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Ouch!! Broken Forks

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  1. DaveC
    Member

    I noticed a crack a few months ago but as the fork is still holding and I've been (lucky??) setting some fast times on some rough ground on the way home I thought it was just that, a crack. Taking the wheel off to change the brake pads I noticed the gap. There apprears to be some thing the fork is formed round which is holding the forks in place, I assume the stem which passes through the crown and down into the legs of the forks. I also knoticed that with different pads on (swapped from rear) the fork juddered under heavy braking and the LHS fork leg was not supporting the wheel enough.

    Tried gluing with araldite, then thought better of it and found some which look very similar!

    PZ Racing CR6.1 Carbon Disk Forks

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. steveo
    Member

    If you're going hard over rough terrain i'd be inclined to get steel forks personally, even if they're not any tougher they have a slightly less catastrophic fail pattern.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Eep!

    Surely you should be able to get some sort of warranty claim with Cotic?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. DaveC
    Member

    nah, I have just bought a replacement set from Chain Reaction. If they had broken after 3 - 6 months or so on Edinburgh's roads I'd have complained but the rough rides I take flying through Dalmeny, I'm not fussed. They have lasted 2 years now and cost less than the tyres I have worn out over the same period. Also the drive chain (incl cassettes and chains) have cost more in the 2 years I have used the bike.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. kaputnik
    Moderator

    then thought better of it

    Facebook is wonderful for pointing out the error of your ways! (apart from those that suggested playdo as a fix!)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. Baldcyclist
    Member

    Crikey, no warranty on the forks?

    I had a Raleigh that had a 15 year warranty on the frame AND forks. Frame corroded after 14 years and 6 months, they replaced it!

    Looking at the website of my CX bike's manufacturer (Whyte), it's a little light on warranty information too. Suspect that may be a pitfall of buying from the little guys.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. Instography
    Member

    This is a cyclocross bike, no? If so, I think it's reasonable to expect a fork to last more than two years of commuting regardless of how rough you think the ground is. If it's a cyclocross bike, it should be made to be able to deal with it.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  8. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    "If it's a cyclocross bike, it should be made to be able to deal with it."

    That's my thinking too. Going to check my own forks now - I've taken it over daftly rough ground....

    Posted 11 years ago #

  9. DaveC
    Member

    "Suspect that may be a pitfall of buying from the little guys."

    This was my thinking too. Plus I don't want to harm them, and a new set of forks is not outwith my financies, as I said if it had happened under 6 month on normal road surface cycling I might have been inclined to complain, but there are some very rocky surfaces in Dalmeny where the original pre cobble surface (think thin stones side on) is very harsh and rough as you fly down a steep dip.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  10. allebong
    Member

    This is what us retro-grouch types always say will happen to carbon ;P

    Out of interest and with the benefit of hindsight how bad was the crack when you first noticed it those few months ago?

    I don't doubt that the forks when new were just as strong as any others but the killer with carbon is the resilience. Given the location of the crack I think whats happened is that location has got a knock (leaning bike against railings?) and that started it off. From that point on it's only a matter of time.

    Incidentally I always find it amusing seeing some of the advice surrounding damage to carbon parts. On the one hand I'm told by the people flogging them that they are so much superior to steel/alu that I'd never want to go back. On the other hand, should the bike say fall over and get a slight ding/scratch it's recommended you get it to the dealer pronto for a full inspection just in case it's caused catastrophic damage.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  11. DaveC
    Member

    Well it might have had a knock but given the rough ground I have ridden on... and yes it has fallen over a few times, I don;t have a stand..?? I have got studded tyres and I see scaring on the inner of the fork where the tyres sits, where the brake is. It may be a cause, but I'll just pop the new fork on when it comes and keep an eye on the crown for any similar sort of scaring. Someone else elsewhere suggests its the carbon braking away from the alloy sten/crown. I first noticed the crack - which went all the way round a few months back. I suspect now that this was actually a break but as the wheel was held firm in the fork it didn't drop away, but who knows it may have been a crack?? I don't know? The LHS fork leg oonly moves from this much open to closed and there is no rotation. This may be fortunate - that it broke but didn't move, as it may well have saved me from a face plant! I think its a PZ Racing CR6.1 and have ordered a replacement.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  12. Instography
    Member

    If your new forks are £135 then these probably cost about £40 wholesale. Maybe less so I doubt Cotic are going to go to the wall over a replacement set.

    But if Cotic are selling carbon forks that aren't up to a bit of a run over some cobbly roads then they deserve at least to have the problem brought to their attention. Who knows, it's maybe part of a bigger manufacturing problem that would justify a recall. Maybe before one of them fails while some poor chump is riding it. Now paying for that really would harm them.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  13. DaveC
    Member

    Folks, I have informned Cotic and asked what they think of it. I consider the forks out of warrenty. The frame has a warrenty, but I doubt Cotic will do a recall on the forks, especially as they are a reseller and not the manufacturer of the original part. The bike has been ridden on more than a few cobbled roads in Edinburgh. Edinburgh sets are not the problem, in my opinion. I have posted this on a couple of forums so anyone googling this should find out. The forks I have are no longer offered by Cotic, perhaps because of what has happened to other's forks? I don't know.

