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Forks Can Kill

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Discussion starter · #21 ·
gasmanxj said:
That's terrible but see how it could happen. Couple years ago servicing a Lyrik I was in a hurry and forgot to empty the air spring. Bonheaded mistake, thankfully was off to the side when I squeezed the snap ring. Air shaft shot out across the garage and sounded like a shotgun blast.
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Chilling. In a lot of ways, you were in front of a firing gun with a tool in the barrel.
 
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#22 ·
Man, just when you thought you'd heard it all. I just replaced the air spring on my fork. I followed the printed instructions, but didn't give it a 2nd thought. If it was my job and doing it from memory, totally could see forgetting one step of a hundred.
 
#23 ·
PSA - wear safety goggles (not glasses) whenever: working on suspension (coil or air), hydraulic brakes (DOT or mineral oil), setting up/beading tubeless tires, using compressed air for any purpose, hammering on stuff, potential for stuff to get into your eyes. Anybody have more specific situations to add?
 
#24 ·
Very good idea. Seems unnecessary, I wear regular glasses, but still. oil squirting in the eye could be bad. Let alone something hitting the eye.
 
#25 ·
ShortTravelMag said:
Very good idea. Seems unnecessary, I wear regular glasses, but still. oil squirting in the eye could be bad. Let alone something hitting the eye.
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I believe high pressure injection injuries with fluids can be very serious because sometimes you don't even know it's happened until something starts to go septic.
 
#26 ·
I have a pair of safety glasses made to go over prescription glasses, and I'm going to grab a 2nd pair for the bike station. No reason not to wear them for things other than basic stuff like swapping pedals or something. Bleeding things, fork maintenance, why not.
 
#27 ·
flyingsqrl said:
PSA - wear safety goggles (not glasses) whenever: working on suspension (coil or air), hydraulic brakes (DOT or mineral oil), setting up/beading tubeless tires, using compressed air for any purpose, hammering on stuff, potential for stuff to get into your eyes. Anybody have more specific situations to add?
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Basically, if you’re doing anything mechanical or with machines it’s not a bad idea to wear appropriate and regulated safety glasses.

Hell, I spent YEARS of my life working in and managing labs that produce eyewear, including safety glasses.

One of the first tasks assigned to a new technician is to produce their own industrial safety glasses.

By policy, we were required to wear industrial safety glasses 100% of the time that we were physically in the eyeglass laboratory, no exception.

reality, nobody wore them unless we were being inspected.

At least for us, all of the equipment had safety shields that were enacted during use that provided plenty of protection.

Working on a bike, none of those industrial shields exist…
 
#28 ·
chiefsilverback said:
I believe high pressure injection injuries with fluids can be very serious because sometimes you don't even know it's happened until something starts to go septic.
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High pressure cuts off parts. One of the things driven home in A&P school- don't run your hand along a hydraulic line looking for a leak.
 
#29 ·
FrankS29 said:
Basically, if you’re doing anything mechanical or with machines it’s not a bad idea to wear appropriate and regulated safety glasses.

Hell, I spent YEARS of my life working in and managing labs that produce eyewear, including safety glasses.

One of the first tasks assigned to a new technician is to produce their own industrial safety glasses.

By policy, we were required to wear industrial safety glasses 100% of the time that we were physically in the eyeglass laboratory, no exception.

reality, nobody wore them unless we were being inspected.

At least for us, all of the equipment had safety shields that were enacted during use that provided plenty of protection.

Working on a bike, none of those industrial shields exist…
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They haven't really figured that out for those of us that wear glasses. Give me prescription safety glasses, no problem. Anything else? No.
 
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#31 ·
FrankS29 said:
Sadly, something like this poor person losing their life is what might make that change.
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I’m still wrapping my head around a person died while working on a bike. Man, that’s rough.
 
#32 ·
I've had chemicals go in my eye a couple of times (such as droplet of brake cleaner splattering while cleaning parts), dirt too...learned my lesson, if I'm working with any chemicals or on my back where dirt can drop in my eyes I wear safety glasses. I also went to the trouble of getting good safety glasses that are comfortable so I don't avoid the user of them due to discomfort which was the case with my collection of "free included safety glasses."
 
#33 ·
Forks aren't that dangerous usually, but shocks and droppers are where it gets serious.
500psi IFP pressure is common in inline shocks. But a really unhappy shock or dropper can have 300psi of foamed up oil inside. So you've vented the IFP chamber and it makes no difference.

You're literally opening a bomb. Many shocks have bleed screws that you can use to vent the foam. Videos of this are all over the internet. But droppers usually don't. You've got to crack open cartridge caps and keep everything contained while you do so.
 
#34 ·
OiLoikBoiks said:
The wording "explode" is what made me question it, I was envisioning the lower castings failing in a freak accident and shrapnel. But not letting all the air out before working on it is just incompetence from the mechanic, sorry. If of course that's what happened.
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I would agree, except I am very anal about making sure the pressure has been relieved, except the time I thought I did, bit didn’t. Fortunately, I was observing proper safety and off to the side as I unscrewed the cap and is shot across the room. Rather than hurt or dead, I was left feeling like an idiot.
 
#36 ·
Novaterra said:
stupid people can kill themselves with everything, dont know how it works?, dont touch it
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That’s true, but also harsh on this thread where at least one person posting has a connection to the deceased.

A momentary distraction can also kill, or maybe someone said “can you finish this fork?” and the guy assumed the pressure had been released because that’s always his first step….

I’m pretty sure all the service instruction have releasing pressure and even removing the valve core/top cap as one of the first steps.
 
#37 ·
chiefsilverback said:
That’s true, but also harsh on this thread where at least one person posting has a connection to the deceased.
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Unsympathetic (and often derisive) blaming of the victim in what’s actually an unclear situation comes from the human desire to assert that the accident/misfortune couldn’t possibly happen to themselves. They want to believe that it could only happen to the unfathomably stupid/negligent/etc, which the asserter takes comfort in believing that they’ll never be.
 
#40 ·
well, third or fourth comment says enough?, didnt let the pressure off. probably didnt pay enough attention to what he was working with, or didnt know where he was working with. sad news, but reality.
no one complains about shooting eachother, maybe they should care about that more
 
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