KS GTC: a lightweight fork for gravel with 40 mm and a good price

Gravel continues to approach, in its most radical aspect, mountain biking for which, brands have not hesitated to introduce suspension forks like this new KS GTC that further expand the range of use of gravel bikes, the most versatile bikes par excellence.

Get closer to the dark side of gravel with the new KS GTC fork

In the end, we are going to have to end up agreeing with those who say that with gravel, brands are doing nothing but reinventing mountain biking. It is a discipline that is becoming more and more polarized, on the one hand the competitive aspect, with bikes practically road in terms of geometry and performance, to which only wider tires are added.

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At the other extreme, we have those who seek to make routes with significant technical difficulty and who do not hesitate to look for any solution, like new larger wheel diameters, to face them in the best way without losing that ability to ride long distances that gravel provides. A gravel that some are able to take to the extreme, as demonstrated by rider Gabriel Wibmer.

In this search for limits, the introduction of suspension forks like this new KS GTC was inevitable, which has great attractions to become a top seller among those who seek to reach the limit of their gravel bikes.

First of all, we are looking at a very light fork, only 1,385 grams on the scale for this KS GTC, achieved through careful manufacturing in which a crown made of 6066 T6 aluminum is mixed. The same material is used for the bottles, except for the bridge, for which high modulus carbon is used to achieve the most rigid connection possible. Finally, the 30 mm diameter bottles use 7050 aluminum to which a hard anodizing is applied to increase its durability, sliding capacity and resistance to rubbing.

Obviously, being a fork in which weight is an essential parameter, the spring of this KS GTC is air pressure, with a travel of 40 mm, in line with other gravel forks on the market, which is appeased by an adjustable hydraulic cartridge through a dial located at the bottom of the right bottle. In addition, it has a small lever at the top of this same leg to be able to lock the fork.

Designed for the most extreme gravel, this KS GTC has a wide wheel passage in which to accommodate some of the best gravel tires on the market in a size of up to 700x50c, a combination: 50 mm of balloon and its 20 mm of travel that will allow us to pass through places practically unthinkable for a conventional gravel bike. All this at a price below 600 €, incredible for a fork of this weight and performance.

KS GTC: Technical data

• Price: $599
• Weight: 1,385 g
• Travel: 40 mm
• Maximum tire size: 700x50c
• Maximum disc size: 180 mm