June 17, 2025
To the untrained eye, the fork is more than just the front end of the bike. For the craftspeople who design and build bikes, forks are a crucial ingredient in their bikes’ recipe for a top-quality ride experience.
Custom builders, like Ellis Cycles, Mariposa Bicycles, Royal H Cycles, and Sanitas Cycles, are some of Ritchey’s biggest fans because they can craft frames: that are tailored to their customers’ particular needs; that are aesthetically balanced; and which boast the same ride qualities Tom Ritchey sought to achieve when designing his own frames. A custom bike might be the last bike you’ll ever buy, which is why these framebuilders are faultless in their attention to detail regarding the bike they’ll build for you.
“Each Mariposa is custom and made in our workshop, so once we receive an order, we will consult with the customer to go over the type of bike they are interested in, the type of riding they do, and their budget,” said Michael Barry, owner of Mariposa Bicycles in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “The fork is considered in almost every aspect of the design. We choose forks based on the type of rider and type of bike. The fork is a crucial factor in which geometry the frame will have, as that will influence how the bicycle rides.”
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