Fifty Plus (50+) - Carbon forks

My bike has carbon forks on it and I was wondering what I have to know about them. The bike came with Hutchinson tires on it and I was thinking about changing them out to Conti.4 seasons. I don't have the owners manual yet (I called for it),but it says on the fork to consult the owners manual before changing or install wheels. I know I don't want to over tighten them. Do I have to look for nicks after a while and what to do with them if I do find some? Thanks for any replys.

I can't answer your question but you might be able to find your manual here

http://www.bike-manual.com/brands/trek/intl/us.html

I can't see how the tires would make a difference? I have a carbon fork and on mine the ends are Al, I don't do anything different than I would do with a Al or steel fork.

If I had carbon or aluminum forks, I would inspect them very frequently and replace them on the slightest evidence of cracking.

Tires shouldn't make a difference unless the new ones are too wide for the fork. My carbon forks won't take tires wider than 23 mm, maybe 25 mm depending upon the tire.

I only have one bike with a carbon fork & I check it obsessively. So far its been trustworthy.

I only have one bike with a carbon fork & I check it obsessively. So far its been trustworthy.
Unless you are talking about a Performance bike- the forks will be overbuilt so just check them for and knocks or cracks when cleaning the bike and they will be OK,. No special treatment except to wipe the drool off occasionally from NON CF fork owners. On the tyre front- Just run the tyres that came with the bike until you find you have a problem with them. With luck- this will be when the canvas is showing so change them then.

When a carbon fork breaks, it can be a very, very bad thing.

But according to the major manufacturers, they almost never break, except when you've been in a nasty accident. Trek claims that the replacement rate on them is phenomenally low. Especially on those built in the last 12-15 years.

http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/3270.0.html

When a carbon fork breaks, it can be a very, very bad thing.

When any fork breaks, it can be catastrophic. A friend of mine had a steel fork snap while going around a corner just a month or so ago. Luckily, he didn't get hurt, only embarrassed. He swears that the fork was making no noise or showed any signs of cracking the last time he cleaned the bike. He had hit a very nasty pot hole about a month before which may have been the start of the failure.

If you see any nicks or scratches that go through the surface coating and appear to have damaged the underlying carbon fiber, you should consult the manufacturer immediately. The same is true if you see any cracks.

Carbon forks are a good thing and are pretty much a standard these days..........almost like radios in cars anymore. You have to special order somethiing different if you don't want carbon. Like others have reinforced, regardless of the bike components, it's smart to do an inspection of your bike regularly even if you don't sense anything is amiss. Just ask Cheeseflavor.........

Hutchinson makes some decent tires. You should be able to get at least a year's worth of mileage out of them and then find Conti's on eBay where the color of the sidewall adds some bling to your bike.

Is your question about overtightening the wheels when you clamp down the skewer? When you can close the skewer with it in the plam of your hand it is sufficently tight.

Carbon forks have been in use for years. If there was a great faliure rate the market would have spoken by now.

http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/3270.0.html

Thanks for that link.

Being a large rider I have been dreading the thought of buying a new bike because they all come with carbon fiber forks... I think I can at least consider a carbon fork when I am ready to buy a new bike now.

13,000+ miles on c/f fork on a tandem . . . all's A-OK.
Inspect c/f or alu forks regularly? Sure, and steel ones too!
Have broken only one fork . . . yes, it was steel.

I've been using carbon forks since the mid-90's. The fixed gear bike I currently commute on is a steel-frame Cyclops, and I ordered it without a fork. I told Mike Mulholland that I was going to put a Kestrel fork on it. This was back in 1996. I'm still using that fork, and the bike has maybe 50,000 km on it. Most of the paint on one side of the fork has peeled off, leaving a flat grey primer, but otherwise (knock on wood) the fork feels as good as ever. In fact, I think I had this fork temporarily on another bike (when I had the Cyclops stored), and I had the front wheel lock up (the fender stay came loose from the fender, rode up with the tire, and jammed itself against it, locking up the front wheel completely. This caused the frame to buckle at the downtube, but I think that the frame absorbing just this much force is what saved me from an even greater impact when the bike did a quick forward rotation (good thang I was wearing a helmet). The carbon fork survived intact; the steel frame (a Masi) was bent at the downtube (but the downtube had already been dented slightly from a previous incident in Mexico). Anyway, I'm still using that Kestrel fork on the Cyclops. Every day.

- L.

Wow that sounded like an exciting day to say the least. Glad to hear you made it out of that mess,but you did bring something to mind.I was wonder if the paint did come off of any CF, what kind of paint would you use on it to paint it ? Thanks George