tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post7780562031211871882..comments2023-07-21T17:26:24.127+04:00Comments on Ron George: Bontrager Carbon Fiber Fork FailureRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268869622833968439noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-10562470435463605422009-08-16T19:34:24.620+04:002009-08-16T19:34:24.620+04:00This looks to me like maybe a twig or stick or som...This looks to me like maybe a twig or stick or something flipped up from the road and got jammed in the spokes.... effectively snapping the fork in the same spot on both sides. Kinda like what would happen if somebody stuck a broom handle in your spokes and stopped you in your tracks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-25259758867209817022008-12-24T07:42:00.000+04:002008-12-24T07:42:00.000+04:00First of all, I take exception to the rider's ...First of all, I take exception to the rider's actual quote in the email you found. <br><br>"I had an accident in May where the actual blades suddenly failed. It was a bontrager carbon fiber fork. The bike was a friend's, and had been ridden quite a bit. It failed right as I got up to sprint. Nonetheless, it was on flat ground, and wasn't involved in a crash."<br><br>I don't know if he's trying to merely look brave, but I can't be expected to believe that he didn't shed a speck on his skin given that he sprinted and then fork blades failed. Whats the true story here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-13012168803343665142008-12-23T20:17:00.000+04:002008-12-23T20:17:00.000+04:00You know, thinking about this all day, I find it v...You know, thinking about this all day, I find it very strange that this fork spontaneously failed at roughly the same location on both fork blades. <br><br>Then I remembered that one thing that damages a lot of forks every year is when a care drives into a garage, or some other closed space with a bike on the roof rake. <br><br>I am not saying that is what happened, but a scenario where this did occur and the owner did not think of replacing the fork, because the fork did not display any significant damage would be a likely catalyst to this mode of failure.<br> - RyanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-84438174243546264502008-12-23T19:51:00.000+04:002008-12-23T19:51:00.000+04:00Hey Ron, yeah, that is what I'm saying, and I ...Hey Ron, yeah, that is what I'm saying, and I agree, no doubt this would be a consequential engineering challenge. This would just seem to me to be the sort of engineering challenge that a fork maker would be very interested in, given that catastrophic failure of a fork is so likely to result in such serious injury. And, of course, time was that metal objects in carbon forks (like steerer tubes, crowns, and dropouts) were pretty common.jonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-56610486380474336562008-12-23T19:42:00.000+04:002008-12-23T19:42:00.000+04:00Jon, good idea but if you're going to have thi...Jon, good idea but if you're going to have this bonded to carbon it involves its own complexities, one being discontinuities that may act as stress raisers. Is that what you were saying?Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394865788996482667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-38432997403563433702008-12-23T19:39:00.000+04:002008-12-23T19:39:00.000+04:00I have always wondered why manufacturers wouldn...I have always wondered why manufacturers wouldn't embed a small piece of metal in their forks, like a steel or aluminum I-beam or tubular structure-- not enough metal to actually bear load, but enough to yield what the guys at Thomson call a "proper mode of failure," i.e. the carbon de-laminates and you have a few seconds to nurse a badly-bent and wobbly fork to the side of the road, instead of it just exploding instantly. I'd buy a product with a safety feature like that engineered in, even if it weighed 100 grams more.jonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-50116964964047966722008-12-23T07:47:00.000+04:002008-12-23T07:47:00.000+04:00You mention that carbon composites are used for pe...You mention that carbon composites are used for performance. Excuse me?? This is irony, because its generally in performance that you would want something to go the extra mile. I think it is folly to use something for performance that has very little durability, can fail in many modes and are generally fault intolerant. If designers had some integrity, they would ride these things like the common folk do, and push it to its limits, and understand the variability of usage. Having said that, GO TITANIUM!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-88575277072928963102008-12-23T07:11:00.000+04:002008-12-23T07:11:00.000+04:00Oh, and please those who're commenting or read...Oh, and please those who're commenting or reading this post...if you have heard of similar failures let us know. I think a lot of people are riding on this fork as its quite common on the 1000 series.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-72545742925441850062008-12-23T07:07:00.000+04:002008-12-23T07:07:00.000+04:00This makes me shudder. I have the same fork on my ...This makes me shudder. I have the same fork on my red Trek fixie (T1), and to be honest, I have beeen taking the bike through hell. One of these days, I may bite the dust hard.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-899430088510284812008-12-23T05:55:00.000+04:002008-12-23T05:55:00.000+04:00Is the rider OK? What was the response from Trek r...Is the rider OK? <br><br>What was the response from Trek regarding this? <br><br>Those ideas about embedding strain gauges and even a micro camera might really benefit the product if they were used during the development process. <br>I wonder how difficult it would be to add this stuff to a lay-up? <br> - RyanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-57386282086619683802008-12-23T05:19:00.000+04:002008-12-23T05:19:00.000+04:00Looks like it came from a Trek 1000 or 2100, the t...Looks like it came from a Trek 1000 or 2100, the two bikes I've ridden. I thought that would have been a picture from my crash last year until 1) I saw the speedometer sensor that wasn't mine and 2) I read the description. Definitely looks like it would have been a Trekkie though. Merry Christmas Ron!Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03369172064101957130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-56679762294726523552008-12-23T03:10:00.000+04:002008-12-23T03:10:00.000+04:00Looks like the Bontrager X-Lite fork.Looks like the Bontrager X-Lite fork.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com