I had a pair of aluminium handlebars catastrophically fail on me once, with similarly unpleasant results. I have also had a lugged steel frame snap off at the downtube/headtube joint... and despite this the bike just became a bit bouncier, giving me time to pull over safely. Thus, I only ride steel now; steel bends and buckles, but a heck of a lot slower and more forgivingly.
That's not too great, I hope you didn't receive any injuries. I've had two sets of aluminium alloy handlebars break, luckily in both cases I didn't fall off. I broke plenty of other parts too. I've never had forks fail though 🥵.
@@FiveMinuteVelo Sadly, I did the tarmac tumble when the handlebars folded like a poker pro, and I opened my knee up to the bone somehow in the process. That took a while to fix itself. Steel handlebars from then on.
Thanks a lot! Writing my Bachelor Thesis about a carbon fork. Hoping to improve them with those sorts of information! Great to get into the topic! Greetings from Germany
Thanks for the feedback, it's great to know that my efforts are useful. Sorry if it was a bit too dumbed down for an engineering audience, I obviously produced it for a more generic TH-cam audience. I think there's too much effort put into highlighting the problems rather than solutions. Hence, it would be great to see what solutions you come up with. Hence, I'd love to see a (hopefully English language) version once it is finished.
Again sorry it was so long., I stretched the minutes. More seriously, it is an important subject that ought to be better known. Feel free to post a link to the video wherever it might be useful. Terry
@@FiveMinuteVelo Oh, maybe my comment was felt as criticism. It was not, I only tried to be a bit funny (I know, a bit lame joke...), because the channel name says 5 minute videos. Those 15 minutes were well spent and I very much appreciate that you took the time and made the efforts to explain everything so well! I will surely share the link when it fits.
@@nickgoogle4525 no offence taken. I live by dry sarcasm, so I should expect to receive the pointed end of it from time to time. My lawyers loophole is that my strap line says "Stuff about cycling in (mostly) 5-minutes or less" tee-hee.
I have noticed that more and more new bikes, like my Orbea Gain, seem to be fitted with plastic 'top bearing support'. I suspect this is for cost reduction and not to save the steerer; however, it should do that too. Take wins where you can. 👍
You could probably use almost anything as an interlayer. The biggest issue with choosing a material is its thickness, if it's to thick you may have to stretch the coller too far to get it on the fork. Have you tried your own suggestion, did it work?
Thank you I hope it's useful too. There is no simple answer to how often you should check your forks. Perhaps check once per year, but if your headset becomes loose often, check it soon as you can.
Good video Terry. One of my forks shows visible but very minor wear on it. Would you say the heaviest wear always occurs on the rear side of the steerer tube? I suppose that would make sense because that's where the pressure of the steerer against the split collar would normally be greatest. I'll try some PTFE tape next time I've got the fork out.
Will, If your long on miles and light on breaking I would expect the most ringing wear be at rear of the steerer. If you do a lot of heavy braking, particularly on rough roads, I would expect the most we're at the front of the steerer.
Thank you. In general, plastic compression rings are better, indeed many modern bikes are being fitted with them. Hanover, the devil is often in the detail and whether it's better or not won't depend on your particular compression ring. Sorry I can't be more definite without seeing it.
I had a pair of aluminium handlebars catastrophically fail on me once, with similarly unpleasant results.
I have also had a lugged steel frame snap off at the downtube/headtube joint... and despite this the bike just became a bit bouncier, giving me time to pull over safely. Thus, I only ride steel now; steel bends and buckles, but a heck of a lot slower and more forgivingly.
That's not too great, I hope you didn't receive any injuries. I've had two sets of aluminium alloy handlebars break, luckily in both cases I didn't fall off. I broke plenty of other parts too. I've never had forks fail though 🥵.
@@FiveMinuteVelo Sadly, I did the tarmac tumble when the handlebars folded like a poker pro, and I opened my knee up to the bone somehow in the process. That took a while to fix itself. Steel handlebars from then on.
@@jananilcolonoscopu4034 ouch!
Thanks a lot! Writing my Bachelor Thesis about a carbon fork. Hoping to improve them with those sorts of information! Great to get into the topic! Greetings from Germany
Thanks for the feedback, it's great to know that my efforts are useful. Sorry if it was a bit too dumbed down for an engineering audience, I obviously produced it for a more generic TH-cam audience.
I think there's too much effort put into highlighting the problems rather than solutions. Hence, it would be great to see what solutions you come up with. Hence, I'd love to see a (hopefully English language) version once it is finished.
What a great 3 times 5 minute video. Thanks a lot for sharing your findings and thoughts -- very helpful!
Again sorry it was so long., I stretched the minutes.
More seriously, it is an important subject that ought to be better known. Feel free to post a link to the video wherever it might be useful.
Terry
@@FiveMinuteVelo Oh, maybe my comment was felt as criticism. It was not, I only tried to be a bit funny (I know, a bit lame joke...), because the channel name says 5 minute videos. Those 15 minutes were well spent and I very much appreciate that you took the time and made the efforts to explain everything so well! I will surely share the link when it fits.
@@nickgoogle4525 no offence taken. I live by dry sarcasm, so I should expect to receive the pointed end of it from time to time. My lawyers loophole is that my strap line says "Stuff about cycling in (mostly) 5-minutes or less" tee-hee.
plastic split ring, long compression tube and check/service bearings every 2k kms
I have noticed that more and more new bikes, like my Orbea Gain, seem to be fitted with plastic 'top bearing support'. I suspect this is for cost reduction and not to save the steerer; however, it should do that too. Take wins where you can. 👍
Maybe some chainstay plastic adhesive protector would also save the carbon fiber from the wear?
You could probably use almost anything as an interlayer. The biggest issue with choosing a material is its thickness, if it's to thick you may have to stretch the coller too far to get it on the fork. Have you tried your own suggestion, did it work?
i've seen cricket bat tape being used
Thanks Terry, A thought provoking presentation. How often should I check for ringing?
Thank you I hope it's useful too.
There is no simple answer to how often you should check your forks. Perhaps check once per year, but if your headset becomes loose often, check it soon as you can.
Good video Terry. One of my forks shows visible but very minor wear on it. Would you say the heaviest wear always occurs on the rear side of the steerer tube? I suppose that would make sense because that's where the pressure of the steerer against the split collar would normally be greatest. I'll try some PTFE tape next time I've got the fork out.
Will,
If your long on miles and light on breaking I would expect the most ringing wear be at rear of the steerer. If you do a lot of heavy braking, particularly on rough roads, I would expect the most we're at the front of the steerer.
Great video! Is it safe to replace metal compression ring with plastic one?
Thank you. In general, plastic compression rings are better, indeed many modern bikes are being fitted with them. Hanover, the devil is often in the detail and whether it's better or not won't depend on your particular compression ring. Sorry I can't be more definite without seeing it.
No problem! Sometimes it is better to stick with factory settings and periodicly check! Thank you!
@@FiveMinuteVelo