Originally Posted by tallbikeman

I've read that the carbon steerer tube must be treated with care when tightening down the stem clamp. I've heard of damage to the carbon steerer tubes due to overtightening the stem clamp. The steer tube manufacturers torque ratings for the stem clamp bolts must be adhered to so that damage does not occur. Generally not mentioned in the bicycle press is several ongoing lawsuits in USA and Australia concerning carbon bicycle frames and forks that failed right out of the box and hurt or killed people. I suspect that current testing of every fork and frame coming off the manufacturers line may not be enough to stop these type of events from happening. If the lawsuits prevail I expect that carbon fiber frame and fork testing will get much more rigorous and would look something like Aerospace testing of flight components.