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Crash advice - carbon front forks

by DubhMhor
Wed, Aug 02, 2017 13:41
5

A motorist pulled out in front of me and immediately braked, resulting in me colliding with their rear end at roughly 15-20mph. I went headfirst over the handlebars, landing on my back on the tarmac. I was shaken, but got up OK, which makes me think the impact and forces involved couldn't have been too bad.  (The car's driver side rear indicator light was smashed though, but the driver drove off before we could exchange insurance details.)

The front wheel took the initial hit and as it's only 1mm or so out of true, I'm thinking (hoping) the carbon forks haven't been compromised. I cycled 10 mi home without hearing any ominous creaks from my frame or forks. I've cleaned them and can't see any delamination or obvious damage, such as hairline cracks, but my LBS will be giving it the once over this week.

I'm keen to hear if anyone else has had a similar experience - just how resilient is carbon fibre?

 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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5 comments

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Alan Grozier | 7 years ago
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i had a rapide rl2 disc with carbon forks which met a nasty end as i was cycling along the local canal towpath. the steerer on the journey home just cracked and the result was me hitting the gravel pretty hard. sent the bike back and after the checks by the shop and an independant the result is a new genesis croix de fer 30

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madcarew | 7 years ago
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I've had a few crashes in races which involved going head over heels, and have run into a bollard (don't ask) at about 20 kph as well as a couple of random objects left on the dark driveway. . My Supersix evo has come through relatively unscathed. The main area of concern if your forks are operating well is the bearing races in the head tube. Check for cracking i the paint around them. Your LBS might be helpful, but after the bollard incident I sent mine to a carbon frame repairer who took it to the local university and had the frame ultrasound scanned. They could find no issues at all. 

By and large my understanding is that carbon fails, or it doesn't, but it is the mechanical joining points that are inclined to partial failure (i.e drop outs, BB, headset etc)

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BehindTheBikesheds | 7 years ago
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carbon is very resiliant in certain directions when force is applied, there are plenty of YT vids showing this.

I was hit and run from the rear at a roundabout a few years back and though the main diamond is alu the seat stays are CF, the wheel was completely pringled from the energy but the seat stays (which had elastomers in them) showed zero sign of damage, 5 years on and still no issues despite it being used for loaded touring/every day commuting/utility and fast rides in the winter.

You could claim from the MIB https://www.gov.uk/compensation-victim-uninsured-driver though this is usually restricted to personal injury. My Dura Ace/Open pro cost me a packet to replace and I just had some minor scrapes and I landed on my back which was a bit painful but the police didn't mention at the time anything about this scheme. The attending officer did victim blame me by asking if I had a different jacket to the grey one I was wearing, ignoring that I had lights and the roundabout was well lit, he also failed to check if there was CCTV in the area so I'd bother to go back and check for yourself.

Hope things work out.

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DubhMhor | 7 years ago
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Thanks. I was a bit dazed at the scene and didn't think to note the reg plate. Unfortunately, the only detail I can recall was that it was a red hatchback. The police advise that  unless there's cctv footage, there's not much they can do.

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StraelGuy | 7 years ago
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Get your LBS to check the forks but I'd be more concerned about reporting the driver for leaving the scene. Did you get his reg and make/model/ colour of car?

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