# Hylix (eBay) Carbon 29" 29er fork



## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

So i figured what the heck, its cheap enough so i might as well give it a try.

I removed my Fox fork and put this on last night. Cut down it weighed 490 grams, before i cut it down it came out of the box at 510 grams. The finish is great. here are the specs as listed: 
-Made of Toray T700 high modulus carbon fiber
-Monocoque construction, Aerodynamics design, Full carbon structure (Steerer tube is also made of carbon fiber)
-Designed to provide superior stiffness and yet absorb road shock to give you a performance advantage
-Headtube size: 1'1/8", Rake : 38mm
-Approx Weight: 510g (with 310mm steer tube), Strong enough for XC riding and even FR& -CycloCross riding
-Axle to Crown: 46cm, can be used for 26", 700c and 29er wheels also
-Compatible with Disk Brake Only

It put my bike down to 19.0lbs. So i put it on last night, took it out to Rocky Point trails (New York) pretty tame XC trails for a good lap and i was very happy, i can say i dont miss the Fox 100mm RLC FIT F29


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

If anyone is familiar with traisl in NY i went to Sprain Ridge and Glacier Ridge today.

Sprain Ridge is very rocky so it was a real test and the fork held up great, very solid, the increased handling helped maneuver around/thru rocks so even without suspension it made the trail more doable. I would not normaly ride a trail like that even on a hardtail with the Fox fork but i just wanted to see how this would do.

If your not familiar with Glacier Ridge its one of my favorites around and many other peoples as well. Its a tight fast single track and was also fun with this fork because of the better handling characteristics, there are plenty of tight, twisty sections, mostly winding between tight trees so this made that stuff more enjoyable to handle.

Overall the fork has made the bike handle and feel more like a 26" again which is what i have been after since getting on a 29er not to mention the huge weight drop on the front end being tremendous for climbing. I plan on putting it on a carbon SS frame, i think thats going to be a lot of fun and at most 17 lbs =)


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## wu501 (Aug 12, 2010)

was just looking at this fork on ebay and figured I would see if anyone here had one. You happen to be local to me too. Would love to see this in person one day if you don't mind. I ride a fully rigid ss and have been considering moving over to a suspension fork due to shoulder issues but maybe the carbon would be just enough to help out a bit. Are you a member on the climb forum?


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## OuterNational (Apr 7, 2007)

Is that fork an exact copy of a branded fork?
I got a hylix seatpost from ebay (assume same seller- straight from Taiwan) and it is exactly the same as the bontrager XXX lite carbon post at half the price, ca. 175 grams for 27.2 x 400.


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

no idea if its a copy of anything, as far as i know i havent seen any other 29er carbon forks with this design.

Yep im a member on Climb, i dont post much or go on there often tho, i just pay the membership so we can keep our trails well maintained. I ride only on the weekends because work is too busy this time of year. I ride RP and GR primarily.


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## wu501 (Aug 12, 2010)

I hear ya...I don't post much on there either but I ride with some of the guys on there, Was just at RP on Saturday afternoon. Might have to give this fork a try also. Would save me a couple hundred if I don't go with a suspension fork. My salsa fork is great and light for being steel but the ride has gotten to me lately.


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

I was there on saturday afternoon as well, looks like we got there around 2:30, i was riding with a friend who hasnt been on the bike in a while so we took it a bit slow:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103165895

who do you ride with normally ?


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## Thameth (Dec 14, 2007)

I've been looking at this fork too lately... is the logo a decal that can be peeled off?


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

No its not, its under the clear coat, you would need to either paint it or put another decal over the entire thing....i already wanted to do the same but i got used to it haha


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## Thameth (Dec 14, 2007)

Well thats a shame.... hmmmm.....


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## dogdaysunrise (May 15, 2011)

How does the bike ride now?
Going from 100mm which is about 500mm to this should make your head angle quite a bit steeper!
Bike more direkt now?

