Tandem Cycling - Winwood Fork for Cannondale

I am considering replacing the stock 2003 Cannondale RT3000 fork with a Winwood Muddy Cross fork. I would like to hear anyones experience using Winwood fork with 45mm of rake vs. 51mm of rake on the stock Cannondale fork. What is the effect on handling, ride, etc.

Thank everyone.

Quicker handling mabey. I would be concerned about steerer tube thickness.

We have used the Chucks version of this fork for about 8,000 miles. I just removed and inspected it over the winter and it still looks great so I did not install the identical spare that I also have. THe handling is a bit quicker, which I enjoy since we ride mostly with singles and appreciate faster reaction in a pace line situation. With regard to ride quality, the carbon fork does damp out some of the road vibration but I originally installed this fork at the same time as switching from OEM wheels to Velocity Deep V wheelset. So there was additional "feel" in the handlebars from smaller 700 x 25 tires at 125-130 psi that is somewhat offset by the carbon fork. As I remember, the weight difference was around 0.9 lb. For reference, we are a 273 lb team riding a 1999 Cannondale. And just in case anyone is interested, we are now on Deep V's, White Ind 32 hole hubs w/ CX-Ray in front and butted Sapim on the rear wheel. Wheelset weighs 1906 g without skewers. They work very well for us. I would recommend the fork and wheels to other Cannondale owners.

A few thoughts FWIW. I don't know your team weight, how aggressive you ride or how steep and rough the roads you ride on are... but the higher up the scale you go on these items the more I would caution someone on using a fork not specifically designed to the demands of a tandem. Some folks on this forum use less than tandem specific forks and are happy with them but the risk is something one should really think about. Talking to the Manufaturer (not a salesman) before doing it can't hurt either.

As for the change in rake..I just switched from a very forgiving 55 on my old C'dale that we've had for 19 years to 50 on a new'ish carbon forked Trek T2000 and for sure the steering is way more sensitive to me...not bad.. just much quicker and requires me to be smoother with the bars.

As to carbon forks in general, in addition to the Trek, I switched to them on two singles and have never beem disappointed as they do tend to dampen the bumps more so than the alloy ones they replaced.

Good luck..have fun.

Bill J.

I used a Reynolds Ouzo Pro cross on a 2007 Cannondle road tandem. The Specs are similar- to the Winwood- 395 A-C and 45 mm rake. Ride was better, steering was quicker, which I liked.

The use of cross forks is a good alternative because they offer these with a disc mount, making the tandem a very capable stopper. Steerer tube thickness is of major concern while stopping on a 60mph steep, bumpy decent, with the added power of a front disc, rear tire lift is possible, putting added strain on the fork. Wound up offers a carbon fiber, disc brake compatable tandem fork.

I believe there is one caveat with the Winwood. IIRC, you cannot use a 203mm disc, it must be smaller if you plan to use it on a tandem. I think it's mentioned on Winwood's site.

http://www.winwoodbike.com/muddydisc.html

Top line says 6" rotor only.

Everyone;
I have ordered the Winwood Muddy Cross fork from Alfred E Bikes ($210). I think it will make the bike steer more quickly. Having ridden a single bikes for 25 yrs, I think this will be an improvement. I am hopeful that it will soften the ride, at least a little bit. I appreciate everyones concern regarding using a cross fork on a tandem. The Muddy Cross fork is rated for tandem use by the manufacturer. Precision Tandems offers the Muddy Cross as an option on its Calfee's.

For anyone considering using the Nashbar fork, Nashbar told me that it is not tandem rated.

We are about a 300 lb team and new to tandeming, so we're still pretty conservative. I made the mistake of hitting 55 mph early on. Two years later, I am still overcoming that mistake.

I don't plan on using a front disc. After reading many posts, I will wait to see some history on tandem front disc usage. I am replacing the stock V brakes with Avid Single Digit 7's. From the other posts, it sounds like they'll provide plenty of stopping power.

Whereswaldo: I read your previous post on the Winwood fork. Thanks

Thanks everyone for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

Our last tandem had a disc front, and it was the best stopping bike we had. Simply amazing.

Litespeed51,

We used Avid SD-7 on our tandem in place of the disc brakes and found stopping power more than adequate and our team is about 60 pounds heavier than you. Make sure you use Kool Stop or Swissstop pads and you will be fine.

A few thoughts FWIW. I don't know your team weight, how aggressive you ride or how steep and rough the roads you ride on are... but the higher up the scale you go on these items the more I would caution someone on using a fork not specifically designed to the demands of a tandem. Some folks on this forum use less than tandem specific forks and are happy with them but the risk is something one should really think about. Talking to the Manufaturer (not a salesman) before doing it can't hurt either

That isn't bad advice.

However, I'm 375lbs on my own, and I certainly outweigh most tandem captain/stoker combos. I don't run tandem forks on my single. Heck, my Giant OCR1 has a carbon fork on it. For what its worth...

Now, I'm by no means advocating that someone with a entry level tandem should take a Giant Carbon fork and put it on their tandem. I don't think there should be anything but a cro-moly fork on tandems. However, I feel a helluva lot safer bombing hills on my single with its carbon fork than I do on the tandem with its 1" fork. Make no mistake.

We are about a 300 lb team and new to tandeming, so we're still pretty conservative. I made the mistake of hitting 55 mph early on. Two years later, I am still overcoming that mistake.

The hills were so insane in the ICHS Quadrapedal Century rides that I decided to flat out bomb one after hitting the crest conserve momentum for the following killer hill. We hit 55mph with a 575lb captain/stoker and a bike trailer in tow. I was more scared than the stoker. She was flat out terrified. Drag brake was "full-on" on every descent after that.

Thinking about adding a lever for the stoker to control drum brakes on the trailer.