Colnago Fork Update

 I have a bit of a progress report and a big "Thank You" shout out to give on today's post. You may recall that recently I discovered my old Colnago's original fork while doing a deep cleaning of my shop. Well, I received a tip on how I might clean the rust up off this fork from one of you readers here. So, I gave that a try, and I am here to report on the results.

The tip was to take some wadded up aluminum foil and water and rub this on the affected area. It was an odd thought at first, but thinking about it further, this is kind of like using steel wool, right? With the exception that I was using water as a lubricant. 

Well, I modified this tip due to some things I have seen recently on an amplifier repair channel on You Tube. The amp repair guy I follow there uses alcohol to clean amplifier chassis a lot, so I figured exchanging the water for alcohol would be okay.  And it worked alright, but.....

This fork seems to be pretty corroded. Anyway, I wasn't seeing the results I had hoped for. It did remove the oxidation from the chrome though. That was a good thing. So I thought I'd dig out my Mother's Mag polish and see how that would do. I rubbed that on and it did take away some more of the actual corrosion. But.... Yeah, I'm not really satisfied with this. In my experience, this rust will come back rather quickly unless it is sealed away from the air or I get the fork re-chromed or painted. Well.....you take a look and see what I mean...

 

Treated fork leg on the left, what it looked like to begin with on the right.

Sure, it's 'better' than it was to begin with, but I cannot seem to get it any better than this with what I have now. Again, I am pretty sure, based upon my experience, that this won't hold up in the long term. Not that I will ride this bike a lot, but who knows? Once it gets back up and running, I might find that I really like it, and I may end up riding it a fair amount.

Thanks to one of my readers I have this quill insert.

Now on to the "Thank You" portion of this post. A regular reader and commenter on this blog, 'baric', asked if I might want to have this quill insert so I could use my current stem for the Colnago. The old fork is a threaded steer tube fork, so it requires a quill stem, which I don't have, and the current carbon fork is a threadless steer tube fork, which uses a completely different stem. 

So, I accepted the offer and there you can see the part which will hasten things along nicely toward a completion. 

I do have a head set, a Campy Athena threaded head set, so that part should be okay. I just have to swap everything over to the old (different) fork than I have now on there. 

But, I don't want to swap that all over until I get this chrome/rust situation settled. In my mind at this point I am thinking that I get this fork shined up as good as possible and then clear-coat it somehow and just live with the results. I do not plan on riding this bike in anything but blue-sky weather, so risking the finish against rain or inclement weather of any sort would be taken away. 

So, that's where I am at with the old Colnago at this point. By the way, if you are not familiar with this bike and the story behind it, here is the link back to that post where I talked about all of that. Okay, so if you have any advice, be sure to hit me up in the comments. Thanks to 'baric' again, and I'll have a new update on this bike in the near future,

Colnago Fork Update

 I have a bit of a progress report and a big "Thank You" shout out to give on today's post. You may recall that recently I discovered my old Colnago's original fork while doing a deep cleaning of my shop. Well, I received a tip on how I might clean the rust up off this fork from one of you readers here. So, I gave that a try, and I am here to report on the results.

The tip was to take some wadded up aluminum foil and water and rub this on the affected area. It was an odd thought at first, but thinking about it further, this is kind of like using steel wool, right? With the exception that I was using water as a lubricant. 

Well, I modified this tip due to some things I have seen recently on an amplifier repair channel on You Tube. The amp repair guy I follow there uses alcohol to clean amplifier chassis a lot, so I figured exchanging the water for alcohol would be okay.  And it worked alright, but.....

This fork seems to be pretty corroded. Anyway, I wasn't seeing the results I had hoped for. It did remove the oxidation from the chrome though. That was a good thing. So I thought I'd dig out my Mother's Mag polish and see how that would do. I rubbed that on and it did take away some more of the actual corrosion. But.... Yeah, I'm not really satisfied with this. In my experience, this rust will come back rather quickly unless it is sealed away from the air or I get the fork re-chromed or painted. Well.....you take a look and see what I mean...

 

Treated fork leg on the left, what it looked like to begin with on the right.

Sure, it's 'better' than it was to begin with, but I cannot seem to get it any better than this with what I have now. Again, I am pretty sure, based upon my experience, that this won't hold up in the long term. Not that I will ride this bike a lot, but who knows? Once it gets back up and running, I might find that I really like it, and I may end up riding it a fair amount.

Thanks to one of my readers I have this quill insert.

Now on to the "Thank You" portion of this post. A regular reader and commenter on this blog, 'baric', asked if I might want to have this quill insert so I could use my current stem for the Colnago. The old fork is a threaded steer tube fork, so it requires a quill stem, which I don't have, and the current carbon fork is a threadless steer tube fork, which uses a completely different stem. 

So, I accepted the offer and there you can see the part which will hasten things along nicely toward a completion. 

I do have a head set, a Campy Athena threaded head set, so that part should be okay. I just have to swap everything over to the old (different) fork than I have now on there. 

But, I don't want to swap that all over until I get this chrome/rust situation settled. In my mind at this point I am thinking that I get this fork shined up as good as possible and then clear-coat it somehow and just live with the results. I do not plan on riding this bike in anything but blue-sky weather, so risking the finish against rain or inclement weather of any sort would be taken away. 

So, that's where I am at with the old Colnago at this point. By the way, if you are not familiar with this bike and the story behind it, here is the link back to that post where I talked about all of that. Okay, so if you have any advice, be sure to hit me up in the comments. Thanks to 'baric' again, and I'll have a new update on this bike in the near future,

Trans Iowa Stories: A Different Affair

A major change in the event format came about due to a social media post.

  "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject  by clicking on the "Trans Iowa Stories" link under the blog header. Thanks and enjoy!  

Right after Trans Iowa v13 happened I spent a lot of time on social media, specifically on Facebook, so I could find reports on the event. Oddly enough, many younger/newer to Trans Iowa riders never thought about actually sending me their race reactions/reports. I guess Facebook was assumed to be sufficient for my notification of whatever their experiences were. That was a vast departure from the older Trans Iowa events when I would be sent several race reports, or emails directing me to blogs, etc, where reports were hosted. 

Times change....

Now, I must say that not everyone was like that. Early on or later on- There are always exceptions to the norm, and I recognize that. However; it was sort of disheartening to have to go looking for how people that came to my event were affected- good or bad- and that was made even more sharply felt when people on social media would thank me specifically but not alert me to their efforts to thank me. That was one oddity of social media, but there was another as well.