===========

Here too, directly from china:
carbon bike manufacture,carbon frames,carbon rims,carbon forks,carbon bike parts,carbon wheelsets

or

29ER Fork - $120.00 : E-hongfu-Bikes


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## MirFlash (Oct 14, 2010)

OuterNational said:


> Is that fork an exact copy of a branded fork?
> I got a hylix seatpost from ebay (assume same seller- straight from Taiwan) and it is exactly the same as the bontrager XXX lite carbon post at half the price, ca. 175 grams for 27.2 x 400.


I also thought well let's try it, for the price.

The first one to arrive was everything except a 27,2 was mostly a 26,92 

Second one arrived and this was spot on 27,22- 27,26 so this time measurements were OK.
Weight was also OK.
So everything is OK then, well not, looking inside the post tube, it is supposed to be strengthened with 2 strips one on the front side one on the back.
And on the second one the strips only go up something like 1" from end.
Haven't took the time of measuring the thickness further up but are really questioning the strength.

Big question is : what kind of AQ do they implement at Hylix. It rests now in my cabinet of horrors. 
Wasn't Bontrager who said, weight, price, strength choose 2 out of 3


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## Napfgeist (Jan 4, 2004)

I have the Hylix Carbon Fork on my rigid 29er.










Weight is uncutted approx. 510 gr.










The fork performs very well, stiff esp. under braking. Much better than the previous installed Trigon. The disc mount is IS only.










And there is no cable guide.


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## Trail_rat (Oct 25, 2006)

i like napfgeist !









Now










- how it was before


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

MirFlash said:


> I also thought well let's try it, for the price.
> 
> The first one to arrive was everything except a 27,2 was mostly a 26,92
> 
> ...


you sound VERY critical and i can understand that to a point, but it almost sounds like you measured everything out and never even put it on your bike for a test ride ? you give technical data but no sort of personal impression on how it performed.

I have ridden it a handful of times now already and really enjoy it thats why im a little bit defensive over something that seems negative but without any practical input.


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## MirFlash (Oct 14, 2010)

Everybody is entitled to make mistakes, but twice and to such extend, that quality is really questionned.
Why should I try/ride it.

If you fancy positive input, you can have it, bear shipping costs, the post is yours.
New never been used/mounted.

In the end, I can always decide what to do with the stuff, if for me twice in a row something is not satisfactory, I'm not going to use it, call it chicken, silly or whatever, point is seatpost does not meet description.

The AQ was absent twice, and hence the writing.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

38mm rake is way below what other companies offer in their rigid forks. The eXotic carbon forks on ebay for 29ers are 42mm rake and 465mm A-C length. The Niner Carbon fork has a 45mm rake and 470mm A-C. Hell even in 26er suspension correct forks like the Ritchey WCS Carbon fork has a 48mm rake. 

38mm rakes are things you'd expect to find on suspension forks around 2-3" travel, and that was reduced from the rake that the previous generation of rigid forks used to offset the slackened angles that retrofitting a suspension fork to frames designed with rigid in mind suffered from.


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## ds3000 (Jan 12, 2010)

3Ronin - just wondering, are the pics you supplied of the forks on your bike?


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## Veda (Dec 17, 2009)

I just got the Hylix flat bar which is 118gr 60cm made from the same modulus carbon as those top of the line expensive bars from branded companies. But of course Hylix costs about 30% of those brands. I assume Hylix would have to be the OEM for some well known brands to pull this off.


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

ds3000 said:


> 3Ronin - just wondering, are the pics you supplied of the forks on your bike?


Yep, thats my pony


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## mr_chrome (Jan 17, 2005)

just put one of these on my bike and will be keeping a close eye on performance........really enjoyed the first ride, though - 15 miles on the Chicopee trails in north GA...........how long have you folks been running your Hylix forks?.......


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## dhalsey (Aug 10, 2010)

mr_chrome said:


> just put one of these on my bike and will be keeping a close eye on performance........really enjoyed the first ride, though - 15 miles on the Chicopee trails in north GA...........how long have you folks been running your Hylix forks?.......


