick and rubbery black coating. Coupled with a strong wheel, I would not hesitate to put a lot of weight on this thing.
-It's got a lot of braze-on mounts. There is an upward facing M5 bolt mount on each corner of the rack (so 4 total, presumably for screwing in a basket or something), and then on the underside of the rack at the front there are double-sided M5 mounts on each side (so 2 total, presumably for lights).
-I have an Avid BB7 road disc brake on the fork with a 160mm rotor and it works great. One of the mounting bolts for the caliper was too long but this was easily replaced.
-I got the 20in Velocity Aeroheat wheel that Crust sells as an optional package with the fork and it works great. One thing to note is that it is drilled for Presta valves, which aren't super common in 20in tubes. So you will have to either drill it out for Schrader or find a tube with a Presta (which I did on Amazon).
-The cable guides on the fork for the front brake are the zip tie-style ones
-I did not bother measuring the crown race of the fork, but a standard Cane Creek 40 1 1/8 headset fit it just fine


Let me know if you have any questions about the fork, the build, or how it rides
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Old 12-09-16, 04:02 PM
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I've always wondered how bikes with mismatched wheel sizes handle but I suppose it handles like a folder with a similar small front wheel. The front wheel and steerer don't "know" that the back wheel is bigger.
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Old 12-09-16, 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by cooker
I've always wondered how bikes with mismatched wheel sizes handle but I suppose it handles like a folder with a similar small front wheel. The front wheel and steerer don't "know" that the back wheel is bigger.
Yep, it handles "normally". A bit twitchy but that's because of the stem/bars, not the wheel or fork.
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Old 12-11-16, 01:46 AM
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Great looks and practicality and I'm glad that you report it rides nicely. Not a criticism, but I think it would look even better with black rims & spokes on the rear wheel.
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Old 12-11-16, 10:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Roody
Great looks and practicality and I'm glad that you report it rides nicely. Not a criticism, but I think it would look even better with black rims & spokes on the rear wheel.
True on the black rim/spoke assessment. I'm using the original rear wheel the bike came with (Deore LX hub, black Araya rim with silver spokes) right now because it cleaned up nice, so I didn't have to sink any more money into the project.
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Old 12-12-16, 10:57 AM
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Cool conversion and I really dig the Crust fork but only one complaint, the steerer diameter and/or axle-to-crown measurement.

A lot of old mountain bikes with the correct 400mm atc measurement had 1" steerers. 1-1/8" steerer really only got popular when suspension came into play, but then the atc measurement grew to 450m or more, to account for suspension.

Worth looking for an older bike with the correct specs so that this will work optimally, but for a spare, older bike one might have kicking around, maybe not a perfect solution.

Considering how unique and useful this is, though, many (like me) might be certainly willing to deal with resultant handling issues from mounting this to a mtn bike with suspension adjusted frame.
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Old 12-15-16, 11:54 AM
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Originally Posted by mconlonx
Cool conversion and I really dig the Crust fork but only one complaint, the steerer diameter and/or axle-to-crown measurement.

A lot of old mountain bikes with the correct 400mm atc measurement had 1" steerers. 1-1/8" steerer really only got popular when suspension came into play, but then the atc measurement grew to 450m or more, to account for suspension.

Worth looking for an older bike with the correct specs so that this will work optimally, but for a spare, older bike one might have kicking around, maybe not a perfect solution.

Considering how unique and useful this is, though, many (like me) might be certainly willing to deal with resultant handling issues from mounting this to a mtn bike with suspension adjusted frame.
I think you're overstating this a bit. There was a period from 1989-1995 when rigid mountain bikes with the ~400mm forks were still extremely common and the majority of them had 1 1/8 head tubes. Take a look through the old Trek, Specialized, Giant, Gary Fisher catalogs and you will see this. During this point in time mostly the top end models had suspension forks and suspension-corrected rigid forks weren't really a big thing yet. The geometry on rigid bikes was simply different than the suspension models.

I think Crust made the right choice with the steerer diameter and length here given the prevalence of these bikes in local used markets over earlier mtbs and ones with 1" steerers.

In my case I found the Giant on Craigslist for $80. I did have a 1993 Trek 930 that would work but I had already done a touring conversion on that guy.


Last edited by TenGrainBread; 12-15-16 at 11:59 AM.
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Old 12-15-16, 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by TenGrainBread
I think you're overstating this a bit. There was a period from 1989-1995 when rigid mountain bikes with the ~400mm forks were still extremely common and the majority of them had 1 1/8 head tubes. Take a look through the old Trek, Specialized, Giant, Gary Fisher catalogs and you will see this. During this point in time mostly the top end models had suspension forks and suspension-corrected rigid forks weren't really a big thing yet. The geometry on rigid bikes was simply different.

I think Crust made the right choice with the steerer diameter and length here given the prevalence of these bikes in local used markets over earlier mtbs and ones with 1" steerers.
Fair enough -- I'm just glad Crust is even making such a thing. The fun part is that you can probably find a suitable used bike for as much or less than the fork itself.

And FWIW, I built a custom frame not too long ago that would fit one of these forks perfectly -- 1-1/8 steerer, non-suspension-corrected geometry.

Still it wouldn't be too difficult to do a run of 1" steerer forks, with all other aspects exactly the same.

