Carbon forks and how to load them

[dimrub]

I have a Canyon Trail and it's a great bike, very happy with it. Aside from trips near the house, I use it during touring trips in Europe (myself, I live in Israel). So far me and my son mostly did credit card touring, for which the rear panniers, the handlebar bag and a frame bag or two is plenty of space. However, I'm thinking of doing more camping in the future, so front panniers sound like a good idea, but the bike has a carbon fork, and naturally, no fittings on the outside for a rack - besides, though shall not put panniers on a carbon fork, yadda-yadda. However! There are drilled and threaded holes on the INSIDE of the fork, around the middle. What on Earth are those for? I was unable to find any info, but naturally, someone assumed there would be some kind of accessory using these holes, presumably, a load bearing accessory. Any ideas? Any products aimed at carbon forks?

 

[Vantage]

Every fork rack I've ever seen needs mounts on the outside of the fork. Clamp on mounts are available for those forks which aren't blessed with those mounts, but as you know, bad idea on a carbon fork.
I'd say you have 3 options.

1: Bigger rear panniers. I've just bought some Carradice carradry rear bags. They're ridiculously huge. Depending on your gear and how you pack, you could probably squeeze everything into them.

2: New forks. Surly do a set of touring forks which cost (I think) £130 ish in the uk. Other companies do them too. Dawes etc.

3: A trailer. Pricy though for specific load carrying models. A child trailer can be had for around £70 in the UK.

These options may very well be available in Israel although I've no idea of the cost there.

 

[All uphill]

The bikes I've seen with fixing points on the inside of a carbon fork have them there for mudguards. I can't imagine they would be designed to carry anything other than very light loadings.

I'm sure you could get a new or used steel fork for around £100.

Enjoy your touring!

 

[ColinJ]

The bikes I've seen with fixing points on the inside of a carbon fork have them there for mudguards. I can't imagine they would be designed to carry anything other than very light loadings.

Same with my CAADX fork. I wouldn't want to attach anything other than a front mudguard either!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Not directly related to the OP but for anyone with a carbon or suspension fork that are not pannier friendly I can recommend an Extra Wheel trailer. The newer models are different to mine but mine handled very well (when set up correctly). I really miss it now on rough tracks as it really freed up the steering.
They're heavy and not terribly convenient for air travel and not particularly cheap but for people who use their bike in different ways they can be a sensible alternative to a new bike. 😊 Such heresy!