You can search terms on social media, and of course, I would search "Trans Iowa", #transiowa, or "Guitar Ted" and find all sorts of posts I never would have thought to find. One such post, actually it was a comment on a post I found, revealed an instance of systemic cheating that I was unaware of up to that point. 

At some point many riders had learned how to get around nav to CP#1

This all had to do with how I had been giving out the first set of cue sheets the night before the event at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. Apparently a certain rider who had participated in T.I.v12 was reacting to commentary about cue sheet navigation on this Facebook thread. He said that "many of the top riders" were getting the cues at the pre-race meeting to the first checkpoint and entering the directions into their GPS computers so they would not have to read the cue sheets. They simply only had to listen for the audible prompt and then check to see which direction they had to go in. 

I was deeply disheartened by that knowledge. I was saddened, angry, and hurt. I knew that not every rider had that advantage, and it was, obviously, not at all in the spirit of the rules of Trans Iowa. Something had to be done. I fired off an email to Jeremy Fry and between he and I we had a bit of discussion. Essentially, it was boiled down to not giving the riders who were using this trick the chance to use it by not giving them the cues the night before. The cues would have to be kept secret right up until the event start. It would make the event a quite different affair in many ways.

Then, after the revelation of the cheating scheme, I had a chance to think about this new development. Or.....was it really new? How long had this been going on? I remembered being pretty struck by how fast riders at the front were getting to the first checkpoint along about v10 or so, and around about that time I decided to shorten the cut off time to that checkpoint. Maybe riders were on to this by v10. I know they were for v12, and I would assume that wasn't the first time that trick was played. 

CX Mag ran unauthorized images from v13. (This was from v14)

This process of mulling over this development put a further distaste for continuing on into my mind. I was also very angry at myself for being so naive. 

Trans Iowa, as I have stated before, was an 'old soul' in terms of events. Technology was too tantalizing, too much of a temptation to use, even though I stated that it wasn't in the spirit of the event. Riders still were willing to cheat, even though the event didn't have a prize purse, benefits to winning outside of personal pride and accomplishment, and despite of my pleading with them to honor the event and my work by not using technology like cell phones and GPS. 

Again- not everyone was doing this. I know that. However; the few that were had punctured my desires to keep up the good fight and to keep doing this exhaustive work every year only to have a few throw me curve balls like the GPS thing. There were other factors that added to this. Like the unauthorized use of my images for a Facebook page about T.I.v14. Unauthorized use of information and images for use in magazine articles which were written up to make it sound as if the writer had attended the event. Of course, the details were often wrong in those stories, but they got their 'clicks' and content for their physical magazine for free. There were newspaper photographers taking images without permission and writing stories up as well. All without my knowledge. And it was very frustrating that I was doing all this work and getting disrespected in that way. 

It was tiring. Riding herd on all the people trying to cheat, take shortcuts, and trying to spectate, or benefit from Trans Iowa. It would have been nice to have been asked, but when people and entities just take without asking, it grinds my gears and this had pushed me over the line by v13's end. That I decided to end Trans Iowa was, in large part, motivated by these things as well. 

Next: How Do You Do This?

Trans Iowa Stories: A Different Affair

A major change in the event format came about due to a social media post.

  "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject  by clicking on the "Trans Iowa Stories" link under the blog header. Thanks and enjoy!  

Right after Trans Iowa v13 happened I spent a lot of time on social media, specifically on Facebook, so I could find reports on the event. Oddly enough, many younger/newer to Trans Iowa riders never thought about actually sending me their race reactions/reports. I guess Facebook was assumed to be sufficient for my notification of whatever their experiences were. That was a vast departure from the older Trans Iowa events when I would be sent several race reports, or emails directing me to blogs, etc, where reports were hosted. 

Times change....

Now, I must say that not everyone was like that. Early on or later on- There are always exceptions to the norm, and I recognize that. However; it was sort of disheartening to have to go looking for how people that came to my event were affected- good or bad- and that was made even more sharply felt when people on social media would thank me specifically but not alert me to their efforts to thank me. That was one oddity of social media, but there was another as well.

You can search terms on social media, and of course, I would search "Trans Iowa", #transiowa, or "Guitar Ted" and find all sorts of posts I never would have thought to find. One such post, actually it was a comment on a post I found, revealed an instance of systemic cheating that I was unaware of up to that point. 

At some point many riders had learned how to get around nav to CP#1

This all had to do with how I had been giving out the first set of cue sheets the night before the event at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. Apparently a certain rider who had participated in T.I.v12 was reacting to commentary about cue sheet navigation on this Facebook thread. He said that "many of the top riders" were getting the cues at the pre-race meeting to the first checkpoint and entering the directions into their GPS computers so they would not have to read the cue sheets. They simply only had to listen for the audible prompt and then check to see which direction they had to go in. 

I was deeply disheartened by that knowledge. I was saddened, angry, and hurt. I knew that not every rider had that advantage, and it was, obviously, not at all in the spirit of the rules of Trans Iowa. Something had to be done. I fired off an email to Jeremy Fry and between he and I we had a bit of discussion. Essentially, it was boiled down to not giving the riders who were using this trick the chance to use it by not giving them the cues the night before. The cues would have to be kept secret right up until the event start. It would make the event a quite different affair in many ways.

Then, after the revelation of the cheating scheme, I had a chance to think about this new development. Or.....was it really new? How long had this been going on? I remembered being pretty struck by how fast riders at the front were getting to the first checkpoint along about v10 or so, and around about that time I decided to shorten the cut off time to that checkpoint. Maybe riders were on to this by v10. I know they were for v12, and I would assume that wasn't the first time that trick was played. 

CX Mag ran unauthorized images from v13. (This was from v14)

This process of mulling over this development put a further distaste for continuing on into my mind. I was also very angry at myself for being so naive. 

Trans Iowa, as I have stated before, was an 'old soul' in terms of events. Technology was too tantalizing, too much of a temptation to use, even though I stated that it wasn't in the spirit of the event. Riders still were willing to cheat, even though the event didn't have a prize purse, benefits to winning outside of personal pride and accomplishment, and despite of my pleading with them to honor the event and my work by not using technology like cell phones and GPS. 