Dang, you got some cool vintage bikes.
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Old 12-15-16, 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by mconlonx
Fair enough -- I'm just glad Crust is even making such a thing. The fun part is that you can probably find a suitable used bike for as much or less than the fork itself.

And FWIW, I built a custom frame not too long ago that would fit one of these forks perfectly -- 1-1/8 steerer, non-suspension-corrected geometry.

Still it wouldn't be too difficult to do a run of 1" steerer forks, with all other aspects exactly the same.

Dang, you got some cool vintage bikes.
Thanks dude!

Pic of the custom frame you built?
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Old 07-03-17, 12:23 PM
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Tyre size?

That's a great build. I am about to start mine.



I am building a Clydesdale too and aiming to use the same Maxxis Skinwall set up.



How wide did you go on the front Aeroheat that Crust supplies? Matt says he only has experience up to 2.1 wide on the rim but says that the fork will take 2.3. Which did you go with and how's it holding up?



Ahh; I can see that it's a 1.85. Fair enough.

Last edited by birchmax; 07-13-17 at 07:36 PM. Reason: Update.
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Old 05-05-19, 09:28 PM
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Cool bike how is it over bumps and down curbs?

Really cool bike, I've been considering getting one and putting it on a mid-90s rigid mtb as a commuter. How are these when going over bumps and down curbs?
Are they sketchy at all? Would think they wouldnt roll over stuff very easy?
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Old 05-07-19, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Saucy_Saunders
Really cool bike, I've been considering getting one and putting it on a mid-90s rigid mtb as a commuter. How are these when going over bumps and down curbs?
Are they sketchy at all? Would think they wouldnt roll over stuff very easy?
Mine rides the same as with the regular fork when unloaded. The handling is no different and the speed is no different.

The only functional difference I can say is that the whole front end is a bit more rigid/stiff. The smaller front wheel is way stronger and the fork has a little less give than a traditional fork. It's pretty minor and mostly not noticeable, and also isn't necessarily bad.

Here it is in its current guise. Still my favorite bike to ride around town, loaded or unloaded. I even did an overnight camping trip with it. (100 mile round trip on gravel/crushed limestone) and it worked great.



I'm planning on upgrading the whole bike this summer. 1x10 Deore XT, Paul disc up front, couple other small things. I would consider getting a dynamo hub for the front as the fork has a lot of good mounting spots for a light.
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Old 05-15-19, 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by TenGrainBread
Hey all-
I spend most of my time in the C&V forum but figured I would post here. I live car-free and decided to build myself a hauler using Crust Bikes' Clydesdale Fork and an oldish rigid mountain bike.

The frame is a 1990 Giant ATX 760. Pretty decent rigid MTB at the time. The bike I got was in relatively poor condition but rehab-able. It's got a roughed up but still cool black chrome finish instead of being painted. If you want to read about the rehab of the frame you can do so in the C&V thread.

The bike rides really well with or without load. Obviously a lot of stuff on the rack affects the handling but not nearly as much as previous bikes I have with normal front rack/basket setups. Pics:












Some things to note about the fork, and some useful info on it not specified on Crust's site:

-It's a burly piece of equipment. The dropouts are very long and thick. Not sure if it's powder coated or something else but it has a thick and rubbery black coating. Coupled with a strong wheel, I would not hesitate to put a lot of weight on this thing.
-It's got a lot of braze-on mounts. There is an upward facing M5 bolt mount on each corner of the rack (so 4 total, presumably for screwing in a basket or something), and then on the underside of the rack at the front there are double-sided M5 mounts on each side (so 2 total, presumably for lights).
-I have an Avid BB7 road disc brake on the fork with a 160mm rotor and it works great. One of the mounting bolts for the caliper was too long but this was easily replaced.
-I got the 20in Velocity Aeroheat wheel that Crust sells as an optional package with the fork and it works great. One thing to note is that it is drilled for Presta valves, which aren't super common in 20in tubes. So you will have to either drill it out for Schrader or find a tube with a Presta (which I did on Amazon).
-The cable guides on the fork for the front brake are the zip tie-style ones
-I did not bother measuring the crown race of the fork, but a standard Cane Creek 40 1 1/8 headset fit it just fine


Let me know if you have any questions about the fork, the build, or how it rides

what is the trail, now , on your setup?
No steering Shimmy at any rate of speed?.... loaded or empty?








..
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Old 05-15-19, 10:06 AM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
what is the trail, now , on your setup?
No steering Shimmy at any rate of speed?.... loaded or empty?
I haven't measured the trail but I can when I get home later.
I've never experienced any shimmy, loaded or unloaded.
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Old 06-19-19, 04:44 PM
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If only.. . Looks like the perfect piece.. now to convince the better half
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Old 06-11-20, 01:54 PM
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Sorry to revive, but what front tire is that? I've been looking for a 20" skinwall.
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Old 06-29-20, 07:38 AM
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Hey! Crust did 1" forks, too! Yay.
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Old 12-17-20, 06:32 PM
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TenGrainBread
I live car-free and decided to build myself a hauler using Crust Bikes' Clydesdale Fork and an oldish rigid mountain bike.
Nice setup!

I finally got in on one a few months ago and have been loving it. Similar frame style, using a 90's Giant mtb frame. The picture is awful quality...

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