What is the probability of a front fork failure?

ziglar

I came off my bike a couple of years ago and now have a hard time of going fast downhill for fear of doing the same again. It was entirely my fault as I tried to get out of the way for a vehicle behind me and clipped the kerb.

I now find myself listening to all the squeaks and groans the bike makes and keep wondering if something is going to fail so I end up keeping my brakes on in steep downhill sections.

What are the chances of a front fork failure? Which material is least likely to fail?

I know this is an over reaction but I am trying to find some way to increase my confidence in the equipment which, of course, I realise is very unlikely to let me down.

MountainMonster

If you realise that the accident was your fault, and that a rider mistake caused the accident as opposed to the build or the materials, why are you questioning them?

It's rare to see forks break, especially well engineered ones. I don't have any statistics, but if any of the mainstream items were not safe, you would know about it and they wouldn't be allowed to sell them

ziglar

if only every thought process were entirely rational ...

damocles10

If you are worried or your confidence has been shaken talk to your LBS and see if they can offer some assistance. There is nothing worse than losing confidence in the structural integrity of the bike.

sloppyschleckonds

Watched a race last week where a steerer tube snapped.

harry-s

Hmmm, everyone is different, and there's lot's of variables going on here, I think any change has to be driven by you.

If it's any help, (as far as my experience goes), a rear blow out on a fast descent nearly killed me a couple of years ago. Once back on the bike, any descent was treated with a fair amount of trepidation. After about 6 months, I'd say I was just about back to where I was, although I'm probably still a bit more nervous than I used to be if it's a wet downhill.

Doing lot's of descents and hill reps did it for me I think, - particularly the reps, as this allowed me to gain confidence and push a bit harder as the last rep was still fresh in my mind. So maybe get out ride a bit more so you can practice riding in traffic and holding your line, possibly even at the site of your accident.

Your equipment didn't let you down. I think we might be talking about lightning strike odds when it comes to a fork failure.

It's a tough one, but not impossible. Good luck.

simon_masterson

I have had a fork break, it was last year (My thread about it if you care: viewtopic.php?t=13000393&p=19249531), but it was on my much-loved but tatty steel bike, which had developed an internal rust problem I simply wasn't aware of. I can empathise in this case, as I am still recovering from that incident - I still don't trust the integrity of my bike's front end quite like I used to.

In terms of more typical cases, in general fork breakage is a pretty rare occurrence. Some early carbon forks were prone to failure, but I'm not aware that modern ones do very often - though because they can fail without warning, many will advise you to replace crashed carbon forks, and to be wary of secondhand ones. Metal forks on the other hand will give you some warning, and steel ones can (usually) be straightened in the event of crash damage.

To answer your second question, I'm no engineer but if I had to guess, my money would be on a steel fork specifically made for a fully loaded tourer as the least likely to fail, but I see no reason why it should influence your choice, or you should expect it to happen. I have snapped a wheel axle and a BB fixed cup, as well as various other things that shouldn't break - sometimes they just do.

ben@31

Theres a few engineering companies who can do tests for cracks if you are worried (using ultrasound or x-rays ?? ). I imagine such a specialist service would cost a fair bit though.

fenix

I've been cycling for 30+ years and never had or seen a front fork break in real life.

ziglar

I think part of the issue is just not wanting to get hurt again - I'm knocking on a bit and more aware of my mortality now. I probably don't do anywhere near enough miles to get comfortable with high speed downhill but for some strange reason I am happy to do 30+mph on the flat after the decline as I feel I have more control of the bike.
I am doing the L2B this weekend so have been doing a few more miles than I would normally do (which isn't many!!) so I guess I just need to up the miles and trust the bike.

Monty Dog

I've seen steel forks fail due to corrosion, I've had an alloy fork fail due to fatigue and seen a few pair of snapped carbon forks due to crashes. I have a pair of Colnago carbon forks that withstood hitting a sandbar in the road which resulted in a full-somersault of me and the bike and I rode away unscathed apart from a scuffed jersey. The forks have survived a further 10 years of riding including a few RvVs, P-Rxs and countless road races. I'd still say carbon is the best fork material - if you've lost confidence in your's, replace them with a new pair.

Dorset_Boy

Book a few appointments with the likes of Dr Steve Peters - that'll sort you out.

It's only natural for most people to become more cautious after an accident but as was said earlier, it wasn't an equipment failure that caused your crash, it was handler error.