Riding in France this Summer? Want to know who's fast? It's the British guy with the beat up forks, the ones that look like they have had a fight with a cheese grater and lost. £1,000 of once shiny metal that has certainly seen better days, well not any more ladies.
Forkskins are here to save your forks!I remember speaking to Fabien Barel last year at the Mega whilst he was changing my tyre, well if you are going to get someone to change your tyre, might as well make it a multiple World Champion...
He asked why were my fork legs in such a state, all battered and bruised? I replied it was down to the tractor and trailer uplift with the bikes stacked next to each other. Bumping and grinding up the hill, your forks get trashed and at the end of a 30x race season they do look a little worse for wear it has to be said.
This is where Steve Saunders steps on in from
www.saundersextremesports.co.uk.
Retailing at £34.99, your first initial thought like mine was "that is the top end price I'd pay for fork protection." Then I thought for a little longer, your Boxxer Team forks retail for £999.99 and you probably paid between £800-£900 for them. After a year's racing, riding, crashing, uplift damage etc... they will definitely have a few battle scars. Come re-sell time what are they going to fetch, £500? What about my pair, fitted from new with a forkskin they are unmarked on the lowers. The only real scuffs are from cable/zip ties rubbing on the crowns. Will I snatch your punter to buy mine, will he pay more than £500? How about £35 more? We can only guess on anywhere between £50-100 or more for cosmetic appearances.
Some of you out there may think that you would rather run your forks in their birthday suit, saving £50 for the appearance of your bike may not be appealing at all. Others will be thinking more about their ROI (Return on your investment). It's your pocket money and your decision..
Forkskins are available for 2010 Boxxers, Marzocchi 888 and Fox 40s. Even a weapon like me with zero grease monkey power fitted a pair in under 60 seconds for the pair. Just thread the two zip ties through and zip tie in place, easy as that! What you will instantly see is how well fitted they are around the entire lower legs of your fork. Well almost... You might have to slightly shift her a few millimeters come axle removal time. No great shakes, just a quick shift to ensure the hole in the forkskin is perfectly inline with the axle.
They are CNC machined in the UK, from approximately 2mm abs carbon looking plastic. Super strong and light, I even asked Steve when these really take off, will he change manufacturer? He states no, which is nice to know the future quality is guaranteed!
www.saundersextremesports.co.uk Foot out, Flat out..
Si Paton..
www.Descent-Gear.com
New Shop: 574 Hagley Road West, Birmingham. B68 0BS
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Its not a bad idea, im not 100% convinced though. Need to try a pair, It might be a nice novelty being able to be completly conscience free when i knock my forks.
Looks crap to be honest, but as i say, its not a fashion show. As its black (like my 40's) i could decal the forkskin i spose...
As for this product - I guess it comes down to functionality over looks - You can either hide your pretty forks away but keep the re-sale value up, or have a shit hot looking bike with a few battle scars when it comes to a change.
...At the end of the day though, the chance to tell your mates you just bought fresh foreskin for your forks makes it all worthwhile
My 66's are with the 3M adhesive:
www.pinkbike.com/photo/4843308
It protects good and it is cheaper.
Only thing is that it takes a while to be put properly...
i think that plastic could easily break when hit the ground...not the crystal...
after one year in my freeride bike they look new as the first day!
forkover protect 360° the fork not these as i can see....
no more chairlift or carry up paranoia!
and you can aslo use them for the frame of course..
ciao!!
it is a good idea this forkshin thing but i think id rather put a cut up inner tube on my lowers and save £35.
So some people don't like them, so what? They're a product for those people who are fed up of the forks being destroyed by uplifts, a massively common occurence over here. Mylar/Venture Shield/Leading Edge tape are all sliced to bits very rapidly...so hard plastic seems like a sensible option.
www.crankskins.com
also, i thought its just a copy really of crankskins and scuff tape
nothing new really
and whats with bikers liking carbon?
it looks shite to be honest
'oh i got carbon weave all over my bike'- 'so it looks crap!'
unless your anal about weight the differences are minor to be fair
ceck it out our products at www.forkover.it
they will fit perfectly your forks protecting them from the scratches without any problems!
made of crystal stickers they will last until you decide to cahnge fork...and they look good!
and rememeber you can personalize them as you want by colour,team logos, shop logos,rental logos or whatever you want!
even all clear!!
and you can do the same also with your frame,exactly where your noisy chain is hitting your baby down there!!
don't exitate to contact us davide@forkover.it
ciao!
d
I have seen them in the flesh and they are nothing like a putting a bit of tape on your fort to protect it.
I don't mind the price of them, but I am not paying £5.50 for delivery, taking them up to £40 (now I am starting to mind the price).
As said. Put them on for racing, or practice runs only to protect your investment, then take them off for race runs (cattle truck are only half full for these).
The tape I bought cost me £3 and is clear so it's barely visible, this 'forkskin' is just a hard plastic version, it looks crap and its £34.99? LOL
still a good idea though.
protect your investments.
Just use 5-6 mil + thick clear overlaminate and it will take one hell of a beating its used in MX and on the israely military vehicles.... Its light and durable..
The carbon cover is cool but is kind of odd looking....
This product doesn't protect against scratched stantions which does affect function and costs $$ to replace.. so, surely to deal with damage from uplift days, the uplift providers need to address the issue.
BC bike race ships hundreds of bikes between stages and take the due diligence of putting sheets of card board between each bike in their trailers.. problem solved.
fork boots - www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Lizard_Skins_Fork_Boot_Protector/5300001843
old idea, or get the old skool rubber ones that a lot of forks came with (some still do)
maybe having them the same colour as the forks with the "xer" on the them and a cool pattern or sumin but not just carbon look
with machine i meant the moulding machine/vacuum forming machine
just throw the 'waste' plastic back into the hopper and your go0d for some more
www.pinkbike.com/photo/5224652
A bashed up boxxer selling on PB for $700
A older but still mind cosmetically same year boxxer selling for $900
Thats $200 in your pocket, while keeping damage from your lowers to boot.
the design is ugly, i think they should do a clear plastic version as well for people who don't want to cover there fork up in a cheap looking carbon thing.
and yes. i do own many many things that are nice
That seems extremely ghetto. I wouldnt purchase a product that was held on by blatantly obvious zip ties.
Stupid premise/product imo.
haha!
But how care's how scratched they get anyway ?