Again- not everyone was doing this. I know that. However; the few that were had punctured my desires to keep up the good fight and to keep doing this exhaustive work every year only to have a few throw me curve balls like the GPS thing. There were other factors that added to this. Like the unauthorized use of my images for a Facebook page about T.I.v14. Unauthorized use of information and images for use in magazine articles which were written up to make it sound as if the writer had attended the event. Of course, the details were often wrong in those stories, but they got their 'clicks' and content for their physical magazine for free. There were newspaper photographers taking images without permission and writing stories up as well. All without my knowledge. And it was very frustrating that I was doing all this work and getting disrespected in that way. 

It was tiring. Riding herd on all the people trying to cheat, take shortcuts, and trying to spectate, or benefit from Trans Iowa. It would have been nice to have been asked, but when people and entities just take without asking, it grinds my gears and this had pushed me over the line by v13's end. That I decided to end Trans Iowa was, in large part, motivated by these things as well. 

Next: How Do You Do This?

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off": Introducing The Contenders For 2022

Silca Super-Secret" Chain Lube

Okay! I have filled the two slots for the new round of the Guitar Ted Lube-Off for 2022's riding season. I had asked for your feedback on this and everyone was all on-board with the SILCA "Super-Secret" Chain Lube. So, that has been ordered up. It was rather fortuitous for me that at the time I placed the order, SILCA was offering 8 ounce bottles of the stuff for the price of a 4 ouncer. Bonus!

If you are not aware, the Super-Secret formula is supposedly like SILCA's melted wax product for chains so we will see about that. As stated, I'll be putting this on a brand new, scrubbed up Shimano 11 speed chain and that will be installed on the Raleigh Tamland Two. 

I have that chain already, so I'll be getting that prepped, cleaning up the cassette and chain rings, and getting everything spiffed up for this test.

Now, that left me searching for a second lubricant to add to this test. You- my dear readers- did not give me much of any indication that you wanted to see another lube, so I was on my own to find something to use here. That's a dangerous thing to do folks! Because left to my own devices, I can sometimes come up with crazy ideas, and I think you are going to find that my second choice is a bit off the wall. 

Originally I had Allied Cycles "Grax" on my radar, but they think their stuff is all that, and the price was pretty dear. I was hesitant to spend well over 20 bucks with shipping to get 4 ounces of lubricant that may not do all that great. And even if it did......wow! 

Sheep oil = lanolin. I'm giving it a try!

 So, I started looking and I found something pretty unique and which has a feature that many lubricants claim to have, but do they really? That is being a friend to our environment. 

I found this stuff from a company called "Eco Sheep" made from "sheep oil", which is basically lanolin. Sheep produce this oily/waxy substance on their wool to help them become water repellent and safe from dirt and pests. It is removed from their wool after shearing in a process called 'scouring' and turned into cosmetics, cremes, oils, and more. 

One source I found claims sheep oil is water repellent, protects against salt water, and penetrates into chains for better than petroleum based lubricant performance. 

I thought it sounded intriguing, but what sold me was that it is free of petrochemicals and completely biodegradable. Lot's of other lubricants for chains claim this, but being this is a naturally produced product, I am a bit more apt to believe these claims. 

Anyway, as a side bonus the 3.5 ounces I am getting cost me less than half of the Grax stuff, which yeah..... Who knows what's in that bottle. I really am hopeful that this works because if it does I think it would be a great alternative to the mainstream lubricants, many of which have harmful PTFE's and other nasties in their formulas. 

And furthermore; this series of "Lube-Off" rounds I have conducted over the years has included some pretty odd-ball brands and types of lubricants. So why not sheep oil! 

Stay tuned.....

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off": Introducing The Contenders For 2022

Silca Super-Secret" Chain Lube

Okay! I have filled the two slots for the new round of the Guitar Ted Lube-Off for 2022's riding season. I had asked for your feedback on this and everyone was all on-board with the SILCA "Super-Secret" Chain Lube. So, that has been ordered up. It was rather fortuitous for me that at the time I placed the order, SILCA was offering 8 ounce bottles of the stuff for the price of a 4 ouncer. Bonus!

If you are not aware, the Super-Secret formula is supposedly like SILCA's melted wax product for chains so we will see about that. As stated, I'll be putting this on a brand new, scrubbed up Shimano 11 speed chain and that will be installed on the Raleigh Tamland Two. 

I have that chain already, so I'll be getting that prepped, cleaning up the cassette and chain rings, and getting everything spiffed up for this test.

Now, that left me searching for a second lubricant to add to this test. You- my dear readers- did not give me much of any indication that you wanted to see another lube, so I was on my own to find something to use here. That's a dangerous thing to do folks! Because left to my own devices, I can sometimes come up with crazy ideas, and I think you are going to find that my second choice is a bit off the wall. 

Originally I had Allied Cycles "Grax" on my radar, but they think their stuff is all that, and the price was pretty dear. I was hesitant to spend well over 20 bucks with shipping to get 4 ounces of lubricant that may not do all that great. And even if it did......wow! 

Sheep oil = lanolin. I'm giving it a try!

 So, I started looking and I found something pretty unique and which has a feature that many lubricants claim to have, but do they really? That is being a friend to our environment. 

I found this stuff from a company called "Eco Sheep" made from "sheep oil", which is basically lanolin. Sheep produce this oily/waxy substance on their wool to help them become water repellent and safe from dirt and pests. It is removed from their wool after shearing in a process called 'scouring' and turned into cosmetics, cremes, oils, and more. 

One source I found claims sheep oil is water repellent, protects against salt water, and penetrates into chains for better than petroleum based lubricant performance. 

I thought it sounded intriguing, but what sold me was that it is free of petrochemicals and completely biodegradable. Lot's of other lubricants for chains claim this, but being this is a naturally produced product, I am a bit more apt to believe these claims. 

Anyway, as a side bonus the 3.5 ounces I am getting cost me less than half of the Grax stuff, which yeah..... Who knows what's in that bottle. I really am hopeful that this works because if it does I think it would be a great alternative to the mainstream lubricants, many of which have harmful PTFE's and other nasties in their formulas. 

And furthermore; this series of "Lube-Off" rounds I have conducted over the years has included some pretty odd-ball brands and types of lubricants. So why not sheep oil! 

Stay tuned.....

Friday News And Views

2022 Giant Trance X

More Bicycle Piracy In The News:

Last week, from the industry news source, "Bike Biz", it was reported that a container load of 127 Giant e-MTB's were stolen from a carrier on the A12 highway. 

Thieves cut open the container, transferred the load to another vehicle and drove away. Details of the heist were not provided, but authorities were quick to warn people to be on the lookout for the bikes on the black market and to report any suspicions activity to the authorities. 

