1" carbon steerer: is it safe?

[phcollard]

So I'm in the process of upgrading the fork on my Colorado Ti. I was pretty much decided on the Columbus Minimal which has a carbon steerer but I'm having second thoughts now.

Do you think a 1" carbon steerer is safe? I'm 170 lbs and I'm not brutal on the bike but Montreal has a lot of unavoidable potholes. I will run 2cm or 2.5cm of spacers under the stem (a Ritchey WCS with an official Ritchey sleeve 1 1/8" -> 1"). Headset is a very old Chris King.

My other option is the Ritchey Comp with an alloy steerer...

Thanks a lot for your thoughts!

Philippe.

[lhuerta]

Yes, it will be safe. Most 1" carbon steer tubes have thicker walls, compared to 1 1/8" steerers, which is what provides them the same strength. The move to 1 1/8" provides builders opportunity to save a bit of weight (thinner walls) while maintaining strength (using larger diameter). In other words, just because it is a 1" tube does not make it weaker...the construction is simply different.

Lou

[bluesea]

The Colnago Stars I've observed in service have been unproblematic.

[cnighbor1]

I ride an 1'' carbon fiber fork and steerer tube with 1 1/2+'' extension above top tube on my Litespeed
no problems
charles at 155 lbs

[nighthawk]

I just about had a heart attack.

-Chris who awaits delivery of a Columbus minimal with carbon steerer

[Kirk Pacenti]

Sorry, couldn't help myself...

Cheers,
KP

[Serotta_Carbon]

Kirk,

You're sick and I love it! The same image came to my mind......

[FlashUNC]

You'll be fine. Both of my road bikes now have (admittedly) 1 1/8" carbon steerers.

No problems, and one even survived my elbow-breaking spill unscathed.

[Kirk Pacenti]

Kirk,

You're sick and I love it! The same image came to my mind......

Takes one to know one... ;)

[CDollarsign]

Depending on the lay-up of the carbon it should be able to resist the shear stresses put on by a rider. I imagine the engineers have determined the best lay-up and design with a fairly high safety factor. On the whole I trust carbon anything until you start getting into serious weight weenie stuff... FWIW.

[duke]

Carbon steerers tend to explode. So be careful.
duke

[pureretro]

As above poster stated, I also have a Colnago Star fork with 1" carbon steerer and has been run on average roads for about 11 years. No problems.

[pureretro]

My weight ~180lbs. Headset is Campy record of the same vintage, and my spacer stack is about 1 3/4".

[dvancleve]

I am pretty sure the maximum amount of spacers allowed is specified by the fork company...

Doug

[Nelson99]

I've been running an ouzo pro one inch carbon steerer on one of my bikes (now my franken SS rain bike) for about seven years. No problem.

I run around 200lbs at 20% BF, and when I converted the bike to fixed/SS I put on very, very wide bars that I have been pushing and pulling with abandon. No problems, creaks or cracks (yet).

[buldogge]

I have an older 1" Time Featherlight Max, full carbon on my Chesini Innovation.

I used to think I was getting steerer flex/creaking (when I ran it on a Titan I had)...but, I now realize, when I'm out of the saddle, that it is the fork legs themselves flexing. The fork is relatively light, especially for an older fork.

I'm looking forward to the road reports on the Columbus Minimal, as I would like to get one to replace the time.

I'm 6' 180-185# FWIW.

-Mark in St. Louis

[bfd]

I am pretty sure the maximum amount of spacers allowed is specified by the fork company...

Doug

That's right. My Easton ec90sl allows up 50mm of spacer! I have like 40-45mm showing and the bar is nice and high! :banana::bike::butt:

In contrast, the old Reynold Ouzo Pro fork only allowed a max of 40mm of spacers.

Note, I too have a 1" Columbus minimal fork on order and at 200lb+, I don't expect any problems! Good Luck!