Road Cycling - Carbon - Durable or Lawsuit Waiting to Happen?

ALOT of the roadbikes I've been looking into have carbon forks, many carbon seatposts. I will use this roadbike for my commute and for weekend tours. So what do you guys think? I know the stuff is light, but should I stick to steel or just replace the fork in a few years? :confused:

As long as you are not planning to tour with this bike, I'd leave the carbon fork on. They're lighter and more shock absorbent than steel. I know guys who put thousands of miles on every year (one guy has put over 14,000 miles per year for the past 3 years) that are using a carbon fork with no problems.

I got carbon fork on my bike, I am very satisfied with it I just don't know how durable they are or the safety maintainance I should be putting on them, but so far so good, my ride expectation with it is very satisfying...

CF's greatest weakness is in withstanding collisions, and it will break if loaded improperly. If a CF fork is not abused, it should last a good long time. Eventually, though, it may degrade, especially around the bonds for the dropouts and steerer. If you feel any play at any bond, the CF is shot. CF for a frame is a bit exotic still, but if it's worth it for the light weight............

I frequently see a Cadex MTB parked on a typical 'sewer grate' bike rack at my local university. Seems like it leads an awfully hard life, but it's still solid.

the accurate statement should be: a good steel fork (like frame) is much better than an entry level carbon fork. the nice reynolds ouzo (?) forks i personally like - i dislocated my left shoulder early last season and i was riding within a week (told not to) - but i feel i was able to ride comfortably because of the frame AND fork (both high quality steel)

i think everyone will agree (who has riden differing levels of each material bike) that a high quality of one material is better than the entry level of a supposed 'superior' material in many instances. apples to apples, right?!

I once heard some where that carbon fiber is about has strong has steel, although I don't know if it's absolutely.

FWIW I've been riding/racing my Trek 2300Pro with carbon fiber frame since '91. I've recently decided to buy a new bike, but not because the carbon fiber is failing.

I think short of manufacturing defect (which can happen with any material) carbon fiber frames, forks, seat posts, etc have the ability to outlast the rider just like steel or ti.

My .02.

Having had some experience with carbonfiber through Kayaking I can say that it is very resilient as long as it stays within it's designed range of movement/force. The fatigue life of carbon is basically infinite so you don't need to worry about it suddenly failing due to it flexing a little as it absorbs road chatter. You do need to be worried about it failing in high speed impacts but then again there are many other things to worry about if this happens. There is also the problem with UV degradation of the resin, this was a major concern with older kayaks but as plastic technology (resin is just a plastic, which forms in the mold) has improved greatly in the last few years I feel that this is no longer a problem.