Comments: Supply chain issues, theorized by experts to continue on throughout the year, and perhaps longer, are causing these high end bikes to be targets of thieves. I suspect we will be hearing more about such heists in the coming months as the cycling season gets underway.

As spectacular as these heists are, let's also not forget that thieves are watching cycling teams and events as targets for their nefarious schemes. I've read stories about entire Pro team bike fleets being stolen and last year I heard about stolen bikes at a major gravel event. 

If you have a high-end, late model gravel rig or MTB and you are going to a big event, it should be on your to-do list to be extra vigilant when it comes to watching over your bicycles and in terms of security.  

Wolf Tooth's new rotor lock rings come in many colors.

Wolf Tooth Announces New Rotor Lock Rings:

Wolf Tooth Components announced on Tuesday that they were making rotor lock rings for Center Lock rotors in alloy. These will come in several colors including black, silver, green, orange, blue, red, purple, and gold. 

They fit 12, 15, and 20mm axles. The rotor lock rings are made in the USA and cost $15.95 each. 

Comments: Back in the 1990's I remember bike shops had cabinets full of anodized bits and baubles to accessorize your bike. Things went 'dark' in the late 90's and for most of the 'aughts' as black anodized stuff was about all you could find, unless you bought stuff from King or Hope! 

Things changed slowly over the ensuing years and now it appears that one can get all the colored bits they want and have a 'matchy-matchy' look or a 'unicorn vomit' look, depending on how "OCD" you are about anodized accessories. Maybe I ought to grab a pair of the purple ones for my pink BMC! 

UCI Pro Gravel World Tour Dates And Venues Leaked:

According to a "Cyclingtips" article online dated 2/22/22, the UCI Pro Gravel Wold Tour calendar has been leaked. The series has 14 dates and apparently it will kick off in April in the Philippines. 

There are three dates in North America. Two in the US and one in Canada. Interestingly the last date is listed as the "Jingle GX Gravel Race". The series is sponsored by Trek. Another look at this story can be found here on "Cycling News".

Comments: A lot of this was known ahead of these specifics, but the last date is intriguing. It is in Iowa City and the event has been held there for a few years already. Interestingly, Jingle Cross lost its World CX event status and this plumb event on the Gravel World Tour would be a nice alternative. 

Will that final event be the World Championships?  No. That honor will go to Tuscany where the Gravel World Championships will be held, reportedly in mid-October.

Southeast Gravel Series Announces Docu-series Project:

The Southeast Gravel Series, a six event series of gravel events held in the Southeastern USA, has announced a 'docu-series' to cover these evnts which they have dubbed "What Pressure". Here is a bit from the press release I got for this:

" What Pressure will follow gravel cyclists, from pro to amateur, involved in the world of gravel racing within the Southeast Gravel race series. Each episode will run approximately 20 minutes and will highlight a variety of cyclists that makes gravel racing such a unique demographic. "

The event series also announced a hand-cycle category for all of its events as well, marking it as the first event series to feature such a category offering in the gravel events genre'. 

You can see more about the series here: https://southeastgravel.com/ 

Comments: Ever since Tour Divide was documented in "Ride The Divide" gravel event directors and film makers have been eager to promote their events similarly. Of course, gravel event documentaries were done before 2012, such as the one about Trans Iowa in 2008 called "300 Miles of Gravel". But "Ride The Divide", in my mind, was the watershed creation from which this kind of marketing/entertainment idea for gravel events sprang forth from. 

The feature of the series that is probably more important than the docu-series, in my opinion, is the hand-cycle category for these events. That will be interesting to watch unfold. Undoubtedly this will expand the scope of participants even more in the realm of gravel events. This, to my way of thinking, is a bigger deal than a self-serving film series which- in all likelihood- will not be as far-reaching in its impacts as a hand-cycling category could be. But perhaps I will be proven wrong there. 

Be Kind To Your Tires:

Wednesday I saw this Tweet from veteran cycling media writer, James Huang. If you cannot read it, basically what he is saying is that new orders into Maxxis Tires for bicycle tires will be delivered in TWO YEARS from now. 

Let that sink in for a moment.

I also saw another article encouraging cyclists to run their tires longer and to always patch tubes before throwing them out. In other words, expect shortages, and higher prices, on new wheel goods. And as well- shouldn't we all be using up tires and tubes until they are worn out? That's another thing to be thinking about as well. 

I'm seeing people asking about maintenance, where to buy chains and cassettes, and more. This situation is far from over, and with all the events kicking into gear this year with new ones being added seemingly daily, pressure on the supply chain will probably remain at a very high level throughout 2022 and 2023 by the looks of it. 

Some experts were saying that by the end of this year we'd be seeing relief. Ah........I am not so sure about that now anymore.
 

That's a wrap for this end of February "FN&V". Will March come in like a lion, or a lamb? I don't care as long as it gets warmer! Thank you for reading G-Ted Productions! 

Friday News And Views

2022 Giant Trance X

More Bicycle Piracy In The News:

Last week, from the industry news source, "Bike Biz", it was reported that a container load of 127 Giant e-MTB's were stolen from a carrier on the A12 highway. 

Thieves cut open the container, transferred the load to another vehicle and drove away. Details of the heist were not provided, but authorities were quick to warn people to be on the lookout for the bikes on the black market and to report any suspicions activity to the authorities. 

Comments: Supply chain issues, theorized by experts to continue on throughout the year, and perhaps longer, are causing these high end bikes to be targets of thieves. I suspect we will be hearing more about such heists in the coming months as the cycling season gets underway.

As spectacular as these heists are, let's also not forget that thieves are watching cycling teams and events as targets for their nefarious schemes. I've read stories about entire Pro team bike fleets being stolen and last year I heard about stolen bikes at a major gravel event. 

If you have a high-end, late model gravel rig or MTB and you are going to a big event, it should be on your to-do list to be extra vigilant when it comes to watching over your bicycles and in terms of security.  

Wolf Tooth's new rotor lock rings come in many colors.

Wolf Tooth Announces New Rotor Lock Rings:

Wolf Tooth Components announced on Tuesday that they were making rotor lock rings for Center Lock rotors in alloy. These will come in several colors including black, silver, green, orange, blue, red, purple, and gold. 

They fit 12, 15, and 20mm axles. The rotor lock rings are made in the USA and cost $15.95 each. 