    I did recently, try to reunite an iPod Touch with its owner in Dunfermline via Twitter and facebook, without any sucess so trying to find every Cotic X owner who has the same fork as mine is not something I intend loosing sleep over. Sorry.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  14. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Fair enough, each to their own (incidentally, they are stamped as 'Cotic', which isn't really any different to their frame (technically they are just reselling the frames for the Taiwan company that makes them) so they should also be covered by a warranty).

    Me, personally, I'd have contacted them about it (Cy tends to be very very good to deal with, as is anyone else I've ever dealt with at Cotic), but that's no reason for you to do the same - as you say, you're happy paying for new forks yourself and letting Cotic get on with it (which is, it has to be said, laudable (that's laudable, not laughable!)).

    Got carbon forks on my X (the same as yours) and third party forks on the Soul, which I'm more than happy with. Whereas my steel Fixie Inc frame died a death when a chainstay developed an alarming crack (Fixie Inc admitted to a design flaw in not prepping the inside of the frame and then leaving open holes in the chainstays, but only offered a slight discount deal on a new frame as it was outwith warranty); and had a set of steel handlebars from Nitto snap rather scarily at 25mph (all that said, I'm still a fan of steel).

    Posted 11 years ago #

  15. DaveC
    Member

    Wow, I'm impressed! The following is from Cotic:

    "I'm sorry to see that your fork has broken. You should stop riding it immediately in case breaks completely.

    We have new all carbon forks in stock from a different manufacturer and if you let me know your address I'll send you a replacement set free of charge."

    I'm very chuffed!

    Dave C

    Posted 11 years ago #

  16. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Result!

    Posted 11 years ago #

  17. Instography
    Member

    Good on them. The advantage of buying from little guys?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  18. DaveC
    Member

    So now do I send the ones I ordered from Chain Reaction back or fit then to the Dawes ;O)

    I'm assuing Chain Reaction has the same easy returns facility as Wiggle, and won't go all, narky on me for wanting to return them?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  19. Dave
    Member

    No, when you get them they have a label that you stick on the outside of the box and pop it into your local scotmid.

    Job done.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  20. allebong
    Member

    Chainreaction should have a return postage label in the box to make it easy - I don't think you even need to email them to say you are doing it, just whack the label on and send it. Shouldn't have any problems.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  21. crowriver
    Member

    Glad you resolved that one, DaveC. I'd expect any fork to last more than 2 years though. How about your new all-carbon audax bike? Don't want to tempt fate but will it last?

    Steel is real, dude. You know it.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  22. DaveC
    Member

    Steel is heavier than Carbon and I only use the Dolan on roads for Audaxing. I use the Cotic like a semi MTB on country estate tracks, after all thats what its designed for!

    Posted 11 years ago #

  23. Dave
    Member

    There are plenty of carbon fibre mountain bikes now, even though rocks ping up at you all the time off-road. The manufacturers are warranting them so must be reasonably confident.

    Only forks I ever broke were steel... best approach is to check your stuff regardless of material on some kind of regular basis.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  24. crowriver
    Member

    Steel is heavier than Carbon

    Undeniably the case. Can't be said that steel never cracks either. There's the rust issue too.

    However it's a fair bet that the steel fork/frame will outlast the carbon equivalent. Hear so many tales about catastrophic failure of carbon fibre. Depends how important longevity is to the rider I suppose.

    Steel can be recycled too, though the alloys used in bikes might not be directly re-usable.. Carbon fibre is landfill, and the epoxy resins used to bond it are probably not great for the environment once they start to break down.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  25. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I don't think there's anything stopping 6/7000-series alloys being recycled. Certainly a lot more energy efficient than smelting fresh aluminium.

    There's probably a reason that carbon touring bikes haven't caught on (and anyway, a kilo or-so lost on the frame ain't much benefit when your set-up might exceed 40 or 50kg.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  26. crowriver
    Member

    The main weight is invariably the rider anyway. I'm focussed on losing weight from myself rather than worrying too much about the bike. I've lost weight equivalent to an entire Dawes Galaxy since this time last year...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  27. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I've lost weight equivalent to an entire Dawes Galaxy since this time last year

    And how many bikes of equivalent weight of Dawes Galaxy have you bought in the same time :)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  28. Dave
    Member

    "anyway, a kilo or-so lost on the frame ain't much benefit when your set-up might exceed 40 or 50kg"

    That's probably most of it. I don't have a carbon commuter because the weight of my commuting bike is not important (in fact, all other concerns to one side, having a steel commuter makes me bigger and badder due to the improved training effect!)

    I actually don't have any carbon bikes, but that's not because I don't trust them (I have two carbon forks, for instance, one of which has a carbon steerer) but just because when I came to build my racer I couldn't justify the extra cash for a dull looking carbon bike over my lovely blue Alu one.

    It's hard to say on the crash damage front. I think if I had a spill that was so ferocious that I'd bin a carbon frame, I would also chuck a metal one to be on the safe side (having had steel forks fail on me, I don't place that much trust in their invincibility). At the same time, I have to admit that objectively, a metal frame should take quite a bit more punishment. Irrationality much?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  29. ruggtomcat
    Member

    Saw a lot of these under the pro riders at the downhill world cup, lovely looking things and I bet they eat edinburgh cobbles for breakfast http://www.nukeproof.com/products/frames/mega-tr

    *edit* those are ali frames but I saw lots of carbon bling by the same maker.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  30. rust
    Member

    Interesting carbon comparison. Seems it's actually pretty tough.

    [+] Embed the video | Video DownloadGet the Flash Videos

    Posted 11 years ago #

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