Carbon Fiber Forks

styer

hi all,

I am currently in the process of purchasing a road bike. I had the lend of a road bike to see how much I'd enjoy it first.. loved it... currently Im in the process of buying a bike for myself. The bike is an attain Cube...

I was chatting to guys at work and they warned me against carbon fiber forks due to the sudden failure they can have.. a sharp knock could cause stress fractures/microfractures etc.. leading to sudden failure... One of them even telling me about a serious accident...

I've done a bit of reading on the internet.. but have not come to a conclusion yet... does anyone have an opinion? are they safe.. is there extra precautions I need to take etc?

Thank you

07Lapierre

There fine...any material can fail under the right circumstances..


http://isolatecyclist.bostonbiker.org/2011/02/21/carbon-bicycle-forks-cautions-facts-and-misconceptions/

spyderski

styer wrote: »

hi all,


I was chatting to guys at work and they warned me against carbon fiber forks due to the sudden failure they can have.. a sharp knock could cause stress fractures/microfractures etc.. leading to sudden failure... One of them even telling me about a serious accident...

You need to ask people who know what they're talking about. These guys at work are talking through their hoops.

com1

spyderski wrote: »

You need to ask people who know what they're talking about. These guys at work are talking through their hoops.

Most likely through their Carbon Fibre hoops. You had better warn them not to sit down too hard or there may be a sudden failure

Harrybelafonte

styer wrote: »

hi all,

I am currently in the process of purchasing a road bike. I had the lend of a road bike to see how much I'd enjoy it first.. loved it... currently Im in the process of buying a bike for myself. The bike is an attain Cube...

I was chatting to guys at work and they warned me against carbon fiber forks due to the sudden failure they can have.. a sharp knock could cause stress fractures/microfractures etc.. leading to sudden failure... One of them even telling me about a serious accident...

I've done a bit of reading on the internet.. but have not come to a conclusion yet... does anyone have an opinion? are they safe.. is there extra precautions I need to take etc?

Thank you

Almost every road bike on the market has carbon forks. Then there are bikes made completely of carbon fibre. There are incidents of failure, but they are rare, and over publicised.

Your workmates don't know what they're talking about unfortunately.

Alek

There fine...any material can fail under the right circumstances..


http://isolatecyclist.bostonbiker.or...isconceptions/

The comment section is interesting, though....

ford2600

"Carbon forks have been ridden, without incident, after crashes – although manufacturers recommend replacing them after a crash. The main difference between carbon and steel, in terms of sudden failure, is that the rider can’t inspect a carbon fork properly due to the lack of visual cues for certain types of damage. After a crash, a carbon fork should be taken to an authorized dealer for a thorough inspection – which involves testing – not just a visual inspection of the fork."

Quote taken from answer of author from link above.

Not sure what equipment most bike shops would have for ndt.

For a normal end user a visual inspection with cleaning has a better chance of spotting a possible failure with steel/aluminum than with carbon. That said failure is extremely rare.

Clarity of lifespan/inspection from manufacturers/bike shops wouldn't be a bad idea. Given how often most lads change their bikes it probably doesn't matter for most.

LBS having a look and passing a fork after a crash seems insane to me; unless they want to enter than insurance business.

Cee-Jay-Cee

styer wrote: »

I was chatting to guys at work and they warned me against carbon fiber forks due to the sudden failure they can have.. a sharp knock could cause stress fractures/microfractures etc.. leading to sudden failure... One of them even telling me about a serious accident...


Thank you

Was it fat Colin from accounts that couldn't walk the length of himself without braking into a sweat that told you this nonsense?

Seriously, who ever told you that clearly knows absolutely nothing about bikes or cycling and now that your buying a bike you should disassociate yourself from such them completely.