ARRRGG!!! damaged my carbon fork!!!

[ryujin]

stupid dog ran out in front of my bike and i had to serve to miss it /img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif
Ended up hitting a stupid steel park bench, heres a pic

http://img525.imageshack.us/i/img0134oh.jpg/

Most of it appears to be cosmetic, but to the left, a bit of the carbon has been damaged, although not very deep (the red is from the park bench).

Do you guys think i need to change the fork

And if so would this one be ok? (in terms of sizing etc.)

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... USTUSK.htm

I have a trek 1.2 compact 2010

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by ryujin .

stupid dog ran out in front of my bike and i had to serve to miss it /img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif
Ended up hitting a stupid steel park bench, heres a pic

http://img525.imageshack.us/i/img0134oh.jpg/

Most of it appears to be cosmetic, but to the left, a bit of the carbon has been damaged, although not very deep (the red is from the park bench).

Do you guys think i need to change the fork

And if so would this one be ok? (in terms of sizing etc.)

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... USTUSK.htm

I have a trek 1.2 compact 2010

Trek offers a program for replacing damaged parts:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/support/limited_warranty/ LOYALTY PROGRAM Carbon fiber is a great material for producing premium bike frames and parts. However if a carbon part or frame experiences an impact, more expertise is required to determine its integrity than is needed for a comparable metal part. If you impact your bike and the force of the impact is absorbed by a carbon part, we strongly encourage you to replace the part, even if there is no indication of damage. We know how much you love your Trek bike and understand the burden of having to replace a non-warranty damaged bike frame or part. To help with that Trek offers our customers a Loyalty Program. This program can be used to obtain a discount on a replacement frame or component in the case of non-warranty damage. Contact your local dealer for details.

Replacing with the same brand/make ensures that the geometry of the fork and the handling of the bike remains the same. If you do go to another brand make sure that things like fork length and rake are the same otherwise bike handling will change.

 

[jpr95]

Sorry about your misfortune, but you just confirmed my choice of fork on the bike I recently ordered--I'm putting a steel fork on a Ti frame!

I just don't trust carbon...too fragile and too expensive to replace.

Jason

 

[MMMhills]

I would not ride with that fork. I would go with a trek fork and use there loyalty program.

Good luck!

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

Sorry about your misfortune, but you just confirmed my choice of fork on the bike I recently ordered--I'm putting a steel fork on a Ti frame!

I just don't trust carbon...too fragile and too expensive to replace.

Jason

Do you really thing that after a big hit similar to this a steel fork would be all fine and dandy to ride? Chances are it'll be bent.

Sure, if it's not too far out of whack it can be bent back into shape or even repaired - but then you're talking about the same cost as buying a new fork after parts, labor and paint are taken into account.

You be faced with the same issues during replacement - finding another fork that is the same length and offers the same rake and trail.

 

[midtexpilot]

+1 Maybe worse

 

[dhk2]

Another vote for taking the bike back to the Trek dealer. If they say you need a new fork (that's my guess), they should help out on price via the loyality program. It's certainly not in their interest to have customers riding around on damaged or questionable forks. One of the advantages of buying a Trek, or other major brand vs a mail-order bargain is that you have LBS customer-support for times like these; I'd certainly take advantage of it now.

 

[teamgomez]

We lost a good Doc here in San Diego awhile back when he crashed on a downhill and hit a rock. His front fork failed. It was previously damaged. He died.

Over to you to ride that thing solo, but putting that bike in a peloton risks the lives of others as well. Store will likely reject that on sight but a 'tap test' can confirm for you what they already know. Tap around the damaged area with a quarter and listen. Compromised CF will not sound the same as good CF.