Sorry about the length of this... I want to give you all the facts.
Having snapped the steerer in the Pace RC35 forks that my Dave Lloyd came with I fitted some Bomber Z2 Bam forks. I then blew the seals in the Bombers and bought some Pace RC31's (for £100 from this forum) to use while I fix the Bombers and to keep as the rigid option. I've always wanted to try RC31's and this was my excuse and hence opportunity
The Lloyd is designed for suspension forks so the 420mm Pace forks fitted brilliantly and made the front end feel really light (There is no hiding the fact that the Bombers are a heavy fork).
First outing with the Pace forks was really enjoyable and I was wondering to myself if I should even think about putting the Bombers back on?
Second outing was not so enjoyable... I had a wee crash
It didn't seem like much at the time because I didn't actually come off the bike, but we were stopped pretty much dead by a tree stump. My front wheel was buckled and I had to take the front brake off to get back to the car. I noticed that the wheel was not straight in the fork and noticed when removing the wheel that one of the bonded magnesium dropouts had moved on the carbon fork leg :evil: :evil:
I phoned Pace, got a returns number and sent them off. Pace informed me that both dropouts needed rebonding which I gave the go ahead for
A day later and a nother call from Pace to say that after bonding both the dropouts on they torsion tested the forks and found that one of the legs was moving in the crown. This is non repairable damage and hence the forks will be scrapped :cry:
Pace have offered to sell me a new set for £110 when they build a limited batch of new forks in about a months time - which I guess is not bad considering I bought them second hand and they are obliged to do nothing for me really
Adrian reckoned that the forks had seen a severe twisting force: When he described the forces it pretty much described my crash. It didn't seem like much at the time because I didn't come off... but my whole speed and weight went straight through the front wheel and fork when I was stopped pretty much dead by a tree stump. My handlebars were at an angle so there was definetly a twisting force going on, also evidenced by the buckle in the front wheel.
Nobody likes to break a £100 component on it's second outing but heyho :roll: In my biking time I've done a lot worse but it's been a while since I've broken anything because I tend to ride stupidly overbuilt monster bikes when I'm riding the silly stuff.
The moral of this story is not to crash when using superlight bonded carbon fibre forks
Reason for crash? I was riding with an injured hand which means I was not covering both brakes effectively, when I lost control over a 1ft drop I could not react quick enough to get on the brakes and scrub off speed before launching into the undergrowth... and then the tree stump got me :evil:
Oh well... chalk it up to experience and fun.
Question :?:
Should I get the reduced RC31's in a month?
Buy some Kona P2's with a 1" steerer from Wiggle for £40
By some Vicious or Groovy forks for $275+
Give up riding retro and stick to big bikes?
Having snapped the steerer in the Pace RC35 forks that my Dave Lloyd came with I fitted some Bomber Z2 Bam forks. I then blew the seals in the Bombers and bought some Pace RC31's (for £100 from this forum) to use while I fix the Bombers and to keep as the rigid option. I've always wanted to try RC31's and this was my excuse and hence opportunity
The Lloyd is designed for suspension forks so the 420mm Pace forks fitted brilliantly and made the front end feel really light (There is no hiding the fact that the Bombers are a heavy fork).
First outing with the Pace forks was really enjoyable and I was wondering to myself if I should even think about putting the Bombers back on?
Second outing was not so enjoyable... I had a wee crash
It didn't seem like much at the time because I didn't actually come off the bike, but we were stopped pretty much dead by a tree stump. My front wheel was buckled and I had to take the front brake off to get back to the car. I noticed that the wheel was not straight in the fork and noticed when removing the wheel that one of the bonded magnesium dropouts had moved on the carbon fork leg :evil: :evil: I phoned Pace, got a returns number and sent them off. Pace informed me that both dropouts needed rebonding which I gave the go ahead for
A day later and a nother call from Pace to say that after bonding both the dropouts on they torsion tested the forks and found that one of the legs was moving in the crown. This is non repairable damage and hence the forks will be scrapped :cry:
Pace have offered to sell me a new set for £110 when they build a limited batch of new forks in about a months time - which I guess is not bad considering I bought them second hand and they are obliged to do nothing for me really
Adrian reckoned that the forks had seen a severe twisting force: When he described the forces it pretty much described my crash. It didn't seem like much at the time because I didn't come off... but my whole speed and weight went straight through the front wheel and fork when I was stopped pretty much dead by a tree stump. My handlebars were at an angle so there was definetly a twisting force going on, also evidenced by the buckle in the front wheel.
Nobody likes to break a £100 component on it's second outing but heyho :roll: In my biking time I've done a lot worse but it's been a while since I've broken anything because I tend to ride stupidly overbuilt monster bikes when I'm riding the silly stuff.
The moral of this story is not to crash when using superlight bonded carbon fibre forks
Reason for crash? I was riding with an injured hand which means I was not covering both brakes effectively, when I lost control over a 1ft drop I could not react quick enough to get on the brakes and scrub off speed before launching into the undergrowth... and then the tree stump got me :evil:
Oh well... chalk it up to experience and fun.
Question :?:
Should I get the reduced RC31's in a month?
Buy some Kona P2's with a 1" steerer from Wiggle for £40
By some Vicious or Groovy forks for $275+
Give up riding retro and stick to big bikes?
:|