How does it ride compared to your steel fork? Looking at picking one up too for my 29er. Also how much did it speed up the steering? Hardly notice, or drastic difference?


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## mr_chrome (Jan 17, 2005)

dhalsey said:


> How does it ride compared to your steel fork? Looking at picking one up too for my 29er. Also how much did it speed up the steering? Hardly notice, or drastic difference?


My first ride (and only ride so far) - the front end being lighter allowed me to climb much better..........coming downhill, it felt a little "bouncy" - good lateral support but some flex in the front-to-back movement...........I liked it, though - not as much vibration and not as tired as usual; I rode 2-1/2 to 3 hours whereas I usually ride about 2 hours total........the steering was sweet, just what you want /expect from a carbon fiber fork - so make that a drastic difference...............I cleaned / inspected the forks and no problems, but I will take the front end apart after a month and give the steerer good inspection later.........


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Is the OP aware that his photos were lifted and put into the sale page on ebay with the ebay seller's watermark on them?

Or is the OP the one selling the forks on ebay?


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

He's probably the one selling the forks on ebay. In other words, the point to the thread was to advertise products not selling brisk enough.


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

me ? OP = original poster ?

i just looked at the ebay listing now to see it, i didnt know they were on there till now but i dont mind, i gave him an email after i put it on the bike to let him know i liked it and a link to this, i dont sell them. I dont really mind either, i have bought plenty of stuff from him in the past, maybe he will hook me up on something down the road haha.

its funny that people assume in such a cynical way


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## Jonesy33 (Mar 18, 2008)

Anyone have any experience with these forkas and Easton XC ones. Anyone know if the compatibility issue between Easton XC ones and the Niner Forks is an issue with these Hylix as well?


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## jackattack (Nov 27, 2009)

Just received my Hylix fork & looks fine. Does anyone know which adaptor I need to fit my post mount 160mm disc brakes?


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## emperaza (Jan 20, 2012)

*Hylix Carbon Fork*

Hello folks,

I too was also considering the Hylix fork for a 29er fixie commuter project I am working on. I was wondering if anyone had any long term opinions about its reliability. Ive seen one other member say theirs developed some damage along the steerer tube, has anyone else had similar results.

I am also considering this other "elcheapo" carbon fork: ebay item # 330665278861 for $140

is it even worth trying?

Thanks


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## sethic (Apr 26, 2012)

*Beware of hylix!!!!!*

I bought a Hylix fork, bar, and seatpost. On my FIRST ride, the Steer tube Snapped in half! This was installed professionally. Flaw in the design. If you tear the fork apart you will notice that half way up the steerer it is filled with foam or epoxy and then transitions to a typical hollow steerer. It snapped right at this transition.

Good luck guys. I recommend going with NINER, WHISKY, WHITE BROS, or GRAMMO carbon forks before this brand. Don't be fooled. These are cheap for a reason!


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## JeffL (Jan 25, 2009)

My worst nightmare. What was your first clue that you might have a problem? 
I hope you weren't hurt in the crash...

I'm surprised that is where it broke. I've been expecting a carbon steerer would be most prone to fail either at the crown interface or at the stem clamping area. So I've been more inclined to trust that a tapered fork would be more robust with the larger crown spreading the stresses. Now I don't know. This break is in an area that doesn't even have any lateral stresses (if it's installed correctly). The failure is a problem of poor tensile strength, not improper compression.


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## Stumpjumpy (Sep 7, 2011)

Weird failure mode, indeed. 
Thanks for that post.

Note to self: do not buy cheapo CF parts.


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## sethic (Apr 26, 2012)

*broken hylix*

Luckily I wasn't hurt in the crash. I was going uphill and hit a small root. That's when it failed. THE LESSON: I bought this thinking, "what the heck, if it breaks, I'm only out $140. But now, looking back on it, I could have gotten SUPER injured had this been on a downhill section of a race going 30+ mph. You have to consider your safety when getting something "too good to be true".

