Mountain Biking - crack in fork

I have a 1" crack in my fork. I tried to fix it with steel epoxy and seems like it is working. Will the crack still get bigger? Do I need to replace the fork? By the way, it is an RST 381.


thanks.

It's not worth riding in my opinion. If it breaks, good luck with the fall. Get a new fork. I'd rather spend 200 dollars over my face being redone, ANYDAY. Plus...you get a new fork.

Don't fix...its garbage...

Steel Epoxy?? If it's similar to regular epoxy, there isn't a sufficient stress limit to withstand the stress you put on it. If it is strong, keep in mind that the seal isn't uniform and can concentrate the force applied on small parts of the crack and rip it again. Thinking about it, there isn't a safe place to have a crack on your fork where a huge failure in the crack would keep you safe.

http://www.cripplefight.com/smileys/thwap.gif

Ya its pointless to fix is concidering it will be worse than i was before and probably brake again and be a nuisance. But if its all you can afford go for it. Ide like to see how the steel epoxy works out.

Afford it? There is no affording. This is the second most dangerous thing I have ever heard of. The most dengerous thing was trying to create a 'lockout' system by building a custom block of wood to put in between the crown and the arch....just plain nuts.

Get a new fork. Plain and simple. Don't risk it. Breaking a fork and going over the handle bars is VERY dangerous.

Well this is the stuff i used:
http://www.lepage.com/products/detail.asp?catid=21&subid=54&plid=280

So far after 3 hours of riding a very rugged local trail and going off some big jumps the crack has not become any bigger. I'm going to use this fork until the crack gets worse, when it does i'll get a new one. I'm hoping it'll last though. I still have not been able to figure out how I got the crack in the first place - Any ideas???

Thanks for the help everyone. :)

bump.

You're still jumping on an RST fork bodged up with epoxy :eek: ??? What are the visiting hours at your local hospital ?

So far after 3 hours of riding a very rugged local trail and going off some big jumps the crack has not become any bigger. I'm going to use this fork until the crack gets worse, when it does i'll get a new one. I'm hoping it'll last though. I still have not been able to figure out how I got the crack in the first place - Any ideas???

Can you describe your last ride before you discovered the crack? Can you post a picture of the cracked area assuming it hasn't been obscured by the epoxy by now?

And one last thing...

Can you stop riding with that fork so if/when we do figure out how it cracked in the first place, we can tell you without having to conduct a seance to do so?

Let's talk about what could happen.

The fork could snap, your front end hits the ground 100% resistence, you go 1) flying over bars. 2) Hit your face on your stem causeing teeth to go through your lips 3) Both.

I wouldn't ever go with a cracked fork. Ever.


We're not here to tell you what you want to here. We're here to tell you what you need to hear. And that is DROPING THE FRIGGING FUDGEING FORK AND RIP YOURSELFA NEW ONE AT YOUR LBS!!

Can you describe your last ride before you discovered the crack? Can you post a picture of the cracked area assuming it hasn't been obscured by the epoxy by now?

And one last thing...

Can you stop riding with that fork so if/when we do figure out how it cracked in the first place, we can tell you without having to conduct a seance to do so?

The last 2 rides before I discovered it were on a gravel path in the park beside my house. Before that I went on a few rugged trails but I didn't notice anything at all when I was cleaning my bike off afterwards.

I think posting a picture of it would be somewhat useless considering that it only looks like a 1" bead of epoxy on the side of the fork.

Yes, I will stop riding on it so I dont break my bones and get my face re-arranged. :eek:

Sounds good. Yeah man it would be much safer if you got a new fork. They're are some decent forks out there for not to much $$$.

what kind of fork would you guys recommend? The bike only cost me $700 CDN so i dont really want to put alot of $$$ into it. Also it is 5 years old.

You can get a Marzocchi EXR Pro for about $300 CDN, nice fork for not a lot of money.

If you're around the GTA area, there might be that silent sports trade thing going on... very good discounts on used forks!! There you could find an above-entry level fork for $100 (+50 for the LBS to put it on).

If your looking for a fork, I could help you out. If your using a threadless system for your headset Ive got two options.

RST omni 181 (brand new)
1999/2000 Marz Z2 Atom bomb w/63mm of travel

Pm me if your interested.