Broken steel forks ... third commuter I've broken

bice

I have been riding my Carlton mixte frame commuter around central London for the past few weeks and noticing the front mudguard rubbed a bit.

Coming back through Westminster Square yesterday I was hearing slightly different creaking noise. I stopped and discovered this:



Disappointing in such a new bike, but somehow I doubt Carlton is around to honour the guarantee. Although even with one functioning fork, it got me home.

This is the third steel commuter frame or fork I have broken over the past 20 years (I weigh 72 kilos, so weight is not an issue).

Any idea who could weld this up in SW London?

Here is the whole bike



Here is my other Claud Butler mixte frame with a break some years ago. I threw it out:


It served me well for many years:



The Claud Butler had been abandoned in the office car park so I got it free; the Carlton was an eBay purchase and I pushed the boat out, paying £27.

The first steel commuter to break under me was a Trek hybrid, but I had kept the receipt so was given an alloy replacement by a grudging Evans.

On the decent bikes, here is a pair of Bontrager carbon forks I threw out after seeing these two cracks:

bice

I have taken off the forks and found the crown race is deeply pitted at the front.

I must have hit a pothole or something. Whether that impact or the damage to the headset accounts for the broken fork.

It was all well greased, and the pitting is deep and in one place only - the front. The upper bearing seems fine.

imposter2.0

A replacement fork will probably be cheaper than a repair. If one blade goes, then you have to suspect the other one as well. Just bin it. Continuing to ride a fork with that kind of damage - through central London - puts you in line for a Darwin award..

jgsi

Are you strapped for cash or summat?
Why are you riding around on skip rejects?

ugo.santalucia

JGSI wrote:

Are you strapped for cash or summat?
Why are you riding around on skip rejects?

Maybe because he is not one of those cash rich/brain poor folks who commute to work with 3 grand worth of bike?

To the OP, the steel frames probably had their day... nothing lasts forever. The Bontrager is a bit more annoying. Many frames have a lifetime awarranty, if not, then suck it up... I think it's just bad luck

Ben6899

JGSI wrote:

Are you strapped for cash or summat?
Why are you riding around on skip rejects?

Some people are, in fact, strapped for cash. Does this come as a surprise?

cooldad

Some people are, in fact, dicks. Does this come as a surprise?

Ben6899

cooldad wrote:

Some people are, in fact, dicks. Does this come as a surprise?

I joined here in 2009. So no.

bice

I think riding around on a mixte frame, 531 frame is still a rational thing to do.

I like the semi step-through, which is good when shopping. I think it is also quite a nice design.

Having a really cheap commuter is sensible. No one is going to nick this, and I leave it everywhere.

I don't really like decent bikes in London. People go too fast on them, turning, say, the Embankment cycle highway into something daft.

The mixte frame here is still good for more years, but the recommendation that I get new forks rather than weld, is probably sensible.

I have a steel Marin MTB turned into a gash tourer that will be fine in the meantime.

(I don't think the risk was that great riding with one sound fork: the other was taking impact and it all felt quite strong. It was not likely to suffer catastrophic failure: more likely bend. I was careful however.)

veronese68

Ben6899 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Some people are, in fact, dicks. Does this come as a surprise?

I joined here in 2009. So no.

I've not been on here that long, but I too came to realise this quite quickly.
Planet X had some cheap threaded steerer steel forks, unfortunately I had to return the ones I bought as the steerer wasn't long enough for the gate sized frame my son rides. Should be fine for most normal sized people though. I eventually found some on Ebay, brand new that fitted the bill.
Nothing wrong with riding an old bike, especially if you don't have secure parking. Probably worth replacing the forks, just check the rest of the frame over to be sure it is sound.
Edit: just seen your last post, completely agree.

ugo.santalucia

bice wrote:

I think riding around on a mixte frame, 531 frame is still a rational thing to do.

I like the semi step-through, which is good when shopping. I think it is also quite a nice design.

Having a really cheap commuter is sensible. No one is going to nick this, and I leave it everywhere.

I don't really like decent bikes in London. People go too fast on them, turning, say, the Embankment cycle highway into something daft.

The mixte frame here is still good for more years, but the recommendation that I get new forks rather than weld, is probably sensible.

I have a steel Marin MTB turned into a gash tourer that will be fine in the meantime.

I totally agree... this forum is packed with snobs who think you need to spend thousands on bikes to ride 30 miles... yet I have seen folks on bikes not much different from yours and often without the benefit of gears, completing a 400 km Audax ride.

Keep it real... annoyingly, steel forks seem to be more expensive than they should these days

964cup

Bike jumble, or buy a cracked frame on eBay and repurpose the forks. At least 1" threaded forks are a standard, even if you may need to have the threads recut or extended.

k-dog

My lbs has a pile of forks like that so worth checking there too - won't cost a lot.

imposter2.0

bice wrote:

(I don't think the risk was that great riding with one sound fork: the other was taking impact and it all felt quite strong. It was not likely to suffer catastrophic failure: more likely bend. I was careful however.)

Lots of assumption there - and the notion of riding around on a bicycle with a fork which is at least 50% compromised is not something I'd do - but hey, it's your life, not mine.

cougie

I'd definitely not be riding with one fork leg broken. You're in London. It's not like you haven't got Boris bikes or tubes or buses. If the fork goes - you're going down face first.