Get Cranky with Zinn Custom Cranks
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Ever seen a fork with the steerer so long that it was longer than the blades?

You glue in this insert to support the steering tube under the stem clamp

The 450mm steering tube is so long that we still had to trim some off of one in order to install it in this 75.7cm bike with a 355mm-long head tube built for 7-foot-tall Chicago Bulls former head coach and center, Bill Cartwright!

The special Alpha Q full-carbon road fork made exclusively for us by True Temper features a 450mm steering tube – way beyond the industry standard 300mm (or, if you are lucky, 350mm)!

The super-long carbon steerer is also super-stiff. It is 1-1/8” in diameter, and its 4mm wall thickness is far greater than that of most full-carbon forks, including other True-Temper AlphaQ models. This, combined with the patented AlphaQ Carbon Rooting™ technology reinforcing the steering tube and crown, not only makes for a stronger fork, but the difference in stiffness is what is particularly noticeable for a tall rider. When you have a long steering tube inside of a tall bike, there is actually quite a bit of flex that you cannot see – flex of the steering tube inside of the frame’s head tube. This fork’s super-stout steering tube minimizes that.

This fork does not rely on an expanding plug to support the stem and anchor the headset top cap bolt (or, gasp, simply a star nut as some full-carbon forks do, giving no extra support where the stem clamps!). Instead, our fork has a four-inch-long insert plug that you bond in with supplied epoxy glue after you cut it to length. The advantage to this is that it supports the steering tube over a much longer length, meaning that you can move the stem clamp up and down over a wide range and still protect the steering tube against being crushed by the stem clamp. Standard short plugs cannot do this. If you want to use a few centimeters of spacers and give yourself room to move the stem up and down, you will be forgoing the support you need in some of the positions to prevent cracking of the carbon under the clamp.

The fork has 4.4cm of rake, straight blades angled forward at the crown to provide that offset, and a 374mm length from crown race to hub center. Again, it has a 1.125” diameter by 450mm long by 4mm thick threadless carbon steering tube. Uncut, it weighs 516 grams (1lb, 2.2oz.), and the insert adds another 36 grams. We sell the fork for $340 and generally have some of them on hand for quick shipping. This is a great riding, stiff and strong fork that’s perfect for tall riders.