 |
| Try All Karbon fork / pic from TartyBikes. |
At a time when mechanical preparation of any trials must include a carbon handlebar, just weeks before the first public series of the Monty M5, a few months after the release of the Try All Karbon fork and as many disappointments as good things, I have to write about it instead of bitching alone in my corner.
On one side we have the carbon fiber handlebars that despite the critics of the early days, have proved that they are as reliable as their cousins in aluminium. Handlebars which have permit to save around 100 grams at once, and a good dose of rigidity (which more than offsets the loss due to elongation of stems in recent years).
On the other hand we have a frame that is a big change in the world of trials, the Monty M5 whose entire middle of the trial has heard, that still was an opportunity to hear the speeches of the most beautiful mythomaniacs of our sport declaring the price (and from reliable source of course) would exceed £ 4800. A frame that seems (to me) extremely well designed (maybe...), rendez-vous in a little year to do a reliability checking !
And so between the two, the object of the crime : the carbon fork. Tested, archi-tested, a release constantly postponed, several versions were born before moving to the (expensive!) serie. This is a fork ridden by many top riders (250g less than an aluminum fork, it inevitably helps to change). Last year we saw one of these forks breaking during competition. One week before the release, it is not pretty cool but it happens and happened with any aluminum fork.
The problem is more about the come-back of the international season last few days, and with it his anthology of breakage of the carbon fork. Okay on huge moves, okay I don't know how long they were mounted, neither they suffered. But in a sport as demanding as the trial we must have faith in our equipment, and small impacts and scratches are the daily lot of our practice.
A fork or any product breaking after a year of use at good level, or even 6 months at high level : I have no problem. Than any component breaks at higher frequency in the development phase, no problem neither. A product available to all riders (including many trialists who think that because the top pilots run with it, it's good for them ...) continues this "tradition" really bothers me.
Okay there is the voluntee to make a better product, okay many other examples (aluminum-made) exist (frames, bottom brackets, forks or other) but my problem is to hasten the release of the incriminated question.
Small clarification : I'm not a basicely anti-K124 troll, it is just they are the only ones who bets on the carbon fork today. And therefore they are alone in this unenviable situation.