We have lots of forks around our house. Dinner forks, salad forks, pickle forks, dessert forks and even forks in the road. We also have 100mm forks, 135mm forks, 150mm forks and even 110mm boost forks❄. We have quick release forks and thru axle forks. Bottom line, there is a lot of flatware ‘round these parts. With all these different fork spacings, different thru axle widths, and hauling bikes around primarily using a 100mm fork mount roof rack, there are a plethora of fork adapters clanging around the workbench. Well, there’s no need to dig around and look for the correct adapter anymore. Alls ya need is one. And that one would be the Fatdapter manufactured in the other mitten state of Wisconsin.
Our good friend and fellow Bike Black Ribbon Test Pilot Spinner Ryerson had a few things to say about this handy-dandy accessory piece back in the day. Since then, the folks at Fatdapter have been working on making a universal set of spacers that will allow the versatility to match the ever-growing number of fat-bike fork options available. So when they worked out all of the spacers, they sent us this new version of their Fatdapter to test. That’s how it became my turn to give the new universal Fatdapter a try and see how it fared with my menagerie of forks.
A showcase showdown of parts arrived in a box and after unpacking all the little nuggets, this is what I got:
I think the folks at Fatdapter pretty much stabbed every possible fat bike fork configuration available for mountin’ to a roof rack. Makes a real simple argument to the wife for a new fork: “I already have a roof rack adapter for it!”. And also, no need to purchase a new rack which makes more money available for fat bike component upgrades!
At the foundation of the adapter is a universal, H-shaped, burly, orange anodized aluminum piece that accepts different sized bushings for your thru axle spacing and width as well the correct length QR, in case you are still running one.
I emptied out the correct Ziploc bag of bushings, grabbed the appropriate length QR and headed out to the garage to try them on for size. The fit was perfect. Snug as a bug in a rug. Both the thru axle bushings and the QR were spot on. Super easy on and off. I had to get used to the exposed axle, which is housed on other adapters I’ve used, but other than that, both set-ups worked as expected. On and off the roof I experienced the bushings falling off the orange capital H frame but that went away with time. I’m thinking maybe it took a couple times to really press them into the adapter and they haven’t fallen out in recent mountings. Something to pay attention to though when first using it.
My bike goes on and off the roof rack 2-4 times a week. I have exclusively used the Fatdapter this entire winter. I love it. The 15x150mm thru axle set-up stays on my bike but when the wife needs to transport her Pugs, it’s a simple switch to the 135mm QR. All one adapter….it’s universal! Yeah, you have to keep track of the bushings when switching back and forth, but it definitely beats buying two separate adapters.
With so many fork spacings, thru axle widths, and axle types, it only makes sense to have one solution for fat bikes. It’s ok to eat your dessert with a salad fork, right?
For more information as well as pricing options, check out https://www.fatdapter.com/
❄not Fatdapter compatible
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