Who has the oldest carbon fork?
 

I'm looking into getting a bike with a carbon fork...So, how long can I expect a carbon fork to last? Who here has been riding one the longest? Could this bike last 20+ years with a carbon fork?

Until it asplodes crabon is great.

OP, there is an inherent flaw in your thought process. No matter what longevity we predict (and BTW how would we know about the specific fork you will pick), would you want to be on the bike at the fateful moment of fork failure. Sooner or later what difference would it make? It you are one of those who doesn't trust carbon, why would you buy it?

One of my riding buddies rides a Lynskey Ti frame with a carbon fork. He said Lynskey told him to replace the CF fork every 5 years.

I told him that's rudiculous, and if not damaged a CF fork should last indefinitely.

He got a new one anyway since his fork was 6 years old.

P. T. knew all about folks like your friend.

Several Kestrel forks are on steel bikes built up in the early 90s.

My steerer's not carbon but the fork is from 2001.

I haven't yet built it up, but my '86 Look KG86 is in the queue. By the time I get it on the road, it'll be a 30-year-old carbon fork.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...psaefjv1cj.jpg

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...psjnklkrod.jpg

hahaha kevlar 2001. So futuristic....

Doesn't Look weave their own carbon or something? Maybe you cold take it to France and find the guy that made it 30 years ago and buy him a beer. It's like taking an old bike back to Ben Serotta and being like dude you made this 40 years ago and it's still being ridden. Except, huh? this one is carbon...

i have a Time carbon fork on my bike I built in ''98. Still going strong.

As said before, carbon should last indefinitely long if it's not damaged. I have a Bikes Direct bike from 2006 with a carbon fork that's still going strong. Just take care of it and don't be stupid and it'll last you forever.

I would buy it because it comes on the bike I want....and I recognize my newbieness enough to know my concerns might be unfounded....I just want to know if I'll need to start thinking about a new fork in 5-10 yrs...

Right. :rolleyes:

I followed up on this... The person I spoke with at Lynskey (his last name is Lynskey...) told me they have never provided guidelines on when to change undamaged carbon forks of any brand.

We should be having fun with this thread.

My carbon fork is SO old it's eligible for Medicare.

April 2015. Probably going to replace in September so no asplosions.

1999 Cannondale R1000D. 1 inch threaded carbon fork. It have been my commuter for 3 years now (main ride for a few year before that) with a rack and carrying lunch, change of clothes, and a laptop every day. I beat the hell out of it on rough roads and take the long way home every 2 or 3 times a week (50 to 60 km each time).

No issues. I wouldn't worry about it be it carbon or carbon forks...

http://ep4.pinkbike.org/p3pb11762418/p3pb11762418.jpg
http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p3pb9529105/p3pb9529105.jpg

It is interesting that not a single bike maker that I know of keeps replacement forks in stock for the frames they have sold over the years. In fact new forks that match an old frame are essentially impossible to find. Surely Giant, Spesh, Trek and the like don't want you riding around on one of their frames with a third party fork on it. And if you care about the overall appearance of your bike, you don't want that either. When a fork is replaced under warranty, usually it comes as a complete frameset due to this. So either it isn't necessary to replace forks after a specific time or miles in use, or you need to replace the whole frame to keep a match between the frame and fork.

Speaking of warranty, if, like many, your new bike comes with a lifetime frame and fork warranty, how would that work. How could a bike maker give a lifetime warranty on a part with a 5 year useful lifetime. Such a thing is totally unknown.

I think, OP, you can safely forget about scheduled fork replacement.

I did just replace my Alpha fork on my Lynskey this week. 7 years old, one minor mishap, but got a Lynskey fork this time and it looks awesome. Actually has the lynskey crest on it. I did feel I needed to do that because of age, mileage and of course bling effect

Was that influenced by Lynskey's recommendation to replace the fork every 5 years?

The '97 Kinesis Carbon 2 is going strong. But it is always in the back of my mind.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...psvssqw8uw.jpg

http://www.pedalroom.com/p/1998-dean...ed-15134_1.jpg

1997 Kestrel EMS Fork

1998

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=498466

I've been riding the same Look carbon fork since 1997.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=498485

1992

My only concern is if it's a 1" fork or threaded 1" it is getting harder to find replacements should you ever need one.