Why would you want to buy this, or any other, Easton fork? Is it because the EC90 weighs 335g for a 700c fork? Or because of its aerodynamics? Yes, it's light, and while it may not be the ultimate wind beater it's not a sail either.
No, the reason you'd want any Easton fork under you, or for that matter any Easton product, is because of materials and processes. That's what Easton's about. Basing your company on materials and processes instead of hype and market trends means two things: you'll almost always make a sounder product than your competitors; and you'll occasionally lose the (commercial) battle anyway.
As an example, Easton doesn't make any road forks that work well with integrated headsets. Now, "working well" would simply mean a road fork in which the crown flares out at its top—around the area of the crown race seat—so as to create an artistically pleasing union with the bottom of the flared-out head tube. Easton doesn't make a fork like this presumably because it realizes that integrated headsets are not mechanically better—and are probably mechanically inferior in most cases and for most uses—to standard headsets. But, integrated headsets are all the rage, so Easton loses. (Having written that, this particular fork is a good-looking option for a bike with an integrated headset, though it is not made with that in mind).
But forks are important, or they ought to be, and for reasons other than weight and aerodynamics. When you're using a fork weighing three-fourths of a pound that is made entirely out of cloth and resin, you've got a bigger concern when going down a 45mph descent than the aerodynamics of the thing. That's where materials and processes are important. There are times when a logo affixed on the side of a product means a lot, and this is one of those times, and "Easton" is one of those logos.
Having said all those nice things this is not, as far as is evident by the picture and the mechanical drawings in our possession, nor was it when we viewed it at Interbike, a fork that makes a special and deliberate attempt to be aerodynamic to its detriment in other performance areas. In other words, you can use this fork for road racing, says Easton. This is nice to know, but one might like to have a fork that is so aerodynamic that the manufacturer would say, "Well, the wheel's going to rock a bit back and forth when you're leaning hard through the turns." Then, notwithstanding all the nice things written above about the importance of safety and rider confidence, you know the manufacturer has tried its hardest and pushed the limits on aerodynamic qualities.
In particular one might notice that there's not a lot of fork blade behind the "rake line" and speaking only theoretically—we haven't tested this fork for this—having the blade extend back a bit might help to reduce the steering torque a rider feels when hit by a gust of sidewind. This is where Kinesis' Carbon Airfoil fork shines (heavy and lo-tech though it is).
That aside, this would be a great all-'rounder fork and that's not a bad thing for a triathlete, when one considers that most of his racing is "timed racing on road race courses." Indeed, Jurgen Zack spent several years riding his Softride with Reynolds Composites' very road-racey Ouzo Pro, i.e., a fork that is not known as an aero fork. It was his contention that stability, strength, comfort, and light weight was what he wanted most in a fork.
The EC90 comes in 700c only, and only in one rake, which is 42mm. It does come in both one-inch and inch-and-an-eighth. It is not an inexpensive fork at $350, but that's in the range for a fork of this quality. You might have to resort to mail order to easily find it. Performance has been selling it briskly, and Colorado Cyclist has just picked it up as of this writing (3.19.02). You'll find more about this fork at Easton's website, and Easton has several domains. You'll want to go to www.eastonbike.com