Comments: Back in the 1990's I remember bike shops had cabinets full of anodized bits and baubles to accessorize your bike. Things went 'dark' in the late 90's and for most of the 'aughts' as black anodized stuff was about all you could find, unless you bought stuff from King or Hope! 

Things changed slowly over the ensuing years and now it appears that one can get all the colored bits they want and have a 'matchy-matchy' look or a 'unicorn vomit' look, depending on how "OCD" you are about anodized accessories. Maybe I ought to grab a pair of the purple ones for my pink BMC! 

UCI Pro Gravel World Tour Dates And Venues Leaked:

According to a "Cyclingtips" article online dated 2/22/22, the UCI Pro Gravel Wold Tour calendar has been leaked. The series has 14 dates and apparently it will kick off in April in the Philippines. 

There are three dates in North America. Two in the US and one in Canada. Interestingly the last date is listed as the "Jingle GX Gravel Race". The series is sponsored by Trek. Another look at this story can be found here on "Cycling News".

Comments: A lot of this was known ahead of these specifics, but the last date is intriguing. It is in Iowa City and the event has been held there for a few years already. Interestingly, Jingle Cross lost its World CX event status and this plumb event on the Gravel World Tour would be a nice alternative. 

Will that final event be the World Championships?  No. That honor will go to Tuscany where the Gravel World Championships will be held, reportedly in mid-October.

Southeast Gravel Series Announces Docu-series Project:

The Southeast Gravel Series, a six event series of gravel events held in the Southeastern USA, has announced a 'docu-series' to cover these evnts which they have dubbed "What Pressure". Here is a bit from the press release I got for this:

" What Pressure will follow gravel cyclists, from pro to amateur, involved in the world of gravel racing within the Southeast Gravel race series. Each episode will run approximately 20 minutes and will highlight a variety of cyclists that makes gravel racing such a unique demographic. "

The event series also announced a hand-cycle category for all of its events as well, marking it as the first event series to feature such a category offering in the gravel events genre'. 

You can see more about the series here: https://southeastgravel.com/ 

Comments: Ever since Tour Divide was documented in "Ride The Divide" gravel event directors and film makers have been eager to promote their events similarly. Of course, gravel event documentaries were done before 2012, such as the one about Trans Iowa in 2008 called "300 Miles of Gravel". But "Ride The Divide", in my mind, was the watershed creation from which this kind of marketing/entertainment idea for gravel events sprang forth from. 

The feature of the series that is probably more important than the docu-series, in my opinion, is the hand-cycle category for these events. That will be interesting to watch unfold. Undoubtedly this will expand the scope of participants even more in the realm of gravel events. This, to my way of thinking, is a bigger deal than a self-serving film series which- in all likelihood- will not be as far-reaching in its impacts as a hand-cycling category could be. But perhaps I will be proven wrong there. 

Be Kind To Your Tires:

Wednesday I saw this Tweet from veteran cycling media writer, James Huang. If you cannot read it, basically what he is saying is that new orders into Maxxis Tires for bicycle tires will be delivered in TWO YEARS from now. 

Let that sink in for a moment.

I also saw another article encouraging cyclists to run their tires longer and to always patch tubes before throwing them out. In other words, expect shortages, and higher prices, on new wheel goods. And as well- shouldn't we all be using up tires and tubes until they are worn out? That's another thing to be thinking about as well. 

I'm seeing people asking about maintenance, where to buy chains and cassettes, and more. This situation is far from over, and with all the events kicking into gear this year with new ones being added seemingly daily, pressure on the supply chain will probably remain at a very high level throughout 2022 and 2023 by the looks of it. 

Some experts were saying that by the end of this year we'd be seeing relief. Ah........I am not so sure about that now anymore.
 

That's a wrap for this end of February "FN&V". Will March come in like a lion, or a lamb? I don't care as long as it gets warmer! Thank you for reading G-Ted Productions! 

What's In A Name?

1980's Mongoose All Terrain Pro- An example of when the name was different

 Recently I noted an article on "Bikepacking.com" where they had posted concerning the naming of a certain fat tired type of bicycle. In this case, they favor the term "ATB " over that of "Mountain Bike". Their feeling that the term 'mountain bike' denotes a certain riding style and that bikepacking denotes another style which is better represented by another name, which was used early on in the off-road, 26"er days. 

That acronym, "ATB", stands for "All Terrain Bicycle". Those early bicycles built by Tom Ritchey, Joe Breeze, and others were not "mountain bikes". Not originally. That term was a brand name first, (MountainBikes) not a name for all off-road, fat tired bicycles. But then it changed. Riders and media bought into calling these bikes "mountain bikes", and by the late 80's, "All Terrain Bicycles" was too burdensome and too pushed out of the mindset of consumers to ever be brought back. Or was it? 

Riding off-road, in the Mid-West, NOT on mountains.

In one manner of thinking about this, you can ride single track all across the nation, but not all of it is on mountains, right? So it would make sense to call such bicycles "All Terrain Bicycles", from that point of view. However; then where do you draw the line. I mean, you can ride a fat bike on single track anywhere, yes? That said, most of what I am seeing in that linked article is saying those bikes are not "ATB"'s in their minds. 

That "Bikepacking.com" article takes a swipe at "gravel bikes" as well, which- as you long-time readers know- is a category I have said for years is misnamed. But you know what? The marketing departments got a hold of it and now there is no turning back. In fact, marketing wonks have maybe gone a bit too far and are now off the deep end.

I do agree with the premise of the "Bikepacking.com" article though. I feel much the same way about adopting the term "ATB" for those off-road, fat tired bikes, including fat bikes. Is it a better, all-inclusive description for those bikes than "mountain bike"? Undoubtedly. But does that name, "ATB", conjure up the same imagery in your mind, and similar feelings as the term "mountain bike" does? No..... I think "ATB" is a very bland acronym for fat tired, go anywhere without a road bike, bike. It just doesn't have any cache'. It is kind of soulless. So, yeah.....good luck with that, Bikepacking.com. I just don't see that happening for the niche of cycling that you represent. 

