On Saturday night, beneath the brilliant gentle of a Waxing Gibbous, I made historical past:
Keep 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 Employees of Ra, and in so doing was capable of finding the movie’s eponymous ark?
Nicely, due to Paul of Basic Cycle I had my very own Employees of Ra, and with it I turned the primary individual 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 trip:
For years, individuals have been setting the Y-Foil up as a triathlon bike as a result 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 had 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 look on the entrance of Paris-Roubaix:
To bike designers, highway suspension appeared inevitable, they usually had been configuring their choices accordingly:
So when Trek had been growing the Y-Foil they determined it needed to be suitable with a suspension fork so that they wouldn’t miss out on the subsequent massive factor. For this reason the inventory fork has that elongated crown:
This was a race bike, and one Trek would have made accessible to its sponsored groups–and sure, it’s solely doable 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 had been launching the bike, the UCI declared the bike unlawful, so by way of advertising 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 had been in style on the time. The primary yr for the Y-Foil was 1998, and in that yr’s catalogue it’s simply kind of there with no clarification:
A yr 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 an alternative they kind of fumbled with the mic for awhile till it lastly fell into an unflushed rest room.
Although the suspension compatibility is talked about deep within the technical handbook, 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 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 all the time discover that when engaged on a bicycle there’s all the time some kind 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 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 lead to fixed rubbing.
Luckily, I had simply obtained a somewhat 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 an alternative, 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.
Typically talking, I don’t actually take care of suspension. Nevertheless, once you’re using a motorcycle just like the Spouse Oil you’ve received no selection however to let down your inhibitions:
It’s kind 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 whilst you’re there you may as nicely go together 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 assume it seems higher than that weirdly elongated inventory fork. As for efficiency, I’ve solely received one chilly 20-ish mile trip on it (apart from the very transient moonlit shakedown spin), and…to this point it’s sort 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. In fact you may get a lot the identical impact with some increased quantity tires, however keep in mind that this was 1998 and no person thought that approach. Take a look at the rear tire clearance:
That tire is nominally a 25, however if you happen to’re aware of Gatorskins you understand how slender they run:
By the best way, I put that tire on there after discovering this on Friday:
And sure, that was in actual fact the internal 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:
Actually it’s so shut the cable adjuster truly touches the water bottle:
It’s not a problem in follow, however on a brake with a chunkier adjuster it most likely might be:
Clearance up entrance is equally tight:
In case you wished to sum up biking the Nineties with a single picture, you can 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 hold utilizing the identical skinny ones however construct a complete loopy contraption round them as an alternative.
Actually, between the shock-absorbing beam and the suspension fork, your complete bike is one gigantic workaround.
However as soon as you realize and settle for this you may absolutely benefit from the bike in the identical approach that you would be able to take pleasure in a gentle drink or a quick meals burger that arrives at its deliciousness by having approach too many questionable components. And the fork appears to work…decently:
With out the handbook I don’t know if the fork is meant to lock out fully, 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 development 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 might simply really feel prefer it’s filled with marshmallows.