State Bicycle Co. - Steel Rigid MTB Fork

Turn your trail bike into an all-terrain bike. A double-butted 4130 chromoly rigid fork with more places to bolt gear than any fork we make — five cargo mounts per leg, plus fender and rack mounts. Nothing to service, nothing to charge, nothing that can lose its damping two days into a tour.

What it's actually for

A suspension fork is the right answer when the ground is steep, rough and technical. Everywhere else it's 5 lb 12 oz of moving parts you're carrying up every climb, and a service interval you keep meaning to get to.

This is the other answer. Steel takes abuse and shrugs off the scratch that would have you wincing at a carbon leg. It's the cheapest of the three forks to replace if you ever destroy one. And with mounting bosses up and down both legs, it turns a hardtail into something you can actually load up and disappear on for a few days.

Dirt roads, doubletrack, bikepacking routes, hardpack singletrack, and the commute in between. That's the brief.

Mounts everywhere

• Five cargo mounts per leg — the most of any fork we build. Run anything-cages, dry bags, fuel bottles, or a mix, and still have bosses left over.
• Fender mounts — proper ones, so you're not zip-tying a mudguard to a brake hose in February.
• Rack mounts — front rack, porteur tray, lowrider panniers.

This is the part a suspension fork can't do at any price. Stanchions and lowers have nowhere to put a bolt, which is why every loaded touring bike you've ever admired is rigid up front.

Fitment — read this before you buy

Everything else is current mountain bike standard:

• 15 x 110mm Boost front hub spacing, thru-axle included
• Post mount brake, 160mm native — a 180mm adaptor is included in the box, and 203mm works with the appropriate adaptor
• 300mm steerer, shipped uncut so your fitter sets your stack height, not us
• 29" wheels up to 3.0" of tire

If you're fitting this to a 4130 Trail

Worth knowing what changes. The RockShox Psylo Silver RC that ships on the 4130 Trail measures 550mm axle-to-crown. This fork is 492mm — 58mm shorter.

Dropping the front end that much steepens the head angle, lowers the bottom bracket and shortens the wheelbase. The bike gets quicker-steering and sits lower. That is the intended result, not a side effect: you're converting a slack trail hardtail into a fast all-terrain bike. But it is a real change in character, so go in expecting a different bike rather than the same one minus the squish.

You'll also save 1 lb 12 oz over the suspension fork.

Specifications

Tire fitment varies with rim width and tire brand — a 3.0" on a wide rim measures wider than the same tire on a narrow one. Leave clearance for mud.

In the box

• Fork, 300mm uncut steerer
• 15 x 110mm thru-axle
• 30mm cone (for tapered head tubes)
• 180mm post mount brake adaptor

⚠️ Professional installation recommended. Fitting a fork means cutting a steerer tube, setting a crown race, and adjusting headset preload — all of which affect whether the bike steers safely. The steerer ships uncut on purpose. If you're not set up to do this properly, have a shop do it.

Want to get technical? Full Geo / Specs here.