Frokken

So yeah, I got the ENVE MTN frok.   What about it?

I got it for a real reason, not just whimsical lustiness.  That reason being the Maxxis Chronicle's existence on this planet.  I wanted to be able to run it whenever I want to and not worry about mud and rocks.  The clearance on the Niner crabon frok?

There was not so much of that.  Being that this fork was created long before 29+ was even a thing, it's hard to fault the lack of foresight on that one.  ENVE boasts 3.46" (88mm) of clearance.  I measured it very inaccurately, and I would concur.

It looks like less but it is more.

Yes, I'm running the fender and not the clips.  Why?  Because everybody was asking me where the fender was... so I put it on.

What do I think of the frok?

I've ridden it a handful of times, nothing Pisgah gnarly, but very trail'esque.  I originally set the thru-axle flip chips to the 52mm offset.  There were many reasons to do this, but the biggest one being that since it was an option, why not try it?  It felt a little like poo, so I flopped the flip chips to the 44mm (1mm less than the Niner) setting, and it feels much more like my bike again.

The only disadvantage of running it with the 44mm offset is the necessity of two spacers for the brake mount that then require longer bolts which means I can't use the super awesome sexy time ti bolts that came with the new XTR brakes.

I'm hoping that I can get the bike out this weekend somewhere that speed and roots are available in order to have a molar bettar opinion on the handling... oh, and the lateral stiffness and vertical compliance.

And I did get an ENVE bar as well... not just because the gloss Niner RDO bar didn't match.

I ran my Thomson bar about 20mm longer than the Niner one that was on there.  I liked it, but the 3° less sweep might have been an issue.  I coulda went with a shorter stem, but I just put the Niner bar back on there and was done with it... but I missed the extra width when climbing.

I can only go so wide with bars.  With my hands too far out, there's too much pressure on my hand-crotch.... but I can climb more comfortably with wider bars and keep my levers the same distance apart (as before) for descending.  So far, so good.

What more can I really say about a rigid frok and a handlebar?   How do people even review these things?

I mean this guy reviewed the ENVE frok before he even rode it:


So at least I got it dirty it before I put finger to keyboard.

What's really going to standout performance-wise on a pretty standard crabon bar of frok?   Surely they both offer some form of comfort, but most happy times on a rigid bike come from tire selection/volume/pressure, body position, and handlebar grip choice.  The small amount of compliance that crabon bars and froks are known for... it's there, I guess.

I can see the frok flex fore and aft with heavy braking and when taking hits (when I can actually take my eye off of where I'm going and look).

I'm a bit bummed about this thru-axle system though.

I just spent all that time/effort/money getting these ultra-hot DT Swiss sküers for the Vertigo Meatplow V.7.

I contacted ENVE and asked about QR thru-axle systems.

"Hi Rich. Thanks for the inquiry. That fork is also compatible with the RockShox Maxle for tool-free usability."

I ordered a DT Swiss 15mm thru-axle sküer, but apparently it's made for some Salsa road bike or something.  It was about an inch too short. 

AND...

DT Swiss had this to say when I asked them about a compatibru sküer:

"Thru-axles are not interchangeable. You need to use the one that Enve includes with their fork. As far as we know, our RWS thru-axle is not compatible on other forks."

So last night I tried to stick my Rock Shox Maxle Lite 15mm sküer in there... no go.

Shit fuck shit.

So as of right now, I need a 6mm allen for wheel removal and my senses of symmetry and order are all out of whack.  I just stepped away from bolt-on sküers for the first time in years this past March, and now I'm halfway back to where I started.