A Wilde-ly good gravel and bikepacking option: the Wilde Waypoint Adventure Fork reviewed

Wilde Bicycle Co is known for building beautiful metal bikes. From road and gravel, to adventure and touring, all the way to playful and capable hardtails. Wilde has something for everyone. But its frames were paired with the fork offerings from other manufacturers.  Not stoked on what was on the market, s out there, Wilde set out to create their own carbon fork that had the ride qualities and features to best support its bikes. Introducing: the all-new Wilde Wayfinder fork, made with either a tapered steerer and one specific for 1 ⅛” straight steerers.

Specs

• MSRP $499
• Three Pack Mounts (6lbs per side)
• Internal Brake Routing
• Internal Dynamo Routing
• Fender Mounts
• Fully Threaded Center Mount (front & rear!)
• 470g with uncut steerer
• Fits 700c X 2.1" or 27.5" X 2.3"
• 398mm Axle to Crown
• 350mm length steerer tube for all the stack heights
• 12x100mm (also fits a 15x100 with a sleeve)
• Flat mount a 140mm or 160mm rotor

Construction

The Waypoint is a full carbon fork built to withstand the rigours of modern adventure riding and also offer a full suite of features, including three pack mounts, internal dynamo routing, internal brake cable routing, fender mounts and 700 x 2.1" tyre clearance. 

Setup

The waypoint is similar to most other fork installs. Wilde gives you a generous 350mms of steerer, which should work for even the tallest of stack heights — Wilde recommends not exceeding 40mm of spacers above the upper bearing. 

There’s internal routing on each leg of the fork, brake and dynamo. The brake routing is tight around a standard shimano GRX hose, with no rattles apparent. The flat mounts are well aligned and ready to rock out of the box. 

The fork has a carbon base for your crown race. The included compression plug is top notch, and easy to install. Remember to include the extra couple millimetres the plug adds to the steerer before cutting.
 

The Ride

The fork coming off my bike was an older Whisky Carbon Cyclocross fork. It was a great fork, but I don’t think compliance was the goal. I usually ran it with 650b x 48-2.2” tires. As such, all of the compliance came from the rubber. Comparing the Waypoint to the Whisky, you can immediately tell the weight and construction were completely different. The Waypoint is significantly smaller and lighter. Looking more like the current crop of race forks — like the teeny tiny fork on the Specialized Crux. I ride my bikes hard, and visually, the size and (lack of) weight gave me some hesitations.

Immediately after hopping on the Wayfinder, you can tell how much effort went into tuning the ride quality. It's substantially smoother than my previous carbon fork. It really takes the edge off the higher frequency vibrations, and makes chatter almost forgettable. I ride a lot of suspension forks and big tires, and I was very impressed with how much this fork dampens the surface. I didn’t feel like I lost any of the responsiveness of my previous fork, either. No compromises, all performance.

The features of the fork are well thought-out. The internal routing puts the cables in all the right places. There’s proper fender mounts  (essential for a Pacific Northwest bike) and cargo mounts. The cargo mounts are well placed toward the bottom of the fork.

Tyre clearance is extremely generous. The fork made my 650 x 2.1’s look tiny. On paper clearance is 650 x 2.3, but looks like you could probably squeeze some 2.4s in there if you’re not heading into the mud. For those who prefer 700c, the clearance is just as generous as a listed 700 x 2.1". Such clearance makes for a ton of tire & fender options which is always welcome.

The Waypoint is a really great piece of kit. It ticks all the boxes that 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 legs of the fork have plenty of flex, and that makes for a slightly awkward mounting experience. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really not an issue, just something to note. Also to note, I have a pair of 650 rims with a 15x100 hub, and the hub fits great in the Waypoint with a sleeve.

Value & Verdict

The Wayfinder is a well-designed carbon fork suitable for modern gravel and adventure bikes. It offers friendly ride characteristics and a load of thoughtful features. For $499, the Wayfinder is also considerably cheaper than similar offerings from Whisky ($565) or ENVE ($625). I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Wilde Waypoint to anyone looking for a new carbon fork.