On Saturday night, beneath the brilliant gentle of a Waxing Gibbous, I made historical past:
Bear in mind in “Raiders of the Misplaced Ark” how Indiana Jones turned the primary individual in 1000’s of years to affix the headpiece to the Workers of Ra, and in so doing was capable of finding the movie’s eponymous ark?
Effectively, because of Paul of Basic Cycle I had my very own Workers of Ra, and with it I turned the primary individual in over 1 / 4 of a century to unlock the complete potential of the Trek Y-Foil:
And right here it’s on a moonlit shakedown experience:
For years, folks have been setting the Y-Foil up as a triathlon bike as a consequence of its aero design:
[From here.]
However that’s like attempting 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 stuffed 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, they usually have been configuring their choices accordingly:
[1995 Cannondale catalog]
So when Trek have been creating the Y-Foil they determined it needed to be suitable with a suspension fork so that they wouldn’t miss out on the following huge factor. This is the reason 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 completely attainable US Postal might 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 it fell into what engineer Jim Colegrove referred to as a “black gap.” It was an aero bike, but it surely 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 clarification:
A 12 months later they gave the impression to be pushing it as a triathlon bike:
And after that it was gone.
Trek had meant 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 supplies appear to disregard it, Colegrove doesn’t know if anybody has ever truly 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 best way Trek meant, 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 correct wrenches for the scalloped Shimano headset:
Sorry, make that “head elements:”
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, regardless of how ostensibly easy 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 have to be good to ensure that them to remained aligned with the rim–even elevating or decreasing 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 lead to fixed rubbing.
Luckily, I had simply obtained a relatively well timed bundle from Samantha on the Previous Spokes Residence 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 search 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. Nonetheless, while you’re driving a motorbike just like the Spouse Oil you’ve obtained 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–positive, you’d by no means order such a factor, however when you’re there you may as effectively go along with it, and after just a few 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 assume it seems higher than that weirdly elongated inventory fork. As for efficiency, I’ve solely obtained one chilly 20-ish mile experience on it (apart from the very transient moonlit shakedown spin), and…to this point it’s type 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’re feeling such as you’re mendacity on a down mattress topper. After all you will get a lot the identical impact with some increased quantity tires, however keep in mind that this was 1998 and no one thought that means. Take a look at the rear tire clearance:
That tire is nominally a 25, however when you’re acquainted with Gatorskins you know the way slim they run:
By the best way, I put that tire on there after discovering this on Friday:
And sure, that was in truth the interior 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:
In reality it’s so shut the cable adjuster truly touches the water bottle:
It’s not a problem in observe, however on a brake with a chunkier adjuster it most likely could possibly be:
Clearance up entrance is equally tight:
For those who needed to sum up biking the Nineties with a single picture, you could possibly discover no higher one than this picture 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 recognize and settle for this you’ll be able to absolutely benefit from the bike in the identical means you can get pleasure from a delicate drink or a quick meals burger that arrives at its deliciousness by having means too many questionable substances. And the fork appears to work…decently:
With out the guide I do not know if the fork is meant to lock out fully, however with the swap 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 lined 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 considered one of my Rivendae, and even the Cervino with its 30mm tubular tires, and I wouldn’t have needed to flip a swap, 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 just a few months it could simply really feel prefer it’s stuffed with marshmallows.
