plowhorse

I would like to know if anyone has experience with the Whiskey No.9 CARBON THRU AXLE CROSS FORK? I am working on a Calfee build and I have decided to run disc in the front and I like the benefits of thru axle. Unfortunately there are not many thru axle options on the market yet.

Thoughts ?

Regards,
Plowhorse

waynesulak

I have seen that fork up close and there is a huge amount of tire clearance. Really looks like a strong fork. I am not one to generally believe in using cross forks designed for singles on tandems but that fork certainly looks very strong.

I am not sure of the axle to crown height but it must be big. This could be a plus or minus depending on your goals. The plus is you can run any size tire you want. On the other hand if you want to swap forks in the future you have limited options matching the axle to crown height and keeping the same head tube angle. I would consider what the bike would look like with narrower tires or even mid width tires. All that clearance might look odd with even 28mm tires. Of course looks are personal so YMMV.

rhino919

I don't have any experience with the Whiskey forks. I do have a few thoughts. If concerned about the look with all the clearance around the tire that you might get with the CROSS fork, Whiskey also offer NO.9 Carbon Thru Axle ROAD Fork that is designed for a 28mm tire on a 23mm rim. Either way, both of the forks are spec'd with a maximum disc size of 185mm. Generally tandems use 203mm discs.

In the end, I would follow the lead of Calfee. They know what they are doing.

plowhorse

Thanks for the clarification, I made a mistake on my original post and I pasted in the Cross fork but I'm interested in the road fork. I'm hoping by the time I build my new tandem (mid May) that I will have additional fork options.

twocicle

The Whisky thru axle road disc fork does seem to match up well with the typical Calfee build specs. ie: 367mm Axle to Fork Crown, 43mm or 49mm rake is available, and 1.125” - 1.5” Tapered Steerer, 350lb max weight (same as ENVE). Note that like many forks, the caliper size is limited to 185mm max. Of course on the rear, a Caliper adapter should get you up to a 203mm rotor if desired.

DubT

just curious, what is your logic concerning a disc brake on the front?

Chris_W

Often it is the shaping of the fork leg that limits disc size - disc forks are often narrower at the base to allow space for the disc to pass, but then become fatter higher up for strength; the point where this transition occurs is often what limits the disc size. Therefore the adapter might put the caliper in the right place but still won't allow a larger disc to fit in the fork.

twocicle

True. Can't tell from the picture of this fork. Anyway, probably better not to overload the fork and stick to the 185mm max they spec'd.