Stridsland Barnacle Fork OG 1"
This is the Barnacle Fork
This is my dream retro MTB conversion fork I spent way too long developing. Designed for 26″ mountain bikes from the 80’s and 90’s, ideally replacing the original rigid fork or a short travel (max 80mm) suspension fork. It will make most / cross / hybrid / gravel / ATB bikes pretty siiick too.
The axle to crown measurement is 400mm. This is a critical element of its design, as running a fork that’s even just 20mm too long will do all kinds of terrible things to a bike’s handling and self-esteem.
It has 43mm offset which is similar to what most retro mtb forks had. Results in a mid to high trail number on frames with a 70-73 degree head angle. Loaded or not, fast or slow, it just friggin works.
Clearance for maximum 26×3″, 27.5×2.5″ or 700x45mm!
I’m proud to say they’ve passed the gnarliest lab test (ISO 4210 at MTB level) and definitely lived up to my expectations in real-life riding as well! Full send, trail and BMX worthy!
I have a sort of no-compromise design philosophy. I don’t like to take shortcuts, I like my components to be strong, I like geeking out on the details. My products are produced in small batches in order to keep my one-man operation sustainable and my sanity in check. I hope you can appreciate that this comes at a price.
OG or Lite?
The OG is the first version; it’s got all mounts, 11 holes in each leg, plus one in the dropouts and a dogbone at the top. The idea is that this fork can make any old bike the ultimate bike camping bike. After countless hours of R&D, I can pretty much guarantee any rack out there will fit :) It’s also ED coated to help protect against internal rust, and a solid gloss black powder coat for resilience!
The Lite fork was introduced later on and has lighter double-butted tubing and fewer mounts (4 per leg), also one in the dropouts. This is often enough for some cages and mudguards, and a rack. It has a “Raw” clear powder coat finish.
Will the “Raw” rust? Abso-forking-lutely. – Yes, yes it will, and it will look sick! The clear powder coat is among the strongest “raw” finishes. There is also a layer of grease applied to the inside of the crown and steerer tube to slow the process in the most critical areas. However, if you live in a humid climate, definitely expect some positive patina. As soon as the clear coat is chipped or scratched, it’s an open invite for the rust worms to start forming. It will be purely visual. It will take many years for it to become structural. Some folks are into it, some aren’t. If you’re lucky, it might even have some small patches of patina from production! Consider yourself warned :)
Specs:
– Dropouts: 100x9mm Quick Release (QR).
– Steerer: Threadless 300mm long available in 1″ and 1-1/8″.
– 1″ crown race seat is ISO 26.4mm (not JIS 27.0)
– Hardware included: M5x12 black stainless T25 bolts
– Removable brake studs included (M10 x P1.25)
– Weight roughly 1500g for OG and 1350g for Lite, including hardware.
If your frame has a 1″ headtube, consider grabbing a 1″ headset + spacers and stem shim!