On Saturday night, beneath the intense mild of a Waxing Gibbous, I made historical past:
Bear in mind in “Raiders of the Misplaced Ark” how Indiana Jones turned the primary particular person in 1000’s of years to affix the headpiece to the Employees of Ra, and in so doing was capable of finding the movie’s eponymous ark?
Properly, due to Paul of Traditional Cycle I had my very own Employees of Ra, and with it I turned the primary particular person in over 1 / 4 of a century to unlock the total potential of the Trek Y-Foil:
And right here it’s on a moonlit shakedown experience:
For years, individuals have been setting the Y-Foil up as a triathlon bike as a consequence of its aero design:
[From here.]
However that’s like making an attempt to stay Pterodactyl wings on a T-rex, and it seems what actually belongs on this bike is a suspension fork, go determine:
So allow us to return to the 1998, when Y-Foils roamed the Earth:
And paper magazines have been crammed with purple prose, like this:
Oy.
Suspension had already conquered the mountain bike market, and by the early-to-mid Nineties shock forks had begun to seem on the entrance of Paris-Roubaix:
To bike designers, highway suspension appeared inevitable, and so they have been configuring their choices accordingly:
[1995 Cannondale catalog]
So when Trek have been growing the Y-Foil they determined it needed to be suitable with a suspension fork in order that they wouldn’t miss out on the subsequent large factor. Because of this the inventory fork has that elongated crown:
This was a race bike, and one Trek would have made out there to its sponsored groups–and sure, it’s fully attainable US Postal may have determined to make use of the Y-Foil at a race like Paris-Roubaix. Between the beam and a suspension fork a rider would float proper over these cobbles.
However as Trek have been launching the bike, the UCI declared the bike unlawful, so by way of advertising and marketing it fell into what engineer Jim Colegrove known as a “black gap.” It was an aero bike, nevertheless it didn’t have the geometry of a real triathlon bike, or the 650c wheels that have been widespread on the time. The primary 12 months for the Y-Foil was 1998, and in that 12 months’s catalogue it’s simply form of there with no rationalization:
A 12 months later they gave the impression to be pushing it as a triathlon bike:
And after that it was gone.
Trek had supposed for the Y-Foil to be a “mic drop” what with its radical design and all, however as a substitute they form of fumbled with the mic for awhile till it lastly fell into an unflushed bathroom.
Although the suspension compatibility is talked about deep within the technical guide, Trek’s advertising and marketing supplies appear to disregard it, Colegrove doesn’t know if anybody has ever really put a suspension fork on there, and I’ve definitely by no means seen a Y-Foil outfitted with one myself. So now, 27 years later, I set about configuring the bike the way in which Trek supposed, and till I hear in any other case I’m going to go forward and assume I’m the primary civilian ever to take action. To that finish, Paul even despatched me the right wrenches for the scalloped Shimano headset:
Sorry, make that “head components:”
Whereas I’m admittedly inept, I at all times discover that when engaged on a bicycle there’s at all times some form of unexpected downside, irrespective of how ostensibly simple the job could also be. On this case, it was that the entrance brake bolt was too lengthy for the thin brake arch of the Ruby fork:
Moreover, even earlier than discovering this, I’d been involved about utilizing the Zero Gravity brakes with this fork. See, these ultralight single-pivot calipers are so delicate that the cable size should be excellent to ensure that them to remained aligned with the rim–even elevating or reducing the stem a hair is sufficient to shift them out of alignment. So it appeared to me that the motion of a suspension fork may end in fixed rubbing.
Fortuitously, I had simply acquired a fairly well timed package deal from Samantha on the Outdated Spokes Dwelling in Burlington, VT:
[They take donations and also have an eBay store.]
She’d examine my Brake Debacle and despatched me not one however two lovely pairs of 9-speed period Shimano Ultegra brakes. So I put in one of many rear brakes on the Ruby fork:
No downside:
I nonetheless had one other rear, so I went to put in that, solely to seek out that the rear keep was too thick for the quick nt and bolt. So I used a entrance brake as a substitute, together with the shorter nut from the rear brake:
I doubt that is the “proper” technique to do it, however what the hell, it appears to work.
Usually talking, I don’t actually take care of suspension. Nevertheless, whenever you’re driving a motorbike just like the Spouse Oil you’ve received no alternative however to let down your inhibitions:
It’s form of like going to some over-the-top membership or restaurant and being served a ridiculous cocktail–certain, you’d by no means order such a factor, however when you’re there you may as effectively go along with it, and after a couple of sips you begin to give up. Aesthetically, I’d argue it really works in context with the general madness of the bike, and I even suppose it seems higher than that weirdly elongated inventory fork. As for efficiency, I’ve solely received one chilly 20-ish mile experience on it (in addition to the very temporary moonlit shakedown spin), and…to this point it’s form of enjoyable! The bike nonetheless handles properly–being designed for a fork like this it doesn’t do something wacky to the entrance finish–and so it retains its racy character while concurrently making you are feeling such as you’re mendacity on a down mattress topper. In fact you may get a lot the identical impact with some larger quantity tires, however keep in mind that this was 1998 and no person thought that method. Take a look at the rear tire clearance:
That tire is nominally a 25, however in the event you’re aware of Gatorskins you know the way slim they run:
By the way in which, I put that tire on there after discovering this on Friday:
And sure, that was actually the inside tube bulging out of there, so I used to be on borrowed time.
One other quirk on the stern of the Y-Foil is how shut the brake caliper is to the water bottle, one thing that didn’t present itself with the a lot shorter Zero Gravity brake:
The truth is it’s so shut the cable adjuster really touches the water bottle:
It’s not a problem in observe, however on a brake with a chunkier adjuster it most likely might be:
Clearance up entrance is equally tight:
Should you needed to sum up biking the Nineties with a single picture, you would discover no higher one than this photograph of a suspension fork that may barely clear a 25mm tire:
Use a wider tire?
Naaah.
Let’s simply preserve utilizing the identical skinny ones however construct an entire loopy contraption round them as a substitute.
Actually, between the shock-absorbing beam and the suspension fork, all the bike is one gigantic workaround.
However as soon as you already know and settle for this you may totally benefit from the bike in the identical method that you would be able to get pleasure from a mushy drink or a quick meals burger that arrives at its deliciousness by having method too many questionable substances. And the fork appears to work…decently:
With out the guide I don’t know if the fork is meant to lock out utterly, however with the change on this place it sorta-kinda does:
At one level I used to be descending with the fork “locked out,” then I got here to the underside of the hill and encountered a stretch of torn up highway that was coated with steel building plates. So I reached down and unlocked the fork and between the fork and the beam I actually did kinda float proper over it. Granted, I’d have floated proper over it on one in all my Rivendae, and even the Cervino with its 30mm tubular tires, and I wouldn’t have needed to flip a change, besides, I’m having fun with the novelty issue:
Although as Paul factors out, the elastomers within the fork are temperature delicate. Certain, it’s enjoyable now, however in a couple of months it could simply really feel prefer it’s filled with marshmallows.
