Episode 14 of “Ask the Gravel Cyclist Crew a Question” can be seen below.
Questions in this episode:
- Is it always a race? Is it frowned upon to enter a race just for the challenge? What is a good pace to finish based on time?
- I would like to upgrade my wheelset. What option offers up serious bang for the buck?
- What are your thoughts on bikes with suspension, i.e. the Cannondale Slate or those fitted with the Lauf fork?
- Is the Specialized Future Shock a legitimate component or a short-lived gimmick?
- How do you deal with nasal discharges on solo or group bike rides?
- Why do Titanium bikes always have carbon fibre forks? Why not a titanium fork?
Links to stuff mentioned in this video:
Hunt Four Season Gravel Disc Wheelset Review
2018 Middle Georgia Epic Race Video
Lauf Fork Review
T-Lab X3 Review
Episode 15 coming soon, post your questions here!
Don’t forget to Like the Gravel Cyclist Facebook page, follow G.C. on Instagram and subscribe to our Youtube Channel. We are also on Twitter!
Thanks JOM. Coincidentally, I was in a shop yesterday and the owner showed me an old Ti fork with a cracked Ti steerer. The fork was made for an all Ti bike in the dark ages. Eventually the forks were recalled by the manufacturer because of failure and replaced with carbon forks. There are many reasons that Ti may not be good for forks.
– Nothing is made from pure Ti; but rather from Ti alloy which may have appropriate characteristics for frames – but not for forks.
– While Ti alloys are less dense and lighter than steel – they have less tensile strength per unit weight than steel. You can compensate for Ti’s lower tensile strength in bike frames by using oversize thin walled tubing. However, this may not be practical for forks.
– Machining and welding of Ti alloys is difficult and may be too costly for forks; compared to carbon and steel.
Frankly, I’m not sure if my scenario is correct. But as a bike nerd, I’d be interested in what your Friend Mark Lynskey has to say about this question.
Good suggestion Bob, I will run this past Mark at a future juncture. BTW, I own a Teledyne Titan… one of the first mass-produced titanium road frames… from pure titanium, circa 1975ish. It still has an unbroken titanium fork. It’s a wall hanger nowadays!
You could have pointed the person with the question about the Future shock on the Diverge at your review of the ShockStop stem:
https://www.gravelcyclist.com/bicycle-tech/review-redshift-sports-shockstop-suspension-stem-minimize-bumps/
As they both do the same thing in suspending the bars, not the bike.
I’ve got the Trek isospeed based bikes on my N+1 list along with the Diverge.
Another rockin video! ?
Tom, you are spot on. I blame being distracted by the wind haha… the bloody camera fell over about six times!