Road size fork with cantis and maxed out clearance

[water treader]

So I have an older Ti frame (1" steerer etc) that I'm quite fond of. It has fair tyre clearance despite short reach brake configuration. Been running it with a steel fork and Challenge Almanzo 30mm, but it's scary tight, and a little mud or dampness that makes a pebble stick to the front tyre could easily lead to a jam ruining the day.

So my question is, starting from road axle-crown, canti brakes, and omitting the fender drilling, with a custom fork crown, couldn't one squeeze out a little extra clearance on top? Sort of along those lines, but possibly beefed up crown, and no lower bridge.

yamaguchi-silver-road-13.jpg
(Doug's Yamaguchi | Cycle EXIF)

[Todd Mosley]

Post a picture of your fork/brake/tire setup so we can see the clearance issues you are having and perhaps identify what crown you have. Also, is it the crown that the tire is close to hitting or the top of the brake arch?

If your problem is the crown, yes, a custom crown could offer more clearance but will be quite pricey and the number of builders you can find that will make a custom crown will be limited. There may be a stock crown that would offer enough tire clearance while maintaining your axle-to-crown length and rake.

If your brakes are the issue and not the crown, a custom fork won't fix the problem by itself. You will need to switch to a brake that offers more clearance and with a reach that is matched to your fork. Your old fork is probably made for short reach brakes and if you switch to a fork designed for mid-reach caliper brakes, the axle-to-crown will probably be longer than your current fork which will change the geometry. So, you could either go with cantilever brakes like you mentioned, or something like the Paul Racer Mediums mounted on braze-ons.

[Eric Estlund]

If it's for that bike you likely have a ton of options. With that dropped "fork bride" and the air space above the caliper there would be enough vertical room to build a new fork with any number of options. I'd check the A-t-C on what's there already before moving forward.

Edit- from re-reading your, it sounds like you are asking if a fork like the one posted might help you. If I was to guess I'd assume that fork has a much taller A-t-C than is standard for the given wheelsize. In your case the number could shake out in a number of ways, including the possibility of changing the fork dimensions to suite the bigger rubber. Lots of small variables to juggle. Are you building the fork? If not, get in touch with the fork builder of your choice and they can help you piece through the specifics of your problem and best solution.

Another low tech option might be the 27mm Challenge tires.

[water treader]

The above pic is just something that comes close to what I'm thinking of. I am looking for advice, and possibly names of EU-based builders who could fabricate it. As said, my current set-up is a road fork with short reach calipers and 30mm tyres. For unpaved riding It's dangerously tight on both the caliper and the fork crown, but I can take a picture if you insist.

I am fairly set on cantis, although Racer Ms get lots of praise everywhere. Here is another pic of what I am after, only I would prefer a beefy single crown devoting as much of the available height to optimising clearance. (The fancy triple crown there does look the part, though).

Porkeur+Fork+Crown.jpg
(Camille's Demi Porkeur — Hartley CYCLES)

[steve garro]

IMG_8933.jpg

Easily done.

- Garro.