[CupOfJava]

Edit since it seems some people have a problem with the way I posted the original thread.

These are the pictures:

The circumstances were he was JRA when it snapped. No impact or crash involved.

The fork was owned for 18 months and well maintained by a certified bike mechanic.

The rider ended up with 15 stitches and a fractured orbital and was in the hospital for a couple days.

 

[Pabs]

What type of terrain was this on?

 

[Stupendous Man]

wowsers! can you give us the details?

 

[MyMilkExpired]

This pertains to my interests as I run one... More details please.

Good vibes to your buddy, hope he gets back on that horse again soon!

 

[CupOfJava]

He was riding here:
Fountainhead Regional Park Mountain Bike Trail in Fairfax, Virginia || SINGLETRACKS.COM

The steerer tube is still attached to the bike frame. So it looks like something caused the fork to break completely off from it.

 

[AZ]

Hope your buddy heals quickly. Any details about what actually took place?

 

[92gli]

Just riding along ? Hit a tree ? Rode off a cliff ?

 

[CupOfJava]

Just riding along ? Hit a tree ? Rode off a cliff ?

No tree or accident. Just riding.

 

[CupOfJava]

He was simply riding FH and it sheared off on a small, simple DH section.

He rides very smoothly with very little impact to the fork..... His fork was ~18 months old.

 

[AZ]

What had he been doing before the unfortunate failure? Not trying to be a dick, just trying to delineate some of the details. Was he riding any stunts, rock gardens, fall off of a skinny, g-out? Trying to paint a bigger picture.

 

[CupOfJava]

What had he been doing before the unfortunate failure? Not trying to be a dick, just trying to delineate some of the details. Was he riding any stunts, rock gardens, fall off of a skinny, g-out? Trying to paint a bigger picture.

I don't know, but I've ridden with him in before and he doesn't do anything crazy. The worst thing I can think of is hopping over logs and riding down rock gardens. Fountainhead is pretty bumpy especially in a couple sections where there's a lot of erosion. I can imagine going down one of those sections and getting a little too front heavy and cracking a fork like that. It probably wouldn't happen on my Fox.

 

[smilinsteve]

From looking at pictures, the fork seems to be one piece carbon legs and crown, with a separate carbon steer tube that is inserted or bonded or something to the lowers. So, did the steer tube pull out, or did it snap, or what?

 

[CupOfJava]

From looking at pictures, the fork seems to be one piece carbon legs and crown, with a separate carbon steer tube that is inserted or bonded or something to the lowers. So, did the steer tube pull out, or did it snap, or what?

He said the steerer is still in one piece stuck inside the headtube

 

[smilinsteve]

So it looks like it is the attachment method, between steerer and crown, that failed:

 

[Holmes]

Ouch - hope your buddy heals up soon.

 

[Schultz29]

Scary, I have one of those. Did his fork have a tapered steerer? Mine is and I hope that makes it a little stronger? This has been a pretty nice fork with excellent steering precision. However, I have NO faith in carbon fiber whatsoever and I am constantly thinking about catastrophe ever time I ride something rougher than asphalt. It holds me back from time to time, as I'm always wondering if it will fail me in a big way. Carbon fiber has failed me before, there is no warning when it goes and it breaks in a catastrophic nature. This post has made a big impression on me, I think I'll sell this fork and get something in steel that will fail more slowly. Salsa is offering a steel fork with a thru-axle dropout. That may get me the stiffness I want, without the worry of carbon fiber

 

[Ryan G.]

He wasn't recently riding in South Africa was he?

Quick healing vibes to your buddy!

 

[rydbyk]

Whoa! Hope your friend heals quickly. Wonder how NINER will handle THIS one??

 

[mtnbiker72]

Good vibes to your friend, hope he heals quickly. I'd like to see how Niner handles this one too

 

[meltingfeather]

I think I'll sell this fork and get something in steel that will fail more slowly.

Don't be so sure...
a buddy of mine ended up on his face when his steel fork snapped.