nineties Saracen Kili upgrade - second project added (p.2)

The Pace fork does look the part...

1 Attachment

Leaning over some other bikes, so not 100% accurate, I'm measuring 390mm.

Thank you! I too was leaning over some other bikes when I made that measurement of 38cm. Seems it's v close to what the mnfctr intended — I guess it was always intended to be a sporty bike!

I toyed with the idea of changing it to a 1x11 but the cost of conversion by far outweighed any putative benefits. The 3x9 has a wide range with a bottom gear of 22x28, which can hardly be more than stall speed. I've never used it!

I noticed this in a 2007 post on RCUK detailing Ian Randle's Saracen Kili Team: 'Fork: Dave Hinde Columbus Nivacrom custom made – The original fork gave a twitchy ride which caused the bike to want to tighten its line on tight corners. This one is lighter and has more trail for stability.'

Strengthens the case for the rather longer Radon fork sold by Bike-discount.de — though frustratingly there appears to be a minimum order of 175 € since UK left the EU. Perhaps I shall just have to buy another Conti Competition tubular for the rear wheel of the Cinelli.

And this is indeed what I did. I'll report by and by on how the Radon fork plays in the Kili Team frameset

Fitted the Radon fork from Bike-discount. Axle-to-crown is 44cm, compared to the 40cm of the Pace RC30. Bike is a lot more straightline stable and a bit lighter at the front too. Perfect for tearing along the mostly empty Surrey bank towpath from Kew Bridge to Putney Bridge today, before the deluge.

1 Attachment