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Lawyer tab cracking

Old 08-24-10, 08:57 PM
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Lawyer tab cracking

So I went biking today and got extra *WET* so I was taking my wheels off my Fuji D6 when I got home and I found this ........(see attached- I'll try to attach it but if there's nothing there just know I couldn't do it). It's really hard to see but the safety tab ("lawyer tab") on the front fork is splitting away from the carbon fork .........oh yea- not good. Who knows how it happened- it's a brand new bike but I bought it from someone else. So .......hopefully I'm not F'ed big time! So what's your feeling guys (I know I am asking a STUPID question) but how safe is that? It is not TERRIBLE but it is so bad that I can't really get the wheel off without taking the skewer out. The safety tab is sticking out where cracked so much so that I can't pull the wheel out from the fork (that's basically how I found it). I suppose I basically just hope it holds up and cross fingers. I suppose no chance of calling Fuji since I didn't get it from a dealer? Any suggestions folks? Should I be as pissed off and dejected as I am right now? There's not much I can do I suppose. Maybe nail polish it for what it's worth? I'd appreciate any opinions / advice. I have talked to one guy who said just watch it .....shouldn't be a big deal or catastrophic or anything. Just thought I'd check with some additional knowledgeable folks. The other guy I spoke with said that sometimes racers will even shave these portions off (to make exchanging wheels much faster) but my thought is that shaving it off is a bit different than a crack forming.
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Old 08-24-10, 09:02 PM
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Take it into a local shop that carries your brand and see what they say. It can't hurt. I had a part replaced on my Trek and I'm not the original owner. I don't see why Fuji would be different.
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Old 08-25-10, 05:06 PM
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I filed mine off. Never happier. Always hated the things. They never used to be there in the first place.
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Old 08-25-10, 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by tanguy frame
I filed mine off. Never happier. Always hated the things. They never used to be there in the first place.
They weren't needed when quick-releases were only on high-end racing bikes costing over the equivalent of $10k in today's dollars. Anyone who buys a bike in that range is a racer and knows how to use their equipment.

Then in the late '80s, Shimano's manufacturing prowess brought prices way down and you can find QR on bikes costing less than $200 (today's dollars). However, a lot of the folks that buys these bikes can barely tell the difference between a shift versus brake lever. A lot of people confused a QR lever with a wingnut and would spin it around and around until it was hand-tight, which resulted in less than 5% of the necessary clamping force.

I worked in a shop for 10-years during this era and saw the rates of injuries and litigation skyrocket tremendously. One famous case involved a music celebrity who was goofing around on an MTB and caught some air. His front-wheel fell off and when he landed, his fork dug in and he smashed out a couple of teeth on the handlebars. Needless to say, the ensuing lawsuits hurt everyone in the industry from mom & pop shops all the way up to the major manufacturers. Lawyer-lips followed soon after.

In the OP's case, I'd go back to the shop and have them replace that fork. Then grind off the lawyer-lips when you get home (no shop in their right mind would do that for you).
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Old 08-26-10, 03:09 AM
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I agree with the suggestion to file off the "lawyer lips" from the fork dropouts with one caveat...I agree this is a good idea "for me".

This is a decision that the individual should think through as doing so will void the warranty and anul any liabilty the manufacturer has on a critical component of the bike that, should the fork fail in that area or another, can have catastrophic consequences.

That being said, I grind those puckers right off my own fork tips.

-j
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Old 08-26-10, 09:08 AM
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well if no disc brakes the lumps are a
we are here to help you since you could not figure it out and hired a lawyer and sued us
kind of fix.
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Old 08-26-10, 09:22 AM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
well if no disc brakes the lumps are a
we are here to help you since you could not figure it out and hired a lawyer and sued us
kind of fix.
Agreed. On bikes with disc brakes the lips actually serve a purpose as with normal disc brake design application of the front brake tries to lever the wheel out of the dropouts. Discussed at the below link.

https://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames...quick_release/
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Old 08-26-10, 09:28 AM
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The lawyer tabs are a federally (CPSC) mandated "secondary retension device" and have been since the mid seventies. They're there because, as Danno said, too many recreational riders weren't using the QR's properly and having their front wheels fall off.

IMO- they're actually counter-productive because they require that the QR be re-adjusted every time the wheel is removed, and if someone doesn't know how to use a QR in the first place, why would we assume they would know how to adjust one.

That was one of the arguments against them early on, and some designs didn't require re-adjustment, though the lips won out over time because they were universal. Also the better QR designs of the era kept their adjustment (as all mine still do) so the QR is truly QR with no re-adjustment needed.

On your fork, if you know how to secure your wheel, and if the damage is limited to the lips, go ahead and file them off.
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Old 08-26-10, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
The lawyer tabs are a federally (CPSC) mandated "secondary retension device" and have been since the mid seventies.
Almost... Schwinn invented a clip in 1972 that served as a secondary retention device for nutted hubs. It was like a lollipop that fitted over the axle and hung off two posts on inside of the fork blades. A variation on this was washers with a bent tang that fitted into a hole just above the dropout slots.

The 1978 CPSC regulation required a PRD - positive retention device and was mandated ONLY for nutted axles. Since a quick-release could develop the necessary clamping forces by hand without needing tools, the QR was seen as being the PRD itself.

The regulations for lawyer-lips on the fork-tips was not passed until 1988 and the first bikes with them were on the market in 1989.

Last edited by DannoXYZ; 08-27-10 at 10:52 AM.
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