Originally Posted by
Mr. Tuff Dandy
Thanks for the feedback.
Although, I have been reading a Giant Bicycle Owner's Manual, and it has given me more reasons to fear carbon, and seems to confirm that effects like the CF fork shearing in half due to a crash are not abnormal.
I quote from that manual here:
I interpret those quotations to be sensible reasons to stay away from CF.
However, the same part of the manual also argues that the frame or fork breaking due to a crash is a moot point, because the rider is guaranteed to fly over the front of the bike anyway, if at the time of the crash, he or she was going at a speed "above a fast walk."
Do you guys agree that a crash at a speed "above a fast walk" guarantees that the rider will fly over the front of the bike?
You're being overly cautious here, and that might be a big understatement. Trust me, carbon forks do not just shear on impact in a crash.
It's an extremely strong material. I've got some racing experience, been in a couple high speed crashes myself. My carbon fork has survived without a worry. I've seen guys hit the deck at 30+ MPH, grab their bikes, and keep going without an issue. They have to put that stuff in the manual to cover themselves.
Like others have said, if you crash hard enough that your CF catastrophically fails, you'll have other issues to worry about (and probably a sizeable hospital bill.) A crash that destroys a carbon fork is probably going to be serious enough to destroy a steel fork as well. Of course, you might be planning on ending every ride by riding headfirst into a brick wall, in which case the chance of CF failure is going to increase.
There is no reason to be scared of carbon fiber!