Monday of this week I introduced the State Bicycle Co. Monster Fork v2 review HERE. I've got all the technical information on this fork there including some impressions of the design and the aesthetics of the fork out of the box. In this post I will cover the installation and my findings after mounting the fork including a brief test ride.
Installation: The tricky part here was the integrated brake route and that because of my GRX hydraulic brakes. I was going to have to disconnect the brake line from the lever so I could thread the hose through the fork and then reattach the lever to the hose after I had the fork installed, all without introducing air to the system. Any air introduced would have to be bled out in a brake bleeding session, which I was hoping to avoid.
Fortunately through careful planning and execution I managed to not have to go through a brake bleed. I did have to purchase a new olive and barb, shorten the brake line by about half a centimeter, and go through some carefully planned positioning of the lever and hose/caliper assembly to avoid any air getting in. Again, all of this will cost the owner of the State Bicycle Co. Monster Fork v2 extra time and money whether you do this yourself or whether you have someone else handle the job for you. So, make sure you add that cost on to the fork if you run hydraulic brakes. A mechanical brake won't cause much more effort than a standard fork swap, so if you run mechanical brakes, all the better.
Beyond the brake, everything was straight forward. The provided FSA steer tube plug, (another extra cost on top of the fork for buyers of the Monster Fork v2) worked great. Ironically the original head set in the Noble GX5 was an FSA headset so everything just went back together really well. State uses an FSA branded bearing and crown race for this fork, again available at an extra cost.
The front wheel I was using, which has an Industry 9 hub, was a bit difficult to install in the Monster Fork V2. There was a bit narrower space in between the eccentric plates which made getting the front wheel in a bit fussy, but it did go in. The through axle seemed a bit vague in where it wanted to stop giving me a less than confident feeling that the fork was secured to the wheel. I tried removing and reinstalling the through axle several times just to make sure it wasn't the threading or some other issue but this seemingly did not alleviate the issue. The wheel seems rock-solid in the fork, so I tried riding it.
Test Ride Impressions: This was a ride just around the neighborhood to make sure I didn't leave something loose or that something was amiss. Due to this, I was tentative. So, don't read a whole lot into this just yet, but my initial feelings were that the Monster Fork v2 feels a bit less stiff than the stock fork. The wheel was totally stable in the fork, by the way, so I guess the through axle is doing its job well despite my concerns over the feel of its operation.
By the way, the stock fork seems to be a tiny bit lighter than the Monster Fork v2. I weighed it after removal. It was lighter by maybe about 50 grams, but the original fork has no accessory bosses or bolts like the Monster Fork v2 has. There was a steer tube plug in the old fork when I weighed it, but no through axle. There were bolts and a through axle in the State fork when I weighed it. I would call it a wash here. I certainly did not feel any difference in the weight of the bike afterword.
Braking seemed normal. No shudder or weird handling traits. The steering felt fine. Nothing out of the ordinary really. The stock off set on the Noble GX5 is 52mm, by the way, so this 49mm offset is pretty close and I'd be hard pressed to know the difference. I cruised back to the shop and decided to measure the head tube angle. If the axle to crown height was very different from my original fork, it should show up in the head angle.
The head tube angle measured in at 71.5°, bang-on for the stock listed head tube angle, so I was pleased with that. I looked like the axle to crown was very similar to my eye, so I wasn't surprised. Again, this was in the shorter offset placement for the axle.
So Far... Okay, so the hose route went as well as it could and I have a niggle with how the front wheel goes in the fork. I will try a couple of other wheels to see if it is an isolated occurrence with one brand of hub or if it is possibly this fork that is causing the wheel to install with a bit of difficulty.
Besides that, it is time to ride. Switch offsets, put a front load on the bike, ride, take the load off, switch the offset again, ride.....you get the picture here. I'll be back again after a few weeks with an update.
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