Carbon failure at Tour du Doubs sprint

[Veloo]

Speaking of unexpected, catastrophic carbon failure...

Believe his name is Simon Pellaud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=XiQLizWRj1I

[tv_vt]

Snapped fork steerer tube from the looks of it. Yikes.

[benb]

That really looked like it happened up by the stem... makes me wonder if there was something weird going on like a stem that didn't fit right and was pinching the tube, or a headset cap not installed to spec.

From the description I was expecting to see a video of it failing down by the fork crown. Super scary either way!

[kgreene10]

I could be mistaken, but didn’t a Trek service bulletin tell shops/consumers to add a 5mm spacer under the stem because of similar failures? No ill will toward Trek intended if I’m wrong about that.

[tctyres]

Looking at that frame by frame, timing wise, it happens at the first zebra stripe crosswalk in the background. He's basically trying to keep it upright after he leans into the bars for the first time.

My reaction was the same as the audience, "Oooo ..."

[benb]

Originally Posted by kgreene10

I could be mistaken, but didn’t a Trek service bulletin tell shops/consumers to add a 5mm spacer under the stem because of similar failures? No ill will toward Trek intended if I’m wrong about that.

Yah they did, but was that a Trek he was riding? I can't tell what kind of bike it is.

I make sure to keep spacers on both sides of my stem on my Domane, and I am reluctant to put anything but a Bontrager stem on it. Partly cause of these style of warnings.

The dealer insisted you could jack the bars to the very top of the steerer and that was safe but Trek doesn't seem to think so.

[unterhausen]

does anyone other than Bianchi use Bianchi blue?

[teleguy57]

Bianche. Bike sponsor on the jersey too.

Rider's expression frame by frame is something else. Determination?

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

does anyone other than Bianchi use Bianchi blue?

I agree. That is clearly celeste.

To the larger point, sucks for the rider, amazed how long he kept the inevitable from happening, almost certainly an installation error just like the Hincapie thing. (Wasn't Hincapie on an aluminum steerer though?)

[Burnette]

You could see his handlebars oscillate up and down before the failure.

I wonder how long of a stem he was using. Some pros like a long stem, some even slope downward. That puts a lot of pressure at the point of failure.

If I remember right it was a thing some time ago to ride a bike one size smaller and jack up the seat tube and stretch out the stem.

[pasadena]

It was a Bianchi, and he posted he is fine, no serious injury thank goodness.
Steerer snapped but the reasons could be many.
Good reminder to stay within torque specs and good practices when assembling your bike.

[Burnette]

Another take on the incident:

https://youtu.be/NQJUSZeJE8A

[colker]

Originally Posted by Burnette

You could see his handlebars oscillate up and down before the failure.

I wonder how long of a stem he was using. Some pros like a long stem, some even slope downward. That puts a lot of pressure at the point of failure.

If I remember right it was a thing some time ago to ride a bike one size smaller and jack up the seat tube and stretch out the stem.

Huh? Is the stem length the problem? Problem is in design: carbon steerer x aheadset.

[Burnette]

Originally Posted by colker

Huh? Is the stem length the problem? Problem is in design: carbon steerer x aheadset.

Oh, I have no idea, I was just pointing out that some pros use long stems angled down and slammed. That puts a lot of pressure right where this bike broke, at the steerer.

[colker]

Originally Posted by Burnette

Oh, I have no idea, I was just pointing out that some pros use long stems angled down and slammed. That puts a lot of pressure right where this bike broke, at the steerer.

Irony being: equipment is validated at these pro racing events. Teams have the best mechanics and manufacturer´s support. When things break the math in people´s minds is: equipment is no good.
The high wattage these racers put out tests parts to the limit. It should not break.