We think that the long distance audax cyclist is rather poorly served by what is on offer with mudguard clearance; BikeRadar finds a willing participant with Pearson's Audax fork.
As far as we know, Ambrosio is one of only two companies to produce a one-inch carbon fork with 'guards clearance. The other is the Pearson forks tested here that have carbon blades and an aluminium crown and steerer tube.
The aluminium fork crown is wider to accommodate mudguards, and while this fork was originally intended to be used on frames with non-hiddenset headsets, it is in fact compatible with any bike that uses an oversized headset. The fork is only available with an 1 1/8in steerer and offset is 4.5cm only.
Despite the mudguard, it's one of the shortest forks on test. In our opinion a bit more compliance would have been welcome for long distance comfort but, as is shown in the lab test, their fore and aft stiffness makes them well suited to heavy riders.
