All these newfangled road-disc aero bikes got me thinking: why aren't there any truly internally routed forks for hydraulic front discs?
P5X and Andean "cheat" by having a custom, fully integrated front end, but they still have break line hanging out by the caliper and if they ever sell a down-spec frame without the beard/bayonet, you would end up with a front break line flapping in the breeze at the top end. Enve makes a cross fork that is internally routed from the crown down (is that mechanical only?), but I can't find a one that's integrated from the steerer tube to the caliper.
I think you could easily internally route a full hose from your head tube cap to a port by the caliper using something like a Rockshox TurnCoat top cap.
Alternatively, with a bit more development... One of the benefits of hydraulic over cables is similar to that of electronic shifting over cables: you can turn MUCH tighter corners with minimal (if any) loss of function. Why not integrate hose lining and threaded fittings directly into the fork? You could even use a banjo bolt as one of the caliper mounting bolts, so no need for hose anywhere by the caliper. Top end might be a bit trickier, but going from steerer to a hollow stem to hollow bars (or an integrated stem/bar), you could easily have a standard geometry front end with literally no hydraulic tubes exposed anywhere. Road or tri, you could have one threaded interface at the break lever, maybe one at the stem/steerer interface, and one at the caliper.
...just be sure to include my name on the patent...
P5X and Andean "cheat" by having a custom, fully integrated front end, but they still have break line hanging out by the caliper and if they ever sell a down-spec frame without the beard/bayonet, you would end up with a front break line flapping in the breeze at the top end. Enve makes a cross fork that is internally routed from the crown down (is that mechanical only?), but I can't find a one that's integrated from the steerer tube to the caliper.
I think you could easily internally route a full hose from your head tube cap to a port by the caliper using something like a Rockshox TurnCoat top cap.
Alternatively, with a bit more development... One of the benefits of hydraulic over cables is similar to that of electronic shifting over cables: you can turn MUCH tighter corners with minimal (if any) loss of function. Why not integrate hose lining and threaded fittings directly into the fork? You could even use a banjo bolt as one of the caliper mounting bolts, so no need for hose anywhere by the caliper. Top end might be a bit trickier, but going from steerer to a hollow stem to hollow bars (or an integrated stem/bar), you could easily have a standard geometry front end with literally no hydraulic tubes exposed anywhere. Road or tri, you could have one threaded interface at the break lever, maybe one at the stem/steerer interface, and one at the caliper.
...just be sure to include my name on the patent...