Single front fork, why?

[snailracer]

Nothing mechanically wrong with a stub axle or cantilever suspended wheel

The problem is more with perception
And adding front panniers....

Doesn't work with V-brakes or cantis.
Allegedly more aero.
Also, some MTB "twin" suspension forks actually only have a dummy second fork.

 

[Old Plodder]

I believe it was Mike Burrows' origional idea so that commuters could fix punctures more easily.

 

[palinurus]

I'd certainly consider having a commute bike with a some sort of monoblade type attachment front and rear for ease of tube-changing. I like those jobs with the structural chaincase sort of arrangement at the back. Neat.

By god do I dislike cleaning the chain in winter.

 

[BCHBMZ]

I followed a bike this morning with a single front fork.

What is the benefit of this, is it just a fad?

It can't save much, if any, weight, and surely the single fork and the wheel hub have to be over engineered to take the higher forces. in the same way a convertible car is heavier than a normal car.

If it was any good wouldnt we all have one?

I do not normally enter online discussions, but felt I did have something to contribute to this particular subject. So, if I've violated some proper etiquette, my apologies...
I am not an authority on the subject, but I saw a video on this subject sometime in the early nineties. It was demonstrating the single front fork in a high speed racing situation. As I recall, the idea was to reduce front wheel "chatter" as they went into a corner at a high speed. Chatter of course, maybe resulting in loss of control and accidents. They compared the two different "fork" styles, and the single front fork did allow the rider to hit the corners faster. BCHBMZ

 

[tommaguzzi]

do a search for chris boardman's 1992 lotus track bike.
that had single fork blades front and rear.
it was banned because it worked so well

 

[Smokin Joe]

do a search for chris boardman's 1992 lotus track bike.
that had single fork blades front and rear.
it was banned because it worked so well

Everything that worked well was banned by the UCI of old. They are being dragged slowly into the modern era, however.