I got a ~1.5 cm vertical crack in my carbon fork when I used too long of a bolt installing new fenders. How bad is this? (Sharpie marks indicate top+bottom+sides to see if it grows)
I’m in Sapporo Japan right now. We’re having trouble finding a replacement fork. Shipping a spare could take 1-2 weeks, would it be safe to ride on for that long?
Bike is an ADV 2.2 from REI with a carbon 1-1/8 to 1-1/2 tapered steerer tube.
by Star_Sky_5
6 Comments
Release the files.
Scratch keep cycling 🚴♀️ and you don’t need mudguards
If you can’t find a fork that could replace this one, I would just ride it and keep in mind that you don’t want to hit big potholes on high speed. But anyway, carbon fibres don’t explode, how some people imagine, it will just delaminate a bit further. There’s a lot of material left in the fork 😉 Just keep an eye on it from time to time. Enjoy your time in Japan and don’t stress too much about this.
I really wonder what’s the point of carbon forks at this point… Gets you lighter so theoretically faster but then you can’t be too fast in case you hit a small pothole on the road. I put the price in a full steel touring bike, I’ll break before this motherfucker even bends. Sure that’s not the same sport as racing bike, but I think what makes a bike go faster is mostly your legs, not that bs aero helmet or carbon seatpost
Ymmv, etc, but, having crashed a few carbon frames over the years, they tend to delaminate and splinter apart, rather than catastrophically fail. Imagine fibreglass opening up under pressure.
If it were me, I’d ride it and keep an eye on it a few times a day. It might hold just fine, heck the paint might have reacted to the CF flexing but the integrity is still there. Or, of course, it might get worse with use.
A counter point to the “replace immediately” idea. I’d definitely be replacing it, but I doubt it’s about to snap underneath you without at least a warning in the shape of more visual stress, or more flex being introduced that you can feel.
Crack is bad Mmm K