Freestyle Forkin'

FREESTYLE FORKIN'

One thing is certain: In freestyle competition, anyone who wants to win will have to keep upping the ante. Marzocchi engineer Claudia Caporaletti is helping by creating a fork that can spin 360 degrees to allow new aerial tricks. Borrowing from bicycles, Caporaletti's design eliminates the top triple-clamp, relying instead on a massive lower clamp. But it's not a simple substitution; a new frame with increased steering-head wall thickness, a bigger stem and beefed-up bearings was needed. Also, travel was cut to 5.9 inches. With stiffer springing and firmer damping, the combination can be made to work for freestyle jumps, Caporaletti claims, if not supercross. The brake hose runs through the steering stem, allowing for free rotation, while the throttle relies on a complex mechanical linkage to achieve a similar effect. Initially, the fork was a development effort, but increased interest has bumped it to the front burner. "It started as a play project for me," Caporaletti explains. "Now, it's serious." -Steve Anderson