I have broken a Look HFC, Kestrel (years ago original when they first came out), and a Reynolds Ouzo Pro...all of them in one accident or other.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Did they break after they hit something in a crash or break on their own?

Mine shattered like an egg when I was hit. I t-boned an SUV, actually, so it's understandable. But my roommate, who has the same fork, just found a "hairline fracture" in hers with no obvious cause. Seeing mine made me very scared of carbon... Good thing my frame is aluminum.

I spent several hours in the ER when a friend's aluminum fork snapped without warning at the crown-leg joint.

Lauren - don't say that - just about everything on my bike is carbon

I broke a carbon fork in a crash last February. I don't know if the twisting motion of going down broke it or if it broke when another rider hit it. It was a stock 'zero' fork on a Javelin Sebino. I splintered one of the legs.

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

Ti, baby!

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http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/

I am just trying to make myself feel better about only being able to afford an aluminum frame...

as if your bike is cheap???????????



I love your bike

I was talking to a roadie friend of mine about the broken fork on the Madrone - he had been told the rider had previously been in an accident with that bike and did not see any damage but apperantly there was something.

You're right! If I had gotten a ti frame, it would have been ti-colored and not ORANGE! =)

During a hard "jump" at an intersection my Kestrel EMS carbon fork blade shattered clean in half. Never was in a crash or anything. The shattered fork had me immediately hit the ground with my forehead as I went over the handlebars. I had a nasty cut just above my eye and bled like a stuck pig, saw stars for a few minutes but was able to walk home (2 blocks away). I'm a tad leary about carbon anything after that. Although I ride all carbon bikes, wheels and forks. Even have a set of Vision Tech carbon clip-ons. I don't think I'd ever ride a carbon stem or handlebars. I also don't like the idea of carbon steer tubes.

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Paul

well mine being blue, matches my mood right now.

It's 24 degrees and snowing

Hurry! You need to come back to the Gables! It was around 80 today!

I'm bringing thes back for two reasons:

1. Do carbon forks have a fatigue life? ie. is there a reccommended time that they should be replaced? Mileage, age, etc.

2. If you were going to buy a new fork for a TT bike, which would it be?

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This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.

Although this is not a specific recommendation, I would look for a carbon fork with an aluminum steering tube rather than a carbon steer tube. The carbon steer tube can get crushed by overzealous tightening of your stem bolts. Also note that if you use a fork with a carbon steer tube it should have a special top cap assembly that counteracts the pressure of the stem on the steer tube. It works in place of a 'star nut' that aluminum steerer tubes use. If you use a star nut in a carbon steerer tube you will damage the fork's steerer tube. Pictured is a Reynolds Compression Plug for use in carbon steerers.

I too had concerns about Gary T's report about the Trek Madone fork breaking because a good lady friend of mine just bought an 06 Madone SL 5.9 WSD. Well, I bought her a torque wrench so that she could torque the stem and seatpost clamp properly. We went to rearrange the spacers to lower her handlebars and I fully expected the Bontrager Race XXX Lite fork to have a carbon steerer but nope, it was an aluminum steerer. I read that the Bontrager fork is 375 g which is fairly light. This makes me wonder if carbon was reduced in other areas of the fork to make up for the slightly extra weight of the carbon steerer -- just a thought. Anyway, Bicycling Magazine had the same problem with the fork:

http://www.tourdefrancenews.com/gear/review/0,3307,s1-11781-P,00.html?category_id=361&article_type_id=63&family_id=41

BTW, the top cap looks very similar to the one for my 05 Fuji Team which has a carbon steerer.

when you say "jump" you mean a hard acceleration??? Or a bunny hop for some reason...wow...that is a scarey story!

Thats a hard acceleration.!! I was really surprised that it just snapped in half in the middle of the right fork leg.

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Paul

"surprised" is putting it mildly!!!

Pretty interesting Bicyling article...funky spin to highlight the "awesome customer service" outweighing the product (safety!) defect....I would think they should have at least pulled the review if not gave a warning, "this might not happen to you, but it did to us, so we cannot reccomend or review the bike in any way."

shows how magazines operate...imagine the Pinto reviews..."sure the car blew up, but we got out ok and Ford showed how great they are by sending us a new one after we called....the seats and the radio are great, you'll love it!"

Most of the stuff that I have up front is carbon but I prefer an aluminum steerer for now. Even if it is a little heavier. Last thing that I want to think about while flying along with my weight forward is my fork giving out on me resulting in an endo. But really what is stonger, a 1 piece carbon mold or an alu steerer that is bonded in 2 places? Having too many spacers or cutting a carbon steerer too low doesn't help.

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"In the blocks you're a prisoner, the gun releases you."

My wife freaked when the guy in front of her went down hard. The top tube on his aluminum bike snapped of at the front lug. He wasn't hurt, just scratched up a little. I made the statement to her about how aluminum will fatigue. She insisted that I get rid of my two year old aluminum bike and buy something new. Never one to argue, I did as I was told.

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Jim

There was a guy who posted a picture of his aluminium TCR that let go at the head tube/top tube while going downhill in the middle of a roadie group. He survived, but it was scarey stuff to even think about.

I believe it was Tara Norton, who is sponsored by Running Free (the same guys that hook me up). Despite her injuries, she went 10:05 at Kona this year.