(UMTERP) wrote in message ...
Anyone have any experience with this type of fork? I'm thinking of buying one,
but then someone told me they break easily.

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

The consensus seems to be that carbon forks will last a lifetime (even
longer than steel) if they are not crashed.

From Columbus:
Carbon forks can be long lasting but one has to take care of other
aspects than metal ones.

A fiber composite material has higher mechanical characteristics than
metals (higher tensile strength, higher fatigue life, higher
stiffness) but it has even different behavior due to its
"non-homogeneous nature". This means that the fork project is really a
"critical point" for life span, moreover the final user has to check
the composite fork with attention to different aspects compared to
metal one. In fact, for composite material the areas of coupling with
other parts are critical (headset bearings, stem clamp, gap
cap),composite has different impact behavior so for each shock is
important to check fork, finally composite is sensitive to ambient
agents (solvents, temperature over 90°C etc).
--Riccardo Carpinacci
R&D department, Columbus, Cinelli and 3T

From Look:
There is no limitation because carbon has a natural flexibility. It
can be used a hundred years while maintaining the same stiffness.
--Ming Tan
Look Bicycles

From Reynolds:

After considerable testing and thought on the matter we find the
question of "fork life" in terms of time to be a tough question to
answer. Our fatigue testing would indicate that well built composite
forks are far superior to metal forks with cycle counts running
hundreds of thousands of cycles rather than tens of thousands. These
tests are also run at much higher loads than metal forks can withstand
further demonstrating the durability of composite materials. Based
simply on fatigue life a well made and properly installed composite
fork should last virtually indefinitely if the bike is not crashed or
otherwise abused.

Mike Lopez
Reynolds Composites

From Easton:
There are two failure modes that could cause a fork to fail, fatigue
or impact. Questions about life span are really questions about
fatigue life. How many cycles can a fork survive before it is tired
and worn-out? The good news is the fatigue life of carbon fiber is
immensely more than that of metals. While the writer expresses concern
about his carbon fork lasting as long as a metal component, there is
nothing to worry about in terms of fatigue life on a composite fork.

The most likely cause of failure for a composite fork would be impact
damage sustained from crashing. Most of the time any damage to a fork
from a crash will be visible. Cracks can be seen. We would recommend
that the fork be periodically inspected visually at the drop out area
and along the fork legs to look for cracks or depressions in the
material. Any fork that shows signs of cracking should not be ridden
and replaced immediately.

In general terms, a component made from carbon fiber will far out-last
a component made from metal.

John Harrington
Easton Sports