Ride safe, ride hard, don't ease up!


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## 1SPD (Apr 25, 2010)

Well, that is good enough for me. I was seriously leaning towards this fork because it is one of the only straight legged forks our there that is available in a 1 1/8 non tapered. I currently have an original White Brothers that I have been on for about 2 seasons now. The only issue is that it is the older style (they have since changed the fork crown) and it is short at 445 (was on my 26er). 

I know, I know, the steering.....but when i switched from 26>29 the steering on the 29 actually felt good so i have stuck with it. I have since picked up a different 29 frame that has a little bit lower bb and with the lower front end it has made pedal strikes more common than I would like. But I'm not too stressed. Hell, my fork works great. I guess my thinking was like everyone elses, "for the price why not?"


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## PatrickK (Apr 26, 2007)

That looks scary. I have few carbon forks at home. Trigon, Niner and Ritchey. Ritchey is my favourite since it has aluminum steerer tube. One of the Niner forks is going to be exchanged. I recently bought three chrome Salsa forks for a total of $210 which was a steal.


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## paulys_tx (Jul 14, 2007)

Anyone else had a failure?? Wondering it that was an isolated incident or a design flaw? I'm kinda wondering about where the break is - not really on any stressed area. The steerer is most stressed at the crown junction, and then next at he stem. It seems like this one broke between these two. The headset should have made stress in this area of the steerer non-existent. Not questioning you, just wondering? Glad you were not hurt! Did you contact the manufacturer???


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## sethic (Apr 26, 2012)

Everything was installed professionally at proper torque, etc. It snapped under very little pressure since i was only going like 5 mph. If you think of the headtube and steerer acting as a wedge, it kind of makes sense where it broke. I've checked on the ebay ratings of this seller, and you will notice a LOT of flaws in his products like this happening.


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## jackattack (Nov 27, 2009)

sethic said:


> Everything was installed professionally at proper torque, etc. It snapped under very little pressure since i was only going like 5 mph. If you think of the headtube and steerer acting as a wedge, it kind of makes sense where it broke. I've checked on the ebay ratings of this seller, and you will notice a LOT of flaws in his products like this happening.


I've been using my Hylix fork for over a month now & it's fine. The steerer is only 6" so I may be below the fracture line where some other people had failures.


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## 1SPD (Apr 25, 2010)

Well, I just scanned thru his feedback and while I see flaws in some of the products, not a single one of them was this fork. So either the folks that have had this fork either don't have a problem with it, haven't ridden it, haven't broken it, or simply haven't left him negative/neutral feedback.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the fork and want to get one but I haven't found anyone good reviews of one either (other than what is on here) and I mean good or bad. I know people are buying them because I have tracked a few of the auctions. I might just have to start tracking them and then contacting the buyers to see what there experience has been with them so far. 

It's not so much a potential loss of money that I am worried about. I am more concerned about a catastrophic failure. I have used a couple of parts I picked up from him and have had no problems what so ever. (J&L ti spindles for egg beaters, bar ends, and some ti skewers that were on my old road bike). Shipping typically took about 2 weeks and I don't recall that being an issue seeing how they were coming from China or whatever.


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## 1SPD (Apr 25, 2010)

I did just order a seat post from them last night so we will see. One of the feed back comments was that the post was supposed to be 400mm and it was more like 370mm. If that is the case then I will have an issue and have to deal with it at that point. I pretty much need a post that is 390 to make sure I have enough tube in my frame.


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## wannabeRacer (Feb 9, 2004)

hope your ok, that fork looks nasty. I bought a straight seatpost 31.6 x 400mm that look a like Bontrager brand. The quality look ok as I can see and so far so good for a month now.


