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Safety Concerns Over Carbon Forks on Bicycles

By Michael Schafer

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Published: 13Aug2009
Word count: 444
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I attended a seminar a several of weeks ago and was walking past the exhibitors tables when a broken bicycle fork caught my eye. I ride my road bike 2 to 5 days a week during the summer and into the fall this grabbed my attention. I stopped and began speaking with Erin Higinbotham, a licensed engineer from Robson Forensic. These expert witnesses testify in many types of accident cases, including what I was interested in at that moment, a broken front carbon fork on a road bike.

Being an avid cyclist my curiosity got me and I asked what happened. This particular case involved a man who became paralyzed after a bike crash. Witnesses related that the biker was suddenly, for no apparent reason, catapulted from his bike and landed on his head. The biker did nothing to cause the accident and it was discovered that only the front fork of the bike appeared to be damaged. Robson determined that the crash was caused by a sudden defect in the fork of the bicycle. The failure of the fork caused the bike to come to an abrupt stop and catapult the biker off of the bike.

Testing of carbon forks has shown that they can fail under stress past their yield point. The popularity of the carbon forks is that they are extremely light and make bikes handle better. Even though they make the ride more comfortable they unfortunately will collapse when stress is placed on a carbon fork past the yield point. This stress can be from many things including running into a curb or hitting a pothole. I was told that it can also occur over time just from wear and tear. It was explained that the resin is strong but it is a wrap. This wrap can lose its integrity easier than a steel fork.

I ride a Lemond Zurich that is part carbon, including the fork. After this exhibit I went home and immediately examined my fork to make sure I didn't see any signs of stress. Fortunately everything looked okay. I am not an alarmist by nature, but safety is very important to me. I urge cyclists to examine their equipment regularly or have a qualified technician look at it to make sure there are no structural problems with your bike. I ride the roads of Jefferson and Oldham County regularly. These roads are dangerous enough for bikers. Bicycle accidents can occur due to inattentive drivers of cars and trucks. Bicycle safety has to be a priority. We need to do everything we can to be safe and minimize the chance of an accident and make Kentucky roads safe.

Michael A. Schafer is an attorney who concentrates his law practice in personal injury litigation in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of "7 Potholes That Can Wreck Your Kentucky Accident Case" and "What You Don't Know About Buying Car Insurance Can Hurt You".

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