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View Full Version : interesting post re recalled carbon forks at Civia -- steel = real


eddief
03-16-2010, 08:47 PM
as i recall, Civia is a QBP brand. wonder if their quality is suffering due to their largeness? After all, bad quality killed the beloved Salsa SUL quill.

from ecovelo today:

Product Safety Recall Notice
Mon, Mar 15 2010 3:14 pm Written by: Scott Thayer
A few weeks ago we became aware that our carbon fork does not meet our expectation for product safety. We have seen a couple forks begin to crack around the steerer tube and one had the steerer tube separate entirely from the fork legs. Thankfully, the rider was not seriously injured when the separation occurred.

We’ve conducted 3rd party testing and have concluded that the problem we’re seeing is the fork was designed to be stiff so that under braking, the legs would not wander around creating a noodly fork feel. An unanticipated by-product of this leg stiffness is that the fork legs aren’t moving at all during regular braking and in turn, all of the braking force is passed up to the crown. These forces are over time will lead to potential failure.

We are in the process of contacting all of the bike shops that have purchased forks, or Hylands with the forks installed. The dealers will be working to contact all of the consumers that have purchased Hyland bikes or Hyland carbon forks. 100% of the Civia carbon forks are affected by this recall.

If you own a Hyland that has a carbon fork, or have purchased the Civia Carbon fork, please contact your dealer for information about how to go about obtaining a replacement Civia steel fork. We are also extending a credit to the consumer through the bike shop as compensation for the change in value from carbon to steel. For more details of the recall, please contact the dealer you purchased your Hyland or carbon fork from.

Beginning now, all Hyland complete bikes are coming with Civia steel forks. Pricing has been adjusted accordingly so that now Alfine builds are retailing for $1,575 and Rohloff builds for $3,250.

Louis
03-16-2010, 08:53 PM
Given how long well-designed CF forks have been used without any problems this has to be a design / manufacturing problem, not a problem due to the material.

AndrewS
03-16-2010, 08:54 PM
I don't really care for carbon, but reliable carbon forks have been around for 20 years. Too bad Hyland couldn't afford or whatever to buy a better carbon fork to replace their not so good one.

Does anyone remember when we liked the dampening and low weight of aluminum forks? We must have all been on drugs.

gdw
03-16-2010, 08:57 PM
Trolling again Eddy?

eddief
03-16-2010, 09:08 PM
this sounds negative and i don't see anything negative about my posting. please flame me with the correct spelling of my name.

AndrewS
03-16-2010, 09:13 PM
One could also read this recall as a vote against disc brakes, rather than fork material.

eddief
03-16-2010, 09:24 PM
"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."

Now I get what I was accused of.

I did change the title to take the Grant Peterson emotion out of the thread. I know he is a polarizing figure.

bicycletricycle
03-16-2010, 09:44 PM
right? you can smash steel a lot more times with your krytonite lock before it takes a dump. Im sure it will be possible to make a replacement fork for these bikes that wont fail under normal braking forces, but why? is the small amount of weight savings worth the worry? I dont know if steel is actually the realist material but its pretty darn good.

gdw
03-16-2010, 09:55 PM
Eddie,
I sent you a pm. Your post wasn't malicious, just mentioning Grant and Carbon in the title, edited, tends to stir folks up.

AndrewS
03-17-2010, 12:28 AM
Thinking about this thread reminded me of the massive steel fork on my early '90s Giant ATX mountain bike. It was also recalled for a series of failures, despite being a stout design executed by one of the best manufacturers.