The Wren Inverted Fat Bike Fork is an amazing piece of bicycle technology that is currently gracing the front end of many fatties around the world. You will find them on hardtails and full-suspension bikes travelling over everything from frigid snow to rocky hills to blistering sand.

Before you jump into the juicy ride details you may want to take a peek at the following posts:

So now its time to see how the Wren handles some real world multi seasonal conditions.

BACKGROUND



The primary test vehicl

e for the Wren was a 2016 Norco Sasquatch 6.1 that sported a Bluto from the factory. The white Bluto had 100 mm of squish, an axle crown measurement of 511 mm, a 51 mm offset (rake) and an MSRP of $685 - $715. The specifications of the Wren ( WSF150-110ATK ) include 110 mm of suspension, an axle crown of 530 mm, offset of 45 mm and MSRP of $699.99.



A 110 mm Wren was also mounted up to a sweet baby blue Trek Farley EX 8 full-suspension fattie in order to attack some mountain bike trails with a little more speed. It replaced a 120 mm Bluto RL.









On paper the Wren is slightly taller with slightly shorter rake (more trail) which translates into more stability at speed coupled with slower steering when travelling more slowly. Descents should also be slightly easier. However, in reality the actual difference in geometry between these two forks is minimal. But the big question is . . . how does the Wren actually feel and handle in the dirt and snow?





Having almost 12 months on the Bluto equipped Sasquatch, it saw all varieties of terrain including: snow (pristine to cratered), ice (smooth to fractured), flowy single track, gnarly cross country and downhill, mud and water, gravel grinds, pavement and untouched back country exploration. The Bluto did what was supposed to do while exhibiting some flex and mimicking a pogo stick from time to time.









The Wren Inverted Fatbike Fork was mounted up to the Sasquatch and after 6 months (

early fall to the dead of winter)

it had been exposed to the same terrain and environment as the Bluto.





RIDING THE WREN



Simply put, t

he Wren does what the Bluto was meant to do, but it does it much better. The design of the Wren makes it much more stable and smooth than the Bluto. Drop offs can be taken without worry of bottoming out the fork and rock gardens can be taken at whatever speed you are comfortable attacking.

The Wren not only feels solid . . . it is solid. No hinting of flex, with the only movement happening within the 110 mm of keyed stanchion travel. And with the Wren being infinitely adjustable, it can be set up for any rider for any conditions and not disappoint.





When installing the carbon bash guards I did have some reservations about the durability of the thin guards that felt like brittle plastic. Boy was I mistaken . . . those suckers are tough. Repeated whacks by low hanging branches and shrubs, coupled with slight pecks from a rock or two have resulted in only a few scrapes and scuffs. I have a new respect for carbon.









The lockout, although no remote, successfully limited the suspension when not needed during gravel/ice grinding on level surfaces. When heading out bikepacking I did use the lockout for a very short period of time. Having a pile of gear (4.4 kg/ 10.2 lbs) strapped to the bars I had anticipated that the Wren would be bobbing and weaving like the Bluto had done when I ran a lightly loaded bar bag. With a tiny tweak of the rebound, and no adjustment to the air chambers, the Wren was actually able to run unlocked while carrying extra gear AND hitting trail humps and bumps. Cool!









During the winter season many people carry their fatties to the trailhead inside their vehicles to minimize road grit and grime. This generally means removing and installing the front wheel twice per ride. While a certain amount of finesse is needed to install the axle, the more practice the easier it gets. Having removed/installed the axle well over 100 times there is no obvious wear and tear to the axle or fork.









A big concern for Bluto winter riders is the tendency of it to freeze. The aftermarket has come to the rescue, but why hasn’t RockShox fixed the issue in its design? The folks over at Wren Sports state that their fork will not freeze up in conditions that would impact the Bluto. To date the North Atlantic winter cold has had no impact on the Wren’s performance during winter testing . . . even during a two-hour frozen lake circumnavigation hitting several ice heaves along the way. Wren Sports, in anticipation of some riders taking the Wren into uber-cold conditions has developed a cold weather damper for polar grade temps.









While scooting the winter trails one day I spied a narrow snow bridge spanning a two-foot wide trench across the trail. I though it was solid, but the front tire broke through (at speed), dropped into the deep trench and stopped. After dusting myself off and straightening my severely twisted bars I inspected the fork. There was no damage and it continues to track well.





Riding the Bluto aggressively in winter, more specifically into a tight downhill turn, the fork dives and sticks making exiting the turn anything but graceful. As such, when anticipating such terrain I would lock out the fork. The Wren does not exhibit such quirky behavior, but instead rebounds as you would expect allowing smoother and faster exits.





It’s pretty common knowledge that the Vee Snowshoe 2XL is one massive tire and is only able to fit the frame of a limited number of fatbikes. The Wren Inverted Fatbike Fork with its 5.35” clearance between the upper sliders easily clears the 2XLs girth. Super float and squish . . . excellent!







The Wren actually breathed new life into the Trek Farley EX 8. While the stock 120 mm Bluto RL did soak up bumps, I found that performance started to decline as things got faster and rougher. The Bluto was mounted to the Trek just long enough for me to realize I needed something better.



Bumping up the pressure a little higher in bottom chamber of the TwinAir system gave me a little stiffer and more progressive ride for the nasty bumps.