Have you ever see one fail like this?
 

My cousin's fork failed, and she went over the bars. She's pretty banged up and may need surgery. I've never seen a fork fail like this.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...19cf23a596.jpg

I'd imagine you would have included this detail if applicable but I gotta ask... Did she run into something??

Nope
 

I wasn't there, but she says she didn't hit anything. She's a very straight shooter so I believe her.

That was my first question, as well. Her husband also confirms this.

then i'm putting my money on the reflector :foo:

That is just so scary.

JRA.

Most fork failures happen that way.

The string of blown out spokes, buckle visible on the backside of the fork and the angle of the tear from upper/forward to lower/aft indicate that something was jammed in the wheel as she rode.

Careful. Al-lew-minnie-yum will assplode if given the slightest provocation.

+1
Those broken spokes are a dead giveaway

Chilling. And exactly why I don't ride CF forks. I had almost that failure with an aluminum fork and I did not fare well. I've broken two steel forks and rode both of them home (gently). No injury whatsoever.

Ben

Maybe but maybe not. If the fork broke first, the wheel would go back, hit the DT, get spun sideways and having those spoke removed by the fork blade stub is quite possible. The fork crown also comes down on the wheel so those blade stubs are right there. (I can vouch for all of this.)

Ben

Steel forks fare better when something gets lodged in the wheel? Do they also manage to not throw the rider over the bars?

i for one can see that the rear of tubes at the crack are bent inwards/forward and this indicates that it was not a clean break JRA. Maybe a stray squirrel got in there??

But even with than in my mind its pretty extreme for a fork to break like that. thats why i always run steel forks. because steel is actually real.

My guess is that there was a 2nd reflector that's now missing? Typically I see bikes come with two.. and like someone else said, I'd put my money on that being the culprit. Just from the broken spokes and the two spots that occurred in. 2nd one was probably right where the stem is. That's aluminum, too. I've seen aluminum forks bend/break before. I feel for her. I'm still recovering from a crash nearly a year ago. Every time I see something like this, I have reservations about getting back on the road again.

yes both. they simply shred debri that enters the area.

Bikeforums single internet photo forensic investigators are on the case :innocent:

ladies and gentlemen dont get treks!!

I thought only Chinese open mold forks assplode.

Oh. All of them or just the ones with disc brakes and mulching blades?

Those uncut zip ties are clearly the culprit.

I hope your cousin does ok.

We will never prove the cause, but based on the picture it really does look consistent with the reflector causing the crash.

Funny how every catastrophic failure seems to occur while "just riding along." I count at least 10 sheared-off spokes. Most of them don't even look bent, and the tire appears to still be inflated. I'm gonna concur with @base2 on this one, something went into the spokes, and that something was intent on serious business.

A bike came into the LBS for repairs with a similar looking fork-- only this rider had gone full-blast into a guardrail. Wheel and bottom half of the fork stopped, rider and rest of bike kept going. Not nearly as many broken spokes, but the wheel was much more oval.

all of them of course.

steel is real. the realest of them all. it just chugs down anything you put in there really.

I dont get it? how would the reflector cause the crash?? you understand that aluminum metal is about 100-1000 times stronger than the plastic that wheel reflectors are made out of right?

Exactly what I was thinking.

looks like an Al fork to me? Haven't seen a CF bike part that was white on the inside like that...