The headset is a tapered 1-1/8’’ top and 1-1/4’’ bottom. From what I can find online my 2017 CAAD12 in 52cm has a fork rake of 45mm (source: Geometry Details: Cannondale CAAD12 2017).
I initially ordered this fork: Futura Caliper SLX – Columbus because it should work nicely as a replacement. Unfortunately this fork is available in 45mm and 50mm rake and even though I ordered the 45mm one, the online store sent me the 50mm.
My first question would be, is there a perceivable difference between 45mm and 50mm fork rake? For reference, I really like how the bike used to handle.
Now browsing the Columbus online store directly, I found this fork: COLUMBUS TUSK 1-1/4" ( PAINTED / GLOSSY ) – Cinelli Official which is a little less fancy, has an aluminum steerer tube and as a result weights around 150 grams more. On the flip side, it’s half the price of the other fork.
Apart from the weight, I don’t care about 150 grams more, would there be a perceivable performance difference between and aluminum and a carbon steerer tube?
From what I understand, the fork as a shape is a cantilever. That’s the reason why carbon being light and stiff is a particularly choice there. A similarly stiff aluminum or steel fork would need to be much heavier. My thinking now is that the Columbus tusk for should give me (almost) all the benefits of a carbon fiber fork, because is carbon fiber for the cantilever part that matters for stiffness, with just a little bit of a weight penalty.
Is my thinking correct, or would I be disappointed in terms of performance of an aluminum carbon hybrid fork coming from the stock CAAD12 full carbon fork?
Any help is much appreciated
Call me old school but I always see George Hincapie sitting by the cobbles after his aluminum steerer broke. He probably had a long stem and was on the roughest paths in Northern France, still, I’d go for all carbon personally. I put a new 1-1/8” ENVE rim brake carbon fork on my old Serotta, 43mm rake. And yes, they are not giving these things away $$!. Rim Brake Fork – ENVE Composites USA
Hm interesting for sure. I guess the aluminum and the carbon have to be bonded together somehow and that might fail more easily than call carbon.
I have of course looked at/lusted after an Enve fork but that is a little steep for my budget. Especially being based in Europe, the recent tariffs have made me turn towards European companies. Hence the Columbus.
Tariffs! MF’ers! yeah, I get that. Columbus does have centuries of experience. Hincapie’s steerer broke at the bottom of the stem, I believe, suggesting over-tightened stem and metal fatigue. And this was probably a Trek fork, recently developed at the time. People seem to have figured out the metal to carbon bonding. As for 45mm vs 50mm, I’m of no help.
Does anyone know if the Enve 2.0 rim brake fork can fit a 28mm tyre? Some specs say 25mm max. (My current CAAD12 rim brake fork fits a 28mm Corsa Control on 15mm and 17mm internal rim wheels).
On my 2006 CAAD8 I fitted a straight 1-1/8” curved Columbus fork with an aluminium steerer. Seems robust. It’s quite tight for 25mm tyres.
Yo, I have a 29mm measured Conti Aero111 in my Enve 2.0 (replacement on a SuperSix from around the same time). Fits fine. Could run a 30 I think (so a 28mm GP5k on the same rims) but I wouldn’t go any bigger.
Measured width is the most important thing. If you already have the tyre-rim combo then just measure and you’ll know. It’s trying new tyres that’s hardest for those of us still riding rim brakes.
Many thanks for the reply, the photos are really helpful - it looks like a safe 3mm all round. I have the same Ultegra calipers and on my CAAD12 fork, this is what limits tyre size - the “28mm” tyres measure 27-27.5mm with a minimum 3mm brake clearance, and 6mm to the fork itself.
Hincapie was using a fork from a lower-spec line of bikes….it was used becuase it allowed for longer-reach brake calipers so he could run larger tires.
That is some sweet insider information. It makes sense too, P-R would have required some real modifications to Trek’s top level road bikes. “Are you crazy, you want to put a 25mm tire on there?”