And that brings up another point: Numbers. The industry, if it sees sales, backs up that with an outpouring of marketing, product, and R&D. Resources are scarce in the cycling industry. Whatever is tickling the consumer's fancy gets the attention. Right now, it is the "gravel category". Back in the 1980's/90's it was mountain biking. Not "ATB-ing". That sounded lame-o, and it just was not as marketable as 'mountain biking' was. Same thing with 'gravel riding', (or the even more hated term "gravel grinding"). It got tagged onto this category of bike and style of riding, and it took off. Do you think marketing folks thought the name was stupid? (I know many did) Do you think they were about to change the name and potentially harm the flow of money coming from the many people who were interested in this form of cycling? Not in a million years! So, 'gravel' it was, and back in the 80's, the same thing occurred. The common folks adopted the term "mountain bike" and the marketing departments ran with it.

Now MTB is so fractured into sub-cultures and styles that you're never going to get around that name that form of cycling gained back then. A certain sub-set of a niche in bikepacking may take to that name "ATB", but many sub-sets of "mountain biking" have their own names for their bikes as well. Which was pointed out in the piece by "Bikepacking.com", ironically. Why should "ATB" be any different in that regard? 

Tradition may play a part in this. Here you are trying to re-name an already established bike and activity.  What the proponents of the modern-day ATB are pushing was done in 1980. Those riders were mainly doing off-pavement, trail-touring. That became "mountain biking". When you pedaled out back with your panniers and fat tires, that's what you were doing. Not "ATB-ing". That is why it will be hard to turn the name around for these bikes. If anything, "bikepacking bikes" has a much better chance at becoming entrenched in the minds of cyclists now than "ATB" does.

But, I could be wrong here. I'd love it if I were, because I'd ditch the name 'gravel' for this form of cycling I love in a heartbeat.

What's In A Name?

1980's Mongoose All Terrain Pro- An example of when the name was different

 Recently I noted an article on "Bikepacking.com" where they had posted concerning the naming of a certain fat tired type of bicycle. In this case, they favor the term "ATB " over that of "Mountain Bike". Their feeling that the term 'mountain bike' denotes a certain riding style and that bikepacking denotes another style which is better represented by another name, which was used early on in the off-road, 26"er days. 

That acronym, "ATB", stands for "All Terrain Bicycle". Those early bicycles built by Tom Ritchey, Joe Breeze, and others were not "mountain bikes". Not originally. That term was a brand name first, (MountainBikes) not a name for all off-road, fat tired bicycles. But then it changed. Riders and media bought into calling these bikes "mountain bikes", and by the late 80's, "All Terrain Bicycles" was too burdensome and too pushed out of the mindset of consumers to ever be brought back. Or was it? 

Riding off-road, in the Mid-West, NOT on mountains.

In one manner of thinking about this, you can ride single track all across the nation, but not all of it is on mountains, right? So it would make sense to call such bicycles "All Terrain Bicycles", from that point of view. However; then where do you draw the line. I mean, you can ride a fat bike on single track anywhere, yes? That said, most of what I am seeing in that linked article is saying those bikes are not "ATB"'s in their minds. 

That "Bikepacking.com" article takes a swipe at "gravel bikes" as well, which- as you long-time readers know- is a category I have said for years is misnamed. But you know what? The marketing departments got a hold of it and now there is no turning back. In fact, marketing wonks have maybe gone a bit too far and are now off the deep end.

I do agree with the premise of the "Bikepacking.com" article though. I feel much the same way about adopting the term "ATB" for those off-road, fat tired bikes, including fat bikes. Is it a better, all-inclusive description for those bikes than "mountain bike"? Undoubtedly. But does that name, "ATB", conjure up the same imagery in your mind, and similar feelings as the term "mountain bike" does? No..... I think "ATB" is a very bland acronym for fat tired, go anywhere without a road bike, bike. It just doesn't have any cache'. It is kind of soulless. So, yeah.....good luck with that, Bikepacking.com. I just don't see that happening for the niche of cycling that you represent. 

And that brings up another point: Numbers. The industry, if it sees sales, backs up that with an outpouring of marketing, product, and R&D. Resources are scarce in the cycling industry. Whatever is tickling the consumer's fancy gets the attention. Right now, it is the "gravel category". Back in the 1980's/90's it was mountain biking. Not "ATB-ing". That sounded lame-o, and it just was not as marketable as 'mountain biking' was. Same thing with 'gravel riding', (or the even more hated term "gravel grinding"). It got tagged onto this category of bike and style of riding, and it took off. Do you think marketing folks thought the name was stupid? (I know many did) Do you think they were about to change the name and potentially harm the flow of money coming from the many people who were interested in this form of cycling? Not in a million years! So, 'gravel' it was, and back in the 80's, the same thing occurred. The common folks adopted the term "mountain bike" and the marketing departments ran with it.

Now MTB is so fractured into sub-cultures and styles that you're never going to get around that name that form of cycling gained back then. A certain sub-set of a niche in bikepacking may take to that name "ATB", but many sub-sets of "mountain biking" have their own names for their bikes as well. Which was pointed out in the piece by "Bikepacking.com", ironically. Why should "ATB" be any different in that regard? 

Tradition may play a part in this. Here you are trying to re-name an already established bike and activity.  What the proponents of the modern-day ATB are pushing was done in 1980. Those riders were mainly doing off-pavement, trail-touring. That became "mountain biking". When you pedaled out back with your panniers and fat tires, that's what you were doing. Not "ATB-ing". That is why it will be hard to turn the name around for these bikes. If anything, "bikepacking bikes" has a much better chance at becoming entrenched in the minds of cyclists now than "ATB" does.

But, I could be wrong here. I'd love it if I were, because I'd ditch the name 'gravel' for this form of cycling I love in a heartbeat.

A Guide To Fork Swapping

2000 Fisher Tassajara

 In Monday's "Randomonium" post I asked you readers if you had any questions about fork swapping or technical questions about fork geometry. One of you did ask, so that results in today's subject: "A Guide To Fork Swapping". 

So, before we get started, let's get some definitions and terms down that I'll be using today. It is very important to note that a bicycle is a 'system'. It is not wise to think of a bicycle in terms of one of its parts, or to focus in solely on a particular facet of a bicycle's geometry. So, for instance, when we discuss forks, it is not a good thing to just focus on "offset", and to disregard that "offset" is but one of a few things that ultimately determines how a bicycle will handle. So, don't fall for the simplistic idea that changing a fork from one offset to another will magically cure your handling ills. Many media writers are guilty of perpetuating this myth.

So, following are the things that are important to consider about a fork for your bicycle:

Basic fork geometry terms visualized: From http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailcalc.php

 Fork Offset/Fork "Rake": These are interchangeable terms that define how far the wheel axle is placed ahead of the steering axis. More 'offset/rake' means that the axle sits further away in front of the steering axis. 

