www.cyclingnews.com : " 'The fork of the bicycle suddenly snapped, and as a result, Richard fell on his face,' recalled Virenque's wife Stéphanie, whose husband suffered a broken nose and numerous facial wounds, one of which required 32 stitches and will require cosmetic surgery next week."
Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Richard.
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? I've heard the urban legend about sudden carbon fork failure but never really believed it. Maybe I should now.
My daily commuter is a steel frame road bike with a carbon fork. Have put about 16,000 miles on it in 3 years. Looks fine. Do these things have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?
www.cyclingnews.com : " 'The fork of the bicycle suddenly snapped, and as a result, Richard fell on his face,' recalled Virenque's wife Stéphanie, whose husband suffered a broken nose and numerous facial wounds, one of which required 32 stitches and will require cosmetic surgery next week."
Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Richard.
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? I've heard the urban legend about sudden carbon fork failure but never really believed it. Maybe I should now.
My daily commuter is a steel frame road bike with a carbon fork. Have put about 16,000 miles on it in 3 years. Looks fine. Do these things have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?
The same thing happened to Hincapie at Paris-Roubaix. The fork had an alloy steerer and was borrowed from a mid-level Pilot for that race, which is known for its rough roads. The steerer snapped just below the stem. The bike was involved in an earlier minor crash.
www.cyclingnews.com : " 'The fork of the bicycle suddenly snapped, and as a result, Richard fell on his face,' recalled Virenque's wife St�phanie, whose husband suffered a broken nose and numerous facial wounds, one of which required 32 stitches and will require cosmetic surgery next week."
Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Richard.
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? I've heard the urban legend about sudden carbon fork failure but never really believed it. Maybe I should now.
My daily commuter is a steel frame road bike with a carbon fork. Have put about 16,000 miles on it in 3 years. Looks fine. Do these things have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?
yes, they do have a fatigue life, but it substantially exceeds that of steel or aluminum. the failure modes of carbon composites almost always include audible warnings, much like a highly strained piece of wood cracking and creaking. if yours is making any noise, be extremely cautious, with a view to not riding it. otherwise, carbon forks are extremely strong and if not abused, good quality ones will take more punishment than their steel or aluminum counterparts.
www.cyclingnews.com : " 'The fork of the bicycle suddenly snapped, and as a result, Richard fell on his face,' recalled Virenque's wife St�phanie, whose husband suffered a broken nose and numerous facial wounds, one of which required 32 stitches and will require cosmetic surgery next week."
Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Richard.
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? I've heard the urban legend about sudden carbon fork failure but never really believed it. Maybe I should now.
My daily commuter is a steel frame road bike with a carbon fork. Have put about 16,000 miles on it in 3 years. Looks fine. Do these things have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?
The same thing happened to Hincapie at Paris-Roubaix. The fork had an alloy steerer and was borrowed from a mid-level Pilot for that race, which is known for its rough roads. The steerer snapped just below the stem. The bike was involved in an earlier minor crash.
if the aluminum steerer failed, how is that a failure of the carbon and how is that a fud story for carbon as an engineering material?
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off?
Do you know what the word "paranoid" means?
It's not all paranoia if it's actually happening. Of course, it would help to know what kind of fork snapped off, and how it happened. Then if it's determined that the fork failed for no apparent reason, and James determined he was riding the same fork, he could be rightfully concerned. Otherwise he could decide to be paranoid about his non-affected carbon fork. ;-)
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off?
Do you know what the word "paranoid" means?
That's the thing, the issue isn't whether I'm paranoid, it is whether I am being paranoid enough.
Ron
If you can distinguish between real and imaginary threats, you are not there, yet. [Thanks to Helen Vecht]
--
Sandy Verneuil-sur-Seine FR -- Mobilité et stabilité ne sont pas antinomiques : un cycliste n'est stable sur sa bicyclette qu'en avançant. - Chirac, J (who must have read Einstein)
www.cyclingnews.com : " 'The fork of the bicycle suddenly snapped, and as a result, Richard fell on his face,' recalled Virenque's wife St�phanie, whose husband suffered a broken nose and numerous facial wounds, one of which required 32 stitches and will require cosmetic surgery next week."
Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Richard.
Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? I've heard the urban legend about sudden carbon fork failure but never really believed it. Maybe I should now.
My daily commuter is a steel frame road bike with a carbon fork. Have put about 16,000 miles on it in 3 years. Looks fine. Do these things have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?
The same thing happened to Hincapie at Paris-Roubaix. The fork had an alloy steerer and was borrowed from a mid-level Pilot for that race, which is known for its rough roads. The steerer snapped just below the stem. The bike was involved in an earlier minor crash.
if the aluminum steerer failed, how is that a failure of the carbon and how is that a fud story for carbon as an engineering material?
It seems to be neither. More, a gentle comment that carbon and aluminum _both_ can fail. The OP was not clear about whether the steerer is carbon or alu.
> www.cyclingnews.com : " 'The fork of the bicycle suddenly snapped, and > as a result, Richard fell on his face,' recalled Virenque's wife > St�phanie, whose husband suffered a broken nose and numerous facial > wounds, one of which required 32 stitches and will require cosmetic > surgery next week." > > Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Richard. > > Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? I've > heard the urban legend about sudden carbon fork failure but never > really believed it. Maybe I should now. > > My daily commuter is a steel frame road bike with a carbon fork. Have > put about 16,000 miles on it in 3 years. Looks fine. Do these things > have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?
The same thing happened to Hincapie at Paris-Roubaix. The fork had an alloy steerer and was borrowed from a mid-level Pilot for that race, which is known for its rough roads. The steerer snapped just below the stem. The bike was involved in an earlier minor crash.
if the aluminum steerer failed, how is that a failure of the carbon and how is that a fud story for carbon as an engineering material?
It seems to be neither. More, a gentle comment that carbon and aluminum _both_ can fail. The OP was not clear about whether the steerer is carbon or alu.
with respect, i think that's confused. what we're seeing is the usual fud regarding carbon forks. reality is, the material that failed is not carbon, hence the fud is, as usual, "misplaced".
the thread originator asked: "Do these things have a fatigue life at which point you're supposed to replace them?" the answer is yes they do, but for decent quality material, fatigue life /far/ exceeds that of the alternatives when properly cared for. if they didn't have fear, uncertainty or doubt, they wouldn't have asked the question.
On 12 Aug 2006 21:56:28 -0700, "James" <[email hidden]> wrote:
> Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? > Do you know what the word "paranoid" means?
That's the thing, the issue isn't whether I'm paranoid, it is whether Iam being paranoid enough.
If you can distinguish between real and imaginary threats, you are not there, yet. [Thanks to Helen Vecht]
Sandy Verneuil-sur-Seine FR
If there's one thing I love about rec.bicycles.*, it's the repartee. Even better when one is the victim. It's like a badge of honor -- I have been rbr'd, or I have been rbt'd...
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 07:36:54 -0400, John Forrest Tomlinson <[email hidden]> wrote: > On 12 Aug 2006 21:56:28 -0700, "James" <[email hidden]> wrote: > >> Should I be paranoid about my carbon forks suddenly snapping off? >> > Do you know what the word "paranoid" means? > That's the thing, the issue isn't whether I'm paranoid, it is whether I am being paranoid enough.
If you can distinguish between real and imaginary threats, you are not there, yet. [Thanks to Helen Vecht]
Sandy Verneuil-sur-Seine FR
If there's one thing I love about rec.bicycles.*, it's the repartee. Even better when one is the victim. It's like a badge of honor -- I have been rbr'd, or I have been rbt'd...
