John Hood

Looking at those pictures, it appears that there was a pre-existing crack. If you look closely, you'll notice that there is bright metal showing all along the lower break, but along the upper portion of the break the first third or so of it is rusty, indicating that it had been cracked for some time. This probably could have been caught with a careful inspection.

I'm not one to talk though. I wouldn't have noticed myself until it broke.

The Golden Boy 

Just out of curiosity- how many of these forks have failed in such a manner in the past 33 or so years?

I agree it would be prudent (with any vehicle) to periodically check- and I believe it's nice to keep your equipment clean, but I don't know about "AVOID."

lonesomesteve

+1

I have two '82 Treks with this fork. I've ridden about 15k miles on those bikes combined over the past 3 - 4 years. I also see a lot of other Treks of this "death fork" era still on the road. I'll inspect them periodically, but I'm not the least bit concerned about continuing to ride them.

SJX426 

@reggieob - Consider that there were thousands of this model sold with this fork. Only a few have had problems. If yours has lasted this long, there is a good chance that it won't fail, better than 50% even.

As a former supplier quality engineer, I am suggesting that there was an issue with the fork crown design such that if given the right conditions, when the fork crown was produced, can lead to failure. An example would be a void (air bubble) in a casting near the surface that would not be seen. This condition causes a stress riser that can lead to the type of failure in this thread. If there are two, one on each side, with the failure of one the second follows quickly. I am not saying that is what happened in this case but it might have. Once the failure starts, it’s like ripping a piece of paper slowly, it propagates through the material. How fast is determined by the stress applied. That is why you may see some rust at the initial failure point and bright metal at the end of it. In any case, and this is a good example, it would not be a catastrophic failure, meaning it would take time. Inspection would be a good way to know if it is in progress.
True analysis of the fork would be to use FEMA tool to determine the design integrity. Who is going to do that after the fact?! So any comment on the design is pure speculation including mine!
As a precaution if you really "Love" the bike is to find a replacement fork from a trashed frame set where the fork is good. This model is one readily found so it should be too difficult to find one. Color might be a challenge!

So just enjoy the ride and check it for confidence!

reggieob

Inspected mine last night and there is no hint of any crack/rust/paint blemish around any of the fork crown. LBS also inspected and gave it a clean bill of health as well.
I'd been on the fence about thinning the herd a bit so I may sell it or try to search for a fork from a different Trek of the same era/color. Or I may just keep an eye on it and ride it...

jeirvine 

Mine looks fine too. I think I will just dial back from riding the hell out of it, to just riding the heck out of it. That and regular inspections.

Sizzle-Chest

I recently picked up an '82 Trek 614 but I noticed the fork crown is quite different than others. The inside has a long a long spear-point bit sticking out of the lug, but the frame/fork are original color so I'm wondering if it was ever a factory recall/repair. Anybody seen one like this on a Trek? Ideas??

Here's some better photos of what my fork looks like:
Budget Bicycle Center - Trek Fancy Lugged Road Fork 27" NOS #4

D1andonlyDman

I'm happy to say that my 1979 Trek model 510 Ishiwata frame appears to have a different fork entirely, with the fork blades soldered and reinforced via lugs into a sloping investment cast crown, and the lugs have a center point on the inner blade (although much shorter than the fork in the post above mine.

Sizzle-Chest

Here's a little bit better shot of the fork crown, though the fender is in the way you can tell it's substantially different than the original 614 crown. It is stamped "Ishiwata" on the steerer. So, does anyone recognize this fork or know if it came on any other Treks?

JohnDThompson 

That's an investment cast Ishiwata SCM crown, original equipment on Trek frames until 1982 or so, when they were replaced by Haden or Cinelli (depending on frame model) on the high end frames, and stamped crowns pre-built in Japan on the lower end models (which is the crown that failed on the OP's bike).

nlerner

A colleague of mine had both fork blades snap off on his 80s Raleigh of some sort:



There's some evidence that the bike had been previously crashed (down tube and top tube don't look right), but I've never seen that kind of catastrophic failure. He took a header when it happened, was luckily wearing a helmet, and I set him up with a new ride.

OldsCOOL

I just got a laugh out of that.

Sizzle-Chest

Thanks for the spot-on info, I searched and there it was on the TX900! Glad my 614 magically has a better fork.

jamesj

Wow interesting thread. Those fork crowns always looked interesting to me. I have the same fork on my TREK 412 from 80. I guess i should just check it from time to time.

72Paramount

Quit bunny hopping off curbs and you'll be fine.��

Vintage Raleigh

I think the problem with inspection is the paint colour

79pmooney

Something one can do is take the frame to a frame builder; have the paint stripped and the builder inspect it. I did this with my '73 Raleigh Competition. Builder flowed braze into all the lugs, repaired two cracks, did a couple of minor additions I requested (WB bosses, modifying the French derailleur hanger to work with modern derailleurs and refurbished the seatpin area. Then the bike was reapinted. I now have a bike I trust that I will use to do rides like the OP and friend.

(I am quite glad I choose to do this 6 months from my purchase, not years later.)

Ben

bikemig 

So it looks as if the investment cast ishiwata SCM fork crowns are unlikely to have the issues that a few of the stamped ones did?

NJgreyhead

bump

Thanks for the info. Glad I was steered here (thanks again, Pemetic), now that I own a Trek 614 with a fork that apparently is more prone to failure than most.

tarsi 

Wow, was just getting ready to take the frame and fork from my newly acquired 1981 61x in for powder coating when I came across this thread...

First, I need to confirm that my fork is indeed the fork in question. Although no TREK stamp on top, from what I'm reading it is still the Japanese version, correct? Furthermore, Japanese fork is bad, right?

Secondly, assuming that this is the fork in question, can anybody recommend an option for salvaging my build? I'm open to using different year/manufacturer's forks etc. First priority is safety then aesthetics.

CliffordK

Looking at your fork, and reading the comments earlier in this thread, you do appear to have one of the stamped fork crowns that a few people had found problems with.

Many (but not all) forks also received an extra tang along the inside of the fork blades to give extra support, again missing on your fork.

It is hard to say what to do. Your fork has survived 30 years. With good care, it could well last another 30 years. Or, it could disintegrate tomorrow. I don't believe Trek issued a major fork recall like Viscount did with their aluminum forks.

You could also look for a fork with a cast fork crown, and that inner tang and substitute. It wouldn't be "original", but powder coat isn't original either.

How are you planning on riding the bike? Paved roads? Off road?

tarsi 

Thanks, "original" isn't a huge concern on this bike but safety is. I think I will try and find a substitute fork.

As far as riding conditions, it will be purely paved roads, no gravel or mountain roads.

CliffordK

What size of frame?

If you replace the fork, you could also consider 1" threadless.

bike_galpal

+1 best post in thread

CliffordK

Oh, if you're getting it powdercoated, you might ask the powdercoater what the difference between doing 1 fork vs 2 forks. Get a replacement, but paint the original to match your bike in case you, or a future user should change their mind.