A new aluminium fork tree - Duotone Silver Mega Slim - is intended to close the gap between conventional aluminium forks and the expensive carbon models. Duotone has pulled out all the stops to bring a fork onto the market that is particularly thin, but still stiff and at a price well below carbon forks.
The fork is ready for testing - we are looking forward to seeing some of the latest features and the feel of this particularly thin aluminium fork as soon as it hits the water. For comparison: The last big comparison test 2022 most forks measure between 30 and 32 mm bar diameter including grip. The Duotone Silver Mega Slim comes in at a slim 28.5 mm. The new material is supposed to make the fork stiffer (it feels very stiff in the first "archery test") and at just 2.53 kilos, it would have been the second lightest fork in the test.
Aluminium forks usually require a larger spar diameter than carbon forks to ensure sufficient stiffness and stability. To avoid this dilemma, the Duotone Silver Mega Slim has been developed in several areas.
- Material: High-quality 7075 aluminium
- The tie bar and end piece are ovalised and thus offer a virtually larger diameter compared to the main pulling direction
- The weight indicates a slightly higher wall thickness (editorial speculation)
The new trim system is announced as a special feature. Black stopper rings are incorporated into the trim ramp and the ramp runs over a small spring element in the fitting. The practical test will show exactly how this works.
The Duotone Silver Mega Slim comes with a two-year unlimited warranty including bending. The fork is already listed online at some dealers (although not yet available) at prices of 499/529 euros (140-200/180-220)
Stephan Gölnitz
Deputy Editor in Chief surf
Stephan Gölnitz comes from Bochum and had Holland as his home windsurfing territory for many years before moving to Munich in 1996 for the job of test editor at surf magazine. The materials engineering graduate worked as a surf instructor on the Ijsselmeer during his studies and competed for several seasons for the Essen sailing team in the Surfbundesliga and the Funboard Cup. He completed a traineeship at surf-Magazin in the test department and since then has actively accompanied almost all tests on the boom and for more than 10 years also as a photographer. Stephan has covered many thousands of test kilometers, mainly on Lake Garda and in Langebaan, but also in Egypt and Tobago. He gets his hands on over 100 new sails and boards every year as his company car. Privately, he prefers to surf with a foil on Lake Walchensee or “unfortunately far too rarely” in the waves. SUP is Stephan's second passion, which he pursued for several years at numerous SUP races. Today, he prefers to paddle on river tours with family or friends - even for several days.