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## G-reg (Jan 12, 2004)

sethic said:


> Everything was installed professionally at proper torque, etc. It snapped under very little pressure since i was only going like 5 mph. If you think of the headtube and steerer acting as a wedge, it kind of makes sense where it broke. I've checked on the ebay ratings of this seller, and you will notice a LOT of flaws in his products like this happening.


I can back Seth's "JRA" story as I was behind him when it happened. It was really bizarre because it failed with very little force on the steerer. And only 3/4 mi in on a pretty tame trail. That's a severe defect for anything to catastrophicly fail after 10min of light use.

I'd go tapered if you really want a carbon steerer.

Greg


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## 1SPD (Apr 25, 2010)

Well, I got a message back from Ian (seller of Hylix products) and he stated that the post is measured from top to bottom and is 400mm. I pulled my KCNC post and I get 400mm from the bottom of the seat rails to the end of the post. Judging by the pictures in the listing for the Hylix it looks like the bottom of the rail sits about 2cm from the top so that would work out to be about 380mm. I think I can work with that so I told him to go ahead and send it. If it is too short then i will just stick it in my old frame that I am going to try to get built back up over the next year.


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## 1SPD (Apr 25, 2010)

So I ended up sending Ian a message about the length as noted above. He replied back that he would gladly cancel the auction and refund my money because the length would be too short for me. The money was in my paypal account this morning! Can't complain about that at all!


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

I am consider the Hylix bars, but after seeing that fork I dunno. That could be my face in some rocks.


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## Trail_rat (Oct 25, 2006)

Almost a year later and it seems my steerers gone soft 

Was raci at 10 under the ben and my fork started to make some very nasty noises 

And the steerer was flexing badly even with the stem slammed ( ive had carbon steerers before on road bikes and had nothing like this ) 

Ive ridden it mostly ss and it ges alot of grunt but no excuse 

No visible damage but it didnt flex like this before nore creak at all 

I suspect ive done internal damage to the layup. How ever im not willing to find out with my teeth , they are being retired 

Looking at a steel genisis fortitude fork to replace it.


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## wasabiboi (May 10, 2011)

Anyone have an update to this fork? I'm wondering of 3Ronin or Trail rat could give us an update. It seems really hit and miss with this fork.


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## 3Ronin (Feb 4, 2010)

wasabiboi said:


> Anyone have an update to this fork? I'm wondering of 3Ronin or Trail rat could give us an update. It seems really hit and miss with this fork.


I have had no issues. I am just seeing the broken one above and it really surprises me how it broke and where it broke.

Cheap chinease carbon ? good other carbon ? what would you consider the type's ? better yet, how do you know the difference ?

these are not serious questions because there are very very few companies you can call "good carbon" because every single other company out there might as well be "cheap carbon" on that scale. The one company i can say is "good carbon" is Enve.

I work on the OEM side of things and i can tell you first hand that this fork is most likely made in the same place as many of the big brand name bikes you have listed or probably are thinking of. I am not saying there is not a handful of lower grade quality carbon companies out there, but these days a lot of the parts you have seen are made in just a few large carbon factories for many different companies.

Almost every company out there has failures...when you put a no name brand on it you call it junk and let the world know it, when you break a big brand name product you call it a defect and get it replaced and hope for the best.

If you can tell the difference in a high quality carbon piece and a lower grade carbon piece by looking at it or think you can make a judgement about a part i would assume you are reading the brand name put on it and not necessarily making an informed decision.

I would weigh your options when buying anything these days. Are you getting what you are paying for ? its hard to tell in the age of the internet and the structure of manufacturing/production that exists today.

Bottom line about this particular product: I have not broken mine, i have ridden it hard enough to trust it and put it on another bike. You will all have to make your own decision's based on the information available to you. Has there been a lot of other failures ? I am assuming at the price of this fork he must have sold a lot of them and if he did and there were a lot of failures i would infer that you are able to find many stories about them online considering people will usually post info about a negative review or broken/beware-of product before they go write a review about a part that just works and does its job.


