guadzilla

Anyone know where I can get a steel road fork with 45mm rake and clearance for 28mm tires without paying $500 or something ridiculous like that?

I am doing a 3 week tour of the Himalayas next month (including a 45km climb with 2500m of vertical gain, up to 5700m - hello suffering!) and was thinking of taking my Lynskey Sportive, but only if I can use a steel fork (crappy roads - want something very sturdy and also a little more forgiving)

Thanks!

lunacycle

Surly?

guadzilla

The Pacer is on my list but I'd prefer something that is a little narrower (only near clearance for 700x28s), and can use short-reach brakes.

svtmike

I don't have an answer, but that sounds like an incredible trip. I'll be looking forward to the hundreds of photos.

Moto74

https://gunnarbikes.com/site/bikes/forks/

guadzilla

Thanks - as we cross 2 passes over 4200m and 3 more over 5000m, I'll be too busy trying not to faint or get altitude sickness (even 3800m in Bhutan really f**ked me over, especially the last bit which I foolishly did out of the saddle). But I'll be posting photos, etc. on Crazy Guy on a Bike, and will put a link here.

Moto - thanks for that link. Have already been in touch with Waterford and am waiting for a quote, but I suspect it is going to be in the $500 range... brrr.

erik c

https://www.rivbike.com/products/show...as-fork/50-718

guadzilla

^^ Bingo! Thanks, Erik.

mihlbach

The anti-carbon rant in that link is hilarious!

mmmdonuts

IRD is another one.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...gged-road-fork

guadzilla

^^ Thanks. I'm waiting to hear back about availability of the Rivendell fork as that is 45mm rake. If not, I'll check out the IRD and the Pacer forks.

late

A Sportive up a Himalaya?

I wonder if you will get enough traction.
The cost of shipping in and out is high, climbers routinely
leave expensive gear behind when they go home.

Are you sure about this?

guadzilla

I'll be on roads... potholed roads that spend 8 months under snow, but roads nonetheless. Mix of tarmac, gravel and potholes. And I live in this part of the world these days, so it is relatively easy for me to get there.

I havent decided on my bike, for sure - one option is to take my MTB but I dont really like riding it on tarmac - but high-end hydraulic discs and a 22t chainring could come handy when hurting due to the altitude. Taking a proper cross bike could be an option but cantis + long descends = recipe for trouble. I did a 50km descend from a pass in Bhutan last year and had to stop twice to let my rims cool. And the braking power on them wasnt the greatest. The Sportive with steel frame and 28s might be a good compromise, methinks.

svtmike

How about a Cooper CX with discs? It's got the rack/fender mounts, great brakes for the application, you can put 29er wheels on it instead of having to try and find a rear 130mm disc hub, and you can shoulder it around potholes, boulders, landslides, and yetis.

guadzilla

Sadly, I have too many bikes: at some point, n+1 == n for a very high value of "n". So it must be a bike that I already own. My options are an MTB, the Breakaway Cross bike, the LHT or the Sportive.

The MTB makes the most sense, as I can probably hit up some trails later and it can soldier through whatever road conditions we come across, but as I said, I really dont like riding the MTB on tarmac. There are a couple of segments on that stretch where I would like to be in the drops hammering.

V.

mmmdonuts

Is the MTB a 29er? You could get a suspension corrected rigid fork with disc mounts and trail drop bars on it. Then add CX tires and you're off.

guadzilla

MTB is a 29er, yes. And while I could do that, it is a lot of work for a 3 week trip, and drop bars would lengthen the reach too much (I have a v long ETT/v short stem on it for my style of trail riding). The steel fork on the Sportive would take me 5 min to swap.

I think I may suck it up and just ride the Niner, after all. At high altitudes, the lower gearing may come handy, methinks and I have a lockout on the fork anyway. Plus, I have a 6 day MTB stage race in September, and I could hit up some trails once the ride is over.