The Forks That Won At Rio

Ding dong! Actually, it’s more of a ‘bong bong’. Indeed, when it gets stuck, it’s a ‘bong bong bong bong bong’, until one of the crew at ST Towers gallops down the stairs to answer the door. Whatever, it’s the sound of the doorbell, and it usually signals the arrival of something you’ll later see in Fresh Goods Friday. This time however, it’s a bit too exciting to keep until Friday.

So what do we have?

Apparently it’s fragile? We suspect this is just to stop the couriers honing their rugby drop kick skills with it. Because if it’s for mountain biking, it can’t be that fragile.

Not cake forks we suspect. But imagine how much cake you could eat with the number of cake forks you could fit in such a box.

Ah ha! DT Swiss Forks. Definitely not cake forks. Swiss rolling forks, from the folks over at Madison.

Fast rolling Swiss rolling forks – because these, ladies and gentlemen, are the same forks as used by Olympians. Not just Olympians, but WINNING Olympians! Not to be outdone by the limited edition RockShox SID we showcased over the weekend, DT Swiss have sent us their very own top-of-the-range bangers that we can safely say are some of the fastest XC forks in the world.

These are the 29in version, as used by Nino Schurter to win the men’s race, however the 27.5in version were also used by Jenny Rissveds to win the women’s race. Yes, you read that right, 27.5in wheels (and full bounce!) won and XC race.

Just in case you’re in any doubt as to who makes these medal winning forks.

Check out the weave on that carbon. Like a snakeskin tapered steerer. No cosmetic carbon weaves to be found here – this is all about making the lightest structure possible, and cosmetic layers just add unnecessary weight.

A whole 100mm of travel. Because these are for going forward, fast, not messing around bouncing about on. Massively hollowed-out bridge for the lowers which runs in a reverse-arch direction.

More snakeskin.

These weigh in at just 1500 grams on the nose. Floaty light for a 29in race fork.

Shiny stanchions of speed. Mmm-mmm. Can you see the wee sticker on the side of the crown? That number is 291/300, which means these are VERY limited edition indeed!

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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