The Prodigal Fork Comes Home

Beaten, bruised, and battered. The On One Inbred fork.

If you've been keeping up with my "Minus Ten Review" posts, you've likely seen how my old On One Inbred came together and was used at the first Dirty Kanza 200 event. That was ten years ago now. I used that bike pretty regularly until 2008-ish or so, when I parked it due to having other bikes and review duties. It may have been about that time that I sold the bike to my then co-worker at the shop, Craig.

I do know that Craig rode the Inbred on the Guitar Ted Death Ride invitational of 2009, so it must have been right before then that I sold him that bike. He rode it for a while, then he left our shop and went to Ames, and that's when I lost track of the old Inbred up until a couple years or so ago. Craig let me know in a text that his brother was riding the bike then. I told him that I wanted first dibs if it ever came up for sale again. I really liked the ride feel of that bike.

Well, the frame came back to me very unexpectedly last May. (Story here) I was super grateful for that. The thing was that I did not have the original fork, and ironically enough, the carbon fork that I ended up putting on this Inbred was sold to another co-worker just a bit earlier in the year. Analysis paralysis then set in and I ended up stashing the thing down in the Lab until a time that I would have a clearer mind about what to do with the bike.

So, that was that. I occasionally would think of a few ideas for that build, but which fork I would use was always the hang up. Well, that and a head set, which I have, but I always think I need an anodized Chris King or something for a head set, which kind of puts a damper on my build process.

That's me riding the Inbred at the first DK200: Image by Joel Dyke

So, anyway, what happens but Craig walks into the shop not long ago and hands me this battered, scratched up, rusty steel fork. It was the original Inbred fork! Craig told me that it ended up with a guy out in Colorado and Craig had asked that when he was finished with it maybe he could give it back to Craig. Well, the guy did, Craig generously gave it back to me, and well..... I guess I'd better get something done with this thing now! 

The thing is, the fork has been used to such a degree that the powder coating is gone in several spots. This thing needs a good refinishing. Well, if I have to get the fork powder coated, maybe I should do the whole dang thing. So, more decisions and maybe more delaying. I don't know.....

I am thinking this will end up becoming a single speed again, like it was in the beginning. I may end up putting a drop bar on it, but that isn't a given. At any rate, the bottom line is that now I'll need to do something with the rigid steel fork, at the least, and I may end up doing something completely silly in the interim, like putting a suspension device on it. I happen to have one that would be a good fit, so why not? It would get this up and running faster than it might if I hold up and powder coat this fork or the whole frame.

I do happen to like purple.........