Borealis Bikes

FF1 Fork

Fat bikes are special, in all sorts of ways, so they need special parts. A big ol' tire won't fit in a skinny fork, obviously, so you need a big-time option like the Borealis FF1 Fork. It's designed to pair with the Borealis Yampa frame, but it'll work with any frame that requires a tapered 1.5in-1.125in tapered steerer tube, so you'll have plenty of options. Its giant width will accommodate a five-inch tire, but the FF1 is still the lightest production fat fork on the market.

How? Carbon fiber. Carbon's way lighter than steel or aluminum, so it's great if you're building up a race-weight fatty, but it has lesser-known benefits, too, like serious stiffness and the ability to absorb vibration. Together, this means you won't have to sacrifice speed for comfort and control, and you won't feel like you're wasting effort when you try and put power into the pedals. The FF1 is also set up to run disc brakes, which, although they improve modulation and all-weather stopping, put significant more stress on the fork. To counteract that increase force, Borealis boosted the stiffness even further by including fat 15mm thru-axle, which has the added benefit of being easier to use and more reliable than a quick-release axle.