If the profile of the Carver Bikes Carbon XC 490 Carbon MTB Rigid Fork is familiar, it shouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s essentially a catalog fork that’s been offered for several years now. It can be found with labels of brands including White Brothers, MRP, Carver/Bikeman, and others. I even found an old review on MTBR that my friend Adam wrote on the quick-release, straight-steerer iteration. That review’s 13 years old now, the fact that a version of this fork is still available speaks to the longevity of its simple, no-frills design..
Features & Specs
- Matte UD carbon legs
- Post mount disc
- Tapered x 260mm alloy steerer
- 42mm fork offset
- 15×100 thru-axle
- Actual model name: Carver Bikes Carbon MTB Fork XC 490
- Price: $249.95
This fork is basic with no frills, but it’s reasonably light and has more compliance than a steel fork. It is quite basic, though; there’s no routing for a front brake cable. But you know the good thing? There’s no internal routing for a brake cable. (haha)
Who is Carver Bikes?
The Carver Bikes brand product line is available at Bikeman.com, an online retailer owned by a bike shop in Maine called Bath Cycle & Ski / Bikeman. They’re essentially the house brand of the shop, a father and son owned business. (which reminds me of a shop I once worked at).
Carver Bikes is phasing out this fork for a newer edition, and while they’ve had the lowest retail price on it, at $249, it was about the same price as rigid steel forks I was also considering. That seemed to be the deal, and knowing these should hold up for gravel and light-duty trail riding, I ordered one to try out.
Installing the Carver Carbon Fork to create a rigid platform for Gravel Adventures
Installing the Carver rigid fork was painless for the most part, until I slid my front wheel into the dropouts and adjusted the brakes. The bulky dropout assembly didn’t have enough clearance for the disc rotor collar on the wheel I initially paired with it. I ended up swapping the wheel out for a different one that ended up working a bit better. Alternatively, I could have tried adding some spacers.
It doesn’t offer cable routing, so I ended up zip-tying the cable to the fork leg, old school.
Another item worth mentioning is that while the fork is a through axle, the axle doesn’t thread into the dropout. Instead, the axle is essentially a burly quick-release style design.
Almost 10 years ago, I went on some single-speed rides with my friend Adam in the hills of Oakland, California. He was riding a version of this fork on one of the early Surly Karate Monkey 29 hardtails. He was working for MTBR.com at the time, and wrote a review that still lives on the site today. The funny part is that the fork I’m riding now really isn’t that much different than the model he was on.. I think you can still actually buy it. The version he was riding had a shorter axle to crown, a 1 1/8 steerer, and was quick-release.
In fact, there are tons of similar bike products on Amazon, AliExpress, Temu, and more with similar backstories. The scary part is with most of these generic options is there’s no information on where it came from, and whether they’re strong enough to hold up or trust. Knowing the history of this fork made it an easy buy as I was looking for an inexpensive, lightweight option.
This fork is sold by a few different brands — MRP has offered this exact fork in their lineup with their branding for some time – I almost bought one a few years ago. That doesn’t make it good or bad – many of the parts on our bicycles are provided by manufacturers and white labeled. Importing components like this is probably the easiest way to get into the bike business – just come up with a brand story, website, and start selling.
On the trail
Since installing the carbon rigid fork, I’ve been riding this bike all over. The only downside of it being on the classic Kona Honzo Carbon is worrying about locking it when I’m at the grocery store- after all, carbon fiber doesn’t do as well as metal bikes when it comes to getting banged around.
However, that’s not why you ride carbon bikes, am I right? It’s about the performance. And on the hills, the minimal heft of the front end allows hard out of the saddle exertion without having to engage your lockout. The bike climbs like a rocket – even more so if you’re coming off your heavy enduro mountain bike.
I don’t love the aesthetic of this fork for a carbon bike; I think it would look better paired with a. steel frame. But if you’re looking for a rigid fork with some compliance, for the money, it’s a solid option.
More info at carverbikes.com, or you can order them through https://www.bikeman.com