Doggus

Get some Lasik quick...

This caused the crash, not vice-versa. And no, I didn't end up in the ER.

timmyquest

That hurts my teeth.

Any idea how that happened?

asmallsol

enjineers doont ned to no how two spall.

mkauffman

What happens? I've always guessed I'd fall. Happens sometimes.

powpow

Holy s**t that freaks me out. Did you get hurt? Any idea what caused the failure?

spry

Whats interesting is that guy on the black CF bike doing 20mph last Sun. near Polaris Parkway during the storm of the century did not fall.
That boy,s got nerve.

spry

(er.Last Monday)

Doggus

8th lap of the Downtown Denton criteriums last fall. Downhill into a hard left turn where we had to cross a drainage recession. Came out of the corner and next thing I know I'm trying to keep control of the bike as the left side of the fork gave way. Flipped me over the right hand side and skidded down the asphalt for a ways. We were strung out single file at that point so luckily there was no bunched pack that had to roll over me.

PapaLegba

a giant diIdo crushes the sun.

and we all die.

timmyquest

Yuck. I suppose the only way to avoid this is to continually check up on the integrity of your parts. 99% of us wont ever have a problem.

I hit a curb straight on at about 20mph avoiding a car and my CF (trek) fork held true, while my aluminum frame crumpled. Seems like its all chance sometimes.

marqueemoon

I guess I'm just wondering how common the "just riding along" failure really is, assuming everything's tightened with appropriate torque and you haven't left your bike in direct sunlight for years.

AlmostTrick

I'm only 130 pounds, I figure nothing will ever break. (but I still inspect it closely on a regular basis just to be sure)

BHBiker

Is this covered by lifetime limited warranty as it seems to have failed and caused a crash instead of crashing first and damaging it before this happened? Has this bike been crashed before this catastrophic failure????

Doggus

Specialized replaced the fork, no questions asked. The frame and fork were nearly brand new.

BHBiker

scary......now I am looking at my Tarmac with a lot of concern......nearly brand new hmmmmm its not the way i would like to use my warranty....:-( actually I prefer not to use it at all...

twobikes

I have a Specialized Allez Sport Tripple (2006) with about 3,000 miles on it. It, too, has a carbon fork. At about 2000 miles I noticed some scuffing inside the fork in the area where the tire passes through it. There is enough of a groove on each side that you can catch your fingernail slightly. The black color at the scuffing is changed to bright white. The LBS looked at it and decided the carbon fibers are not compromised.

The LBS was at a loss to explain what happened. I never used any tire other than the original 700 x 23C size. In my own mind I decided the scuffing happened one evening when my front tire was losing air on a long ride and went pretty much flat before I realized what was happening. Somehow the partially deflated tire casing moved laterally and scuffed the inside of my fork.

Does anyone regularly replace a carbon fork just because it has years and miles on it?

steaktaco

Prolly leaves and junk.

xdrmusclex

this was the answer i was looking for!

rydaddy

I have the same bike and the same markings appeared on the inside of my fork. It turned out to be the tiny rubber strings (sorry don't know the term) sticking out of each side of the tire. They hit both sides of the fork with each pass. All it did was take the paint off. I pulled them off the tire and that was the end of it.

twobikes

Thanks, rydaddy. Your explanation makes more sense than my guess. I do not remember those little threads of rubber on my tires. I am also on my second set of tires. The first were factory issue Mondos. The second set are Armadillos. I think those little threads are from the injection of rubber into the mould. In casting metals that is called "sprue."

sfcrossrider

I had a carbon CX fork explode like a zit on a teens face. By the grace of God I wasn't going fast, so I was back on the bike in less than a week with only a very soar shoulder

sfcrossrider

My failure happened while I was coasting to a stop at around 5MPH. The fork was also eleven months old with around 2K on it.

fallsjohn

Is weight savings the main reason for using CF forks? Reading this thread I'm thinking I'm much more safe on my all-steel frame. Does anybody ever replace a CF fork with steel?

fallsjohn

Reading this thread I'm feeling safer on my all-steel frame. Is weight saving the only reason CF forks are used? Does anybody ever replace a CF fork with steel?

Chris_F

CF actually has very good fatigue properties. The problem is that it's also quite brittle so it will fail catestrophically when it goes. However CF isn't the only material that will fail nor the only material that will fail so catestrophically. Metals will do the same thing given the right loads and conditions.

It's always a good idea to inspect high stress areas for cracks, whether you ride steel, aluminum, titanium, CF, whatever.