Steering Axis: This is an imaginary line which is traced through the centerline of the head tube, fork crown, and on down towards the ground. (See the blue hash marked line in the diagram above) Steering Axis angle is equal to the "Head Angle" of a bicycle. Designers adjust this to affect overall Fork Trail.

Fork Trail: This is the distance from a point on the ground where the steering axis intersects the ground plane to the center point of the tire's contact patch behind it. More "Trail" usually means slower/ more stable handling and vice-versa- Less "Trail" means a quicker, less stable bike. This measurement is typically expressed in millimeters.

Wheel Diameter: Wheel diameter is determined by the combination of tire and wheel rim diameter you choose. So, just saying "twenty-niner" isn't good enough. Similarly, the terms "26 inch", "700c", and "27.5"er/650B" are not sufficient for determining overall handling characteristics. Not if we are concerned with detail. Here we need an actual measurement of the wheel/tire combination's diameter, which- as you probably know- is a measurement from the ground, through the axle centerline, to the top of the tire. Essentially, in visual terms for our example above, you would extend that blue hash mark line from the ground plane past where it terminates with the rear wheel axle to the top of the diagram's 'tire'. 

The axle to crown measurement is the distance between the axle to the fork crown along the fork's 'leg'.

Axle to Crown: This determines overall fork 'length'. The distance is determined from the centerline of the wheel axle to the top of the fork crown, or you can think of this as the point where the steer tube exits the fork. 

Suspension Correction: Designers account for the longer length of a suspension fork, necessary to allow for a wheel to 'travel' in a suspension design, and translate that to their rigid fork design, So, if a suspension fork has, let's say, 80mm of travel, to keep the front end of a bicycle equipped with that fork the same in terms of head angle, stack height, and more, that designer makes the rigid fork a similar length to a suspension fork with a rider on board. 

With the weight of a rider, that suspension fork will sink into its travel a bit, and this is called "sag". That is also accounted for in the rigid fork design. So, let's take our 80mm travel fork in a 29'er size and measure that. It's going to come out, nominally, with an axle to crown of around 480mm. That's a bit more than 18"'s for you non-metric folk. Now, 80mm of travel equals about 3"'s. take that off the slightly more than 18" and you are left with around 15+ inches, doubled, equals 30+ inches, or in other words, more than enough to clear a 29" wheel safely with room to spare at full travel of the fork. 

Now let's say we don't want a suspension fork, but we want a rigid one that keeps our 29"er handling similar to what we know. Accounting for some rider induced "sag", while on the bike, our suspension fork really probably is more like 470mm or so in terms of axle to crown. So, our rigid fork needs to be that measurement to preserve the handling characteristics we know, all else remaining the same. This is what we mean when we say that a fork is "suspension corrected for_____ travel". In our example's case, the rigid fork would be suspension corrected for 80mm's of travel. 

Whew!

____________________________________________________________________________

Choosing A Fork:

So, let's say you want a new fork for that old bike you have in the garage. Let's say it is a clapped out old suspension fork on an older MTB that you have had for years, but now you have some ideas. Maybe you want to do some bikepacking, or maybe this will end up being your 'gravel bike', or like me, maybe you want to use that bike as a townie/urban errand rig. 

Well, you know that a suspension fork is too much money, hassle, and it isn't necessary. So what do you get? Well, here is a list of things you'll need to know:

• What is your steer tube size: One inch? Inch-and-an-eighth? Is that a threaded or threadless steer tube? It is probably a straight steer tube, and if so, a tapered steer tube fork, (like the one to the left here) won't work.
  
• Wheel size, (Probably 26 inch, but there are old 650B MTB's and old 29"ers out there nowadays)
• If you have suspension, what travel length does your fork have? Older bikes had 63mm, bikes from about 1998 on had 80mm, or even 100mm in 26"er flavors. Measure the axle to crown and see if you can compress the shock to assess what travel you might have. 
• Axle type: Most probably are quick release, but there may be a few instances of thru-axle bikes in this situation. 
• What is your suspension fork offset/rake? If it was a fork made before 2007 and a 26"er fork, it most assuredly is going to have the then industry-wide standard 38mm offset. But some newer bikes had longer offsets, so check specifications if you can find them. Measuring a fork offset can be done at home, but it gets tricky to be accurate. 

Now, with that information in hand, you can start looking for a suitable replacement fork. Here's an important thing to remember though- If you veer too far from your bicycle's original specifications, you will affect the way the bike handles. And I cannot tell you if you would or would not like that. Just realize that millimeters make a big difference. It may seem trivial to you that your fork has a 440m axle to crown and the replacement you want has 420mm axle to crown, but that matters. You will feel a difference. 

And in some cases you won't be able to replace your fork with an off-the-shelf option. Let's say that you have a 1" steer tube, threaded fork with 63mm of suspension travel, (Original Rock Shox forks, as an example). Well.....you may have to get a fork custom made to suit your desires. Options off the shelf will likely be, what in the industry are called, "replacement forks', and generally are the lowest common denominator in terms of fork options. 

Many 1990's MTB's with 1 1/8th steer tubes and 63mm travel forks can be converted to rigid using a Surly Troll fork, which - while a bit shorter than the stock forks, and have a bit more offset, seem to work a trick for a weight bearing, bikepacking set up. Plus they had canti OR disc brake tabs. Now if you can actually find one......

Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Take for example the Surly Ogre Fork, which is for rigid, non suspension corrected 29"ers. It has an axle to crown of 447mm. Since it is a disc fork, it could work for a 26" wheel. If your 26" suspension fork had 4"/100mm travel, that Ogre fork might work for you. 

Besides those things, you'll need to consider brake standard, brake levers, and if the forks are different lengths, one from the other, you'll need to consider how that affects your stem, bottom bracket height, and seat angle too. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Hopefully that helps! But if you have anymore questions about forks, switching forks, or what have you, let me know. 

A Guide To Fork Swapping

2000 Fisher Tassajara

 In Monday's "Randomonium" post I asked you readers if you had any questions about fork swapping or technical questions about fork geometry. One of you did ask, so that results in today's subject: "A Guide To Fork Swapping". 

So, before we get started, let's get some definitions and terms down that I'll be using today. It is very important to note that a bicycle is a 'system'. It is not wise to think of a bicycle in terms of one of its parts, or to focus in solely on a particular facet of a bicycle's geometry. So, for instance, when we discuss forks, it is not a good thing to just focus on "offset", and to disregard that "offset" is but one of a few things that ultimately determines how a bicycle will handle. So, don't fall for the simplistic idea that changing a fork from one offset to another will magically cure your handling ills. Many media writers are guilty of perpetuating this myth.

