Originally Posted by
wgscott
I tried it attached to their carbon gravel bike. I used it on the same ride I normally take with my steel-framed, carbon Enve CX fork, and it really beat me up. I am not entirely sure if I should blame the fork, the frame, or the tires. Ideally, I should try the fork on my own bike before concluding anything. I really wanted to like this fork, but I think the lack of dampening made the bike hard to control on steep rocky descents (fire roads and single track in Wilder Ranch, just north of Santa Cruz, if that helps). On road it actually wasn't too bad. I tried that first and thought I liked it, but changed my mind when I got off road. However, there really isn't much need for it on road.
Ah ok. I can’t assume a cheap-ish carbon frame would match a steel one in terms of compliance. Your experience with rocky stuff seems to echo public opinion and common sense. If damping were unnecessary, then people wouldn’t use it.
Still not entirely convinced that I’d be better off with a rigid fork, though. Fast, rocky descents would probably be rare for me.