Wilde Bicycle Co. is known for building beautiful metal bikes. From road to gravel, through adventure and touring, to fun and high-performance semi-rigids. Wilde has something for everyone. But its frames were bundled with fork offerings from other manufacturers. Not content with what was available on the market, Wilde decided to create his own carbon fork with the qualities and features needed to best support his bikes. Presentation: the brand new Wilde Wayfinder Forkmanufactured with either a tapered pivot and one specific for 1 ⅛” straight pivots.
Specifications
(Image credit: Charlie Kohlmeier)
MSRP $499
Set of three supports (6 lbs per side)
Internal brake routing
Internal dynamo routing
Fender Supports
Fully threaded center support (front and rear!)
470g with uncut pivot
Fits 700c X 2.1″ or 27.5″ X 2.3″
398mm axle to crown
350 mm long head tube for all stack heights
12x100mm (also fits a 15×100 with a pouch)
Flat mounting of a 140 mm or 160 mm rotor
Construction
(Image credit: Charlie Kohlmeier)
The Waypoint is a full carbon fork built to withstand the rigors of modern adventure and also offers a full suite of features including three brackets, internal dynamo routing, internal brake cable routing, guard mounts -mud and tire clearance of 700 x 2.1″.
Facility
(Image credit: Charlie Kohlmeier)
The waypoint is similar to most other fork installations. Wilde gives you a generous 350mm pivot, which should work for even the highest stack heights — Wilde recommends no more than 40mm of spacers above the top bearing.
There is internal routing on each leg of the fork, brake and dynamo. Brake routing is tight around a standard Shimano GRX pipe, with no apparent rattle. The flat supports are well aligned and ready to come out of the box.
The fork has a carbon base for your ride to the crown. The included compression plug is top-notch and easy to install. Don't forget to include the extra few millimeters that the plug adds to the pivot before cutting.
The path
Extremely generous tire cleaning
(Image credit: Charlie Kohlmeier)
The fork coming off my bike was an old Whiskey Carbon Cyclocross fork. It was a great fork, but I don't think compliance is the goal. I usually rode it with 650b x 48-2.2″ tires. As such, all the compliance came from the rubber. Comparing the Waypoint to the Whiskey, you can immediately tell that the weight and construction were completely different. The Waypoint is significantly smaller and lighter looking more like the current crop of racing forks – like the tiny fork on the. Specialized Crucial Point. I ride my bikes hard, and visually the size and (lack of) weight gave me some hesitation.
Immediately after getting on the Wayfinder, you can see how much effort has been put into tuning the ride quality. It is noticeably softer than my previous carbon fork. This really dampens high-frequency vibrations and makes chatter almost forgettable. I ride a lot of suspension forks and big tires, and I was very impressed with the way this fork cushions the surface. I also didn't feel like I was losing the responsiveness of my previous fork. No compromise, full performance.
The fork's features are well thought out. Internal routing places cables in the right places. There are proper fender mounts (essential for a Pacific Northwest bike) and cargo racks. The cargo racks are well placed towards the bottom of the fork.
Tire clearance is extremely generous. The fork made my 650 x 2.1 tiny. On paper the clearance is 650 x 2.3, but it looks like you could probably fit a few 2.4s in there if you're not heading into the mud. For those who prefer the 700c, the clearance is just as generous as a 700 x 2.1″. Such clearance results in a ton of tire and fender options, which is always welcome.
The Waypoint is a very good piece of kit. It checks all the boxes I would look for in a gravel or adventure fork. The only thing that takes some getting used to is sliding the wheel into the dropouts. The fork legs are very flexible, making the assembly experience slightly tricky. Once you get the hang of it, it's really not a problem, just something to note. Also of note, I have a pair of 650 rims with a 15×100 hub, and the hub fits the Waypoint perfectly with a sleeve.
Value and verdict
(Image credit: Charlie Kohlmeier)
The Wayfinder is a well-designed carbon fork suitable for modern gravel and adventure bikes. It offers user-friendly driving characteristics and many thoughtful features. For $499, the Wayfinder is also considerably less expensive than similar offerings from Whiskey ($565) or ENVE ($625). I would not hesitate to recommend the Wilde Waypoint to anyone looking for a new carbon fork.