So, following are the things that are important to consider about a fork for your bicycle:

Basic fork geometry terms visualized: From http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailcalc.php

 Fork Offset/Fork "Rake": These are interchangeable terms that define how far the wheel axle is placed ahead of the steering axis. More 'offset/rake' means that the axle sits further away in front of the steering axis. 

Steering Axis: This is an imaginary line which is traced through the centerline of the head tube, fork crown, and on down towards the ground. (See the blue hash marked line in the diagram above) Steering Axis angle is equal to the "Head Angle" of a bicycle. Designers adjust this to affect overall Fork Trail.

Fork Trail: This is the distance from a point on the ground where the steering axis intersects the ground plane to the center point of the tire's contact patch behind it. More "Trail" usually means slower/ more stable handling and vice-versa- Less "Trail" means a quicker, less stable bike. This measurement is typically expressed in millimeters.

Wheel Diameter: Wheel diameter is determined by the combination of tire and wheel rim diameter you choose. So, just saying "twenty-niner" isn't good enough. Similarly, the terms "26 inch", "700c", and "27.5"er/650B" are not sufficient for determining overall handling characteristics. Not if we are concerned with detail. Here we need an actual measurement of the wheel/tire combination's diameter, which- as you probably know- is a measurement from the ground, through the axle centerline, to the top of the tire. Essentially, in visual terms for our example above, you would extend that blue hash mark line from the ground plane past where it terminates with the rear wheel axle to the top of the diagram's 'tire'. 

The axle to crown measurement is the distance between the axle to the fork crown along the fork's 'leg'.

Axle to Crown: This determines overall fork 'length'. The distance is determined from the centerline of the wheel axle to the top of the fork crown, or you can think of this as the point where the steer tube exits the fork. 

Suspension Correction: Designers account for the longer length of a suspension fork, necessary to allow for a wheel to 'travel' in a suspension design, and translate that to their rigid fork design, So, if a suspension fork has, let's say, 80mm of travel, to keep the front end of a bicycle equipped with that fork the same in terms of head angle, stack height, and more, that designer makes the rigid fork a similar length to a suspension fork with a rider on board. 

With the weight of a rider, that suspension fork will sink into its travel a bit, and this is called "sag". That is also accounted for in the rigid fork design. So, let's take our 80mm travel fork in a 29'er size and measure that. It's going to come out, nominally, with an axle to crown of around 480mm. That's a bit more than 18"'s for you non-metric folk. Now, 80mm of travel equals about 3"'s. take that off the slightly more than 18" and you are left with around 15+ inches, doubled, equals 30+ inches, or in other words, more than enough to clear a 29" wheel safely with room to spare at full travel of the fork. 

Now let's say we don't want a suspension fork, but we want a rigid one that keeps our 29"er handling similar to what we know. Accounting for some rider induced "sag", while on the bike, our suspension fork really probably is more like 470mm or so in terms of axle to crown. So, our rigid fork needs to be that measurement to preserve the handling characteristics we know, all else remaining the same. This is what we mean when we say that a fork is "suspension corrected for_____ travel". In our example's case, the rigid fork would be suspension corrected for 80mm's of travel. 

Whew!

____________________________________________________________________________

Choosing A Fork:

So, let's say you want a new fork for that old bike you have in the garage. Let's say it is a clapped out old suspension fork on an older MTB that you have had for years, but now you have some ideas. Maybe you want to do some bikepacking, or maybe this will end up being your 'gravel bike', or like me, maybe you want to use that bike as a townie/urban errand rig. 

Well, you know that a suspension fork is too much money, hassle, and it isn't necessary. So what do you get? Well, here is a list of things you'll need to know:

• What is your steer tube size: One inch? Inch-and-an-eighth? Is that a threaded or threadless steer tube? It is probably a straight steer tube, and if so, a tapered steer tube fork, (like the one to the left here) won't work.
  
• Wheel size, (Probably 26 inch, but there are old 650B MTB's and old 29"ers out there nowadays)
• If you have suspension, what travel length does your fork have? Older bikes had 63mm, bikes from about 1998 on had 80mm, or even 100mm in 26"er flavors. Measure the axle to crown and see if you can compress the shock to assess what travel you might have. 
• Axle type: Most probably are quick release, but there may be a few instances of thru-axle bikes in this situation. 
• What is your suspension fork offset/rake? If it was a fork made before 2007 and a 26"er fork, it most assuredly is going to have the then industry-wide standard 38mm offset. But some newer bikes had longer offsets, so check specifications if you can find them. Measuring a fork offset can be done at home, but it gets tricky to be accurate. 

Now, with that information in hand, you can start looking for a suitable replacement fork. Here's an important thing to remember though- If you veer too far from your bicycle's original specifications, you will affect the way the bike handles. And I cannot tell you if you would or would not like that. Just realize that millimeters make a big difference. It may seem trivial to you that your fork has a 440m axle to crown and the replacement you want has 420mm axle to crown, but that matters. You will feel a difference. 

And in some cases you won't be able to replace your fork with an off-the-shelf option. Let's say that you have a 1" steer tube, threaded fork with 63mm of suspension travel, (Original Rock Shox forks, as an example). Well.....you may have to get a fork custom made to suit your desires. Options off the shelf will likely be, what in the industry are called, "replacement forks', and generally are the lowest common denominator in terms of fork options. 

Many 1990's MTB's with 1 1/8th steer tubes and 63mm travel forks can be converted to rigid using a Surly Troll fork, which - while a bit shorter than the stock forks, and have a bit more offset, seem to work a trick for a weight bearing, bikepacking set up. Plus they had canti OR disc brake tabs. Now if you can actually find one......

Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Take for example the Surly Ogre Fork, which is for rigid, non suspension corrected 29"ers. It has an axle to crown of 447mm. Since it is a disc fork, it could work for a 26" wheel. If your 26" suspension fork had 4"/100mm travel, that Ogre fork might work for you. 

Besides those things, you'll need to consider brake standard, brake levers, and if the forks are different lengths, one from the other, you'll need to consider how that affects your stem, bottom bracket height, and seat angle too. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Hopefully that helps! But if you have anymore questions about forks, switching forks, or what have you, let me know.