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## emperaza (Jan 20, 2012)

*A safe Chinese alternative.*

Hello Folks,

I too was on the fence about this, and after seeing the broken steerer tube I opted for the Mosso Aluminum + Carbon Wrapped Fork. I use it on my city bike, it probably doesn't get as much abuse as it would on the trails but i pop curbs all the time and i've hit some nice sized pot holes at speed. I even jackknifed it the other day and had to hurdle over the handlebars, picked it up and it was still nice and straight. It has a shorter axle to crown height than the Hylix but you can see below I run a 700X30C and still have plenty of room for a 29er. It was, in my opinion, a safer alternative as the steerer is all aluminum and the blades are sort of an aluminum skeleton wrapped in carbon


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## Poopshute (Mar 25, 2010)

Any updates on this fork from the people still using them? It's been about a year and it would be good to hear if they are still holding strong (minus the person who cracked the steerer on his). I Am considering buying me to install on my hybrid bike.


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## emperaza (Jan 20, 2012)

I am still very please with mine (Mosso Carbon/Aluminum) after several hundred miles. Would be a great upgrade for a hybrid, IMO.


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## Poopshute (Mar 25, 2010)

emperaza said:


> I am still very please with mine (Mosso Carbon/Aluminum) after several hundred miles. Would be a great upgrade for a hybrid, IMO.


I ended up needing a suspension corrected version since I'm replacing a suspension fork. I opted with this one...

X Lite Carbon Fiber Rigid Straight Mountain Bike Fork for 27 5" and 29" Wheel | eBay

Not the biggest fan of the "look" as it looks like a suspension fork w/out suspension but the combo of the aluminum steerer and full carbon tubes should prove to be a pretty solid fork. It's also pretty cheap and is suspension corrected. I'll report back with a mini-review.


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## Poopshute (Mar 25, 2010)

Poopshute said:


> I ended up needing a suspension corrected version since I'm replacing a suspension fork. I opted with this one...
> 
> X Lite Carbon Fiber Rigid Straight Mountain Bike Fork for 27 5" and 29" Wheel | eBay
> 
> Not the biggest fan of the "look" as it looks like a suspension fork w/out suspension but the combo of the aluminum steerer and full carbon tubes should prove to be a pretty solid fork. It's also pretty cheap and is suspension corrected. I'll report back with a mini-review.


So I did a little research and the fork I got on ebay looks to be REALLY similar if not identical to this fork:

MRP Rock Solid Rigid Carbon Fork > Components > Forks > Rigid Forks | Jenson USA

The only thing it lacks is the decals. And, it's a fraction of the cost. So far holding up good. I may start a new thread regarding this fork as to not hijack this thread. But, there are other cheap options on ebay!


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Poopshute said:


> So I did a little research and the fork I got on ebay looks to be REALLY similar if not identical to this fork:
> 
> MRP Rock Solid Rigid Carbon Fork > Components > Forks > Rigid Forks | Jenson USA
> 
> The only thing it lacks is the decals. And, it's a fraction of the cost. So far holding up good. I may start a new thread regarding this fork as to not hijack this thread. But, there are other cheap options on ebay!


A separate review would be great.


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## mackdhagen (Jun 17, 2011)

That image of the fork freaks me out..I was going to get an all carbon road, now ya got me thinking. I d have a ton of other Hylix stuff on other bikes. I have the seatposts mentioned earlier in both a 31.6 and 27.2 and they are great so far. The 27.2 flexes quite a bit (lotta post showing, super sloapy top tube) but is comfy (I have both of these on road bikes, one my main road and one my cirt bike) I also have both of their aero road bars on the same bikes and they are a little flexy but comfy. Thinking about swaping out for some stiffer bars for my crit bike but want to play it by ear for the rest of this season. I've had both posts and bars on for 1.5 years now. 
I am looking at the light road fork (no disk 700c) that is coming in right at around 405 gms but again that shot freaks the s outta me)


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