Does anyone have experience or wind tunnel data on either the r900 or a900 forks from Oval? Thinking about the r900, but hate to waste money. I would appreciate wind tunnel data or links the most, but would like to hear about ride, road feel, etc.
Thanks
Kevin
I bought the A900 fork mainly because I liked the look of it, not because I expected that it would really save much time in real world riding.
John Cobb was the designer of the fork, so at the very least my expectation is the fork should be as aero as any out there. Better would be nice. Will it save you a bunch of time over other aero forks? Doubt it. The Oval Concepts website claims 55 seconds savings over one hour if you are travelling 50 kph. I read another quote that this was in comparison to other aero forks on the market. I don’t know about you, but I can’t maintain 50 kph (31 mph) for an hour on any course I’ve been on, and I think I’m a pretty fair time trialist. I assume the Oval Concept claim is extrapolated on wind tunnel data with the rider fixed in an aero position, i.e., ideal conditions. Maybe these time savings could be realised in an indoor track
With regard to ride quality, the fork seems stiff enough and handles O.K. But just like carbon race wheels I wouldn’t use it for everyday riding.
AeroEgg
I’m resurrecting this post, i’m hoping someone could answer for me. I recently got an Oval J900 fork with a Soloist frame I bought on ebay. I’m having issues mounting my Dura Ace front brake to the fork, as the bolt doesn’t reach through to the nut in back. Anyone had issues like this? Will a shop carry a longer nut that would reach through?
If not, anyone want to buy an Oval j900 fork?
Just about any shop should have a nut that is long enough to reach through the fork. If need be you could always call Oval as well.
I had the same issue with my Reynolds fork when I ran DA as well and the mechanic that did my build up just used a longer nut that he had laying around. He said he ran into that quite frequently.
Good Luck.
glad to hear that - thanks for the help.
Yeah, when bought new, the A900 fork comes with a 3 cm cylindrical nut. 2 cm is common, I don’t know if a bike shop will have 3 cm laying around. I see that you wrote J900 in your post, not sure if that fork has the same issue.