Idea for adjustable rake fork
I've been considering the idea of tinkering with changing fork rake. The problem is that existing "adjustable" forks only have a limited range of rake because they adjust at the dropout. I wondered if it might be possible to adjust at the crown instead.
Instead of a fixed crown, I was thinking weld or braze a round, horizontal crossbar to the bottom of the steerer. At the top end of each fork blade, a tube with a matching inner diameter surrounded by a couple of seat lugs. The blades would be able to pivot forward and back to a wide range of positions without affecting clearance between the bottom of the "crown" and the tire, although extreme positions would affect crown distance to the ground. Essentially, each fork blade would be attached like a heavy duty version of a mountain bike bar-end. My only worry is whether there would be enough friction and clamping force to keep the fork from slipping and rotating around the crown. One advantage would be that it would be possible to install a disc brake on this since the front axle position is fixed relative to the disc tab.
Would this work? Has it ever been done before?