What's Behind the Ride

 

ALL THE STRENGTH WITHOUT THE WEIGHT

With standard 1-1/8 inch steer tubes, fork designers are forced to create abrupt, 90 bends where the fork crown transitions to the steer tube. To compensate for these naturally weaker bends, forks must then be overbuilt for strength. This process adds weight. The all-new Madone's fork is different. It uses an oversized E2™ 1.5 inch lower steer tube that, when combined with our No90™ construction method, effectively removes these typical bends by allowing the carbon fibers to run straighter and continuously through the entire fork. Thanks to E2's larger diameter, No90 construction utilizes carbon's inherent straight-line strength to create forks that are significantly lighter (up to 120 grams lighter) than previous Madone forks.

Read More

Carbon Fork Comparison

No90 Bontrager Race XXX Lite Fork

No90 Bontrager Race XXX Lite Fork

No 90™ Bontrager Race
XXX Lite Fork

  • Driven by new standards. No constraints here.
  • No90 construction allows the carbon fibers to run continuous without sharp bends from the steer tube to the fork crown to the fork legs.
  • 1.5 inch bearing race section = less material used and higher strength.
  • Net Molded bearing race places the 1.5 inch bearing directly on the carbon crown race seat, removing the need for a traditional metal bearing race seat.
  • Tool-less installation. No machining, pressing, or pounding required to install (there is no lower race to set, and there are no cups to press in)
  • Increased tire clearance because of 1.5 inch size.
Traditional Carbon Fork

Traditional Carbon Fork

Traditional Carbon Fork

  • Driven by old standards.
  • Sharp, 90° angles create stress risers in an already high stress area.
  • Redundant material must be added to reinforce the bearing race area = more weight.
  • Race seats are cut into carbon crown and cut carbon fiber is never a good thing.
  • Special tools and time required to install race and cups.
 

Aluminum Fork Comparison

Race Lite Madone Fork

Race Lite Madone Fork

Race Lite Madone Fork

  • 3D-forged one-piece steerer and crown design saves 100 grams.
  • Reverse bond crown and fork leg design replaces solid aluminum with hollow carbon.
  • 1.5 inch built-in, self-aligning lower bearing race.
  • Increases strength at the highest stress location of the fork.
  • Tool-less installation. No machining or pounding required. No cups, no races to install.
  • Increased tire clearance.
Traditional Aluminum Crown

Traditional Aluminum Crown

Traditional Aluminum Crown

  • Solid aluminum crown = heavy.
  • Bonded-in steer tube.
  • Crown bonded to legs.
  • Crown race has sharp angles in high stress locations.