Help! Need a lawyer - fork failure

[al_yrpal]

From the look of these photographs you can see quite clearly the original crack as a crescent shaped darker area (I think) which has resulted in a classic cup and cone fracture at what appears ro be a change in section. This would seem to indicate a pre existing crack. A metalurgical lab would have machines to check hardness. I would seek help from a professional, first checking the metalurgical aspects. If this is clearly a substandard component, then take it up with whoever sold it to seek financial redress. A steerer should not snap like this, but only close examination from a lab can confirm if there has been a faulty manufacturing process that wasnt spotted.

Al

[g00se]

Blimey - it makes you realise the forces involved.

One odd thing though - where's the crown race? I'd be surprised if that was ripped of in the collapse. The crown race is slid down the steerer and has a very tight interference fit over the thinker section (the sleeve as you put it). You normally have to force these on with a special 'punch'. It is the bearing race that the bottom bearing in the head tube sits on.

Maybe it's just hard to make out from the photo - but it looks like it's missing.

[filiasphil]

Agree with previous posts that an indepedent engineer's report will be needed on the cause of the failure.
The claim would be under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 against the "producer" of the product (as defined) and / or the importer and / or possibly the "person" who supplied the product (in certain circumstances).
I'm a catastrophic personal injury solicitor and would be happy to chat with you / your friend. Could you PM me?

[dave holladay]

That is an aluminium alloy fork and in the initial photo there is a scratch on the upper section which matches a small triangular patch of a differnt colour to the surrounding fracture. From the look of the fracture the crack has been developing over a period as only about a third of the section (area) was intact at the final point of failure. I have a hunch that this scratch may well be linked to the initial crack but would reserve the opinion on this given that I'm only looking at remote pictures and it has been some years since I worked in a materials testing lab.

Aluminium alloy is not a good material for getting knocked about as the grain boundaries are weak and do not resist the growth of cracks, this means that stress raisers like scratches and nicks in a highly stressed part of the bike can rapidly develop into a crack. Did the steering bearings ever need adjustment (slack/sloppy or even notchy/stiff?). The discoloured/partly oxidised faces of the crack will show how far the failure had progressed before catastrophic failure, and the way the different faces meet will help an expert describe the process more accurately than I can here. I note a serial number on the steerer tube, and given the safety critical detail of steerer failure I suspect that the manufacturer will have a record of the batch if not the individual part. Do carefully preserve the parts. What happened to the lower bearing (upper and lower races balls/cage etc) Markings on these and other detail might also provide clues on the initial cause that started the fracture.

I had a set of Brompton forks, after the abuse of possibly 15 or more years, where the brazing between steerer and fork crown completely separated in a clean failure (not a fracture of the steel parts, and it was well rusted), and was discovered when I could not get the steering to stop being sloppy. Removing the forks to check, I then removed the front brake, and as I pulled the bolt through the forks fell off the steerer tube (only held together by the brake bolt). Through their marking up process Brompton were able to track who had made the forks and approximately when - narrowing the detail to a batch/build date. Steel does have a big advantage over aluminium in that it is a dirty and carbon filled version of Iron, with the carbon and other alloyed material delivering crack-stopping grain boundaries and slow, gentle failures. My aluminium failures have been sudden - snapped cranks (broken ribs) and snapped bars, and so I now use steel cranks and bars in preference. Steel frame failures have been relatively slow, tearing fractures, allowing me to dismount (and swear a bit) Carbon frames potentially disintegrate, aluminium ones can fatigue and fracture more easily (and steel can be repaired with some very basic facilities).

[JohnW]

A lot of good stuff has been said above, by people who know a lot more than I do - a lot, lot more, but I just have three comments :

First is that I've seen some failures down the years, but never anything like that - and some thing so new - and so little used.

Second - and there'll be some mocking responses to this, but "steel is real".

And thirdly, why not identify the manufacturer and model. In the plain and simple telling of the truth then there's no harm and nothing illegal. If we know, then others who may have the same/identical frame are warned to check their own - it may save a life, and prospective buyers are warned. That surely is one of the functions, purposes and benefits of a forum of members.

If this was a car, the DfT would be informed, there'd be a recall and publicity ad nauseum.

(If this gets reported as having been edited three times, it is due to my repeated bad grammar!!!!)

[Ambler]

Terrible event.
I agree with John W, the maker should be named.
As he says, might save a life or serious injury.

[Edwards]

These are the two images I have that show the each side of the break. The steerer tube appears to have been bonded into the shinier metal sleeve (that is in turn bonded to the fork crown) with a plug or join of mouldable alloy of some sort, this is what fractured.

fork crown-low-res.jpg

steerer tube-lowres.jpg

No, I don't think the headset had been overtightened - my friend isn't the type to get spanners out for fun, and the bike shop that sold and serviced it are a very reputable East London independent, so I doubt they would have done so. It was bought new.

I'm pretty certain it has never been crashed into anything, it's just a commuting bike, used at most for 8 miles a day on London roads.

Thanks for the advice on how to proceed - we've photographed the bike and kept everything related to its purchase. Getting legal advice next week.

I do not know if it camera Angle but one side of the tubing looks thicker than the other and the structure of the metal does not seem to be consistent.

I am not surprised that the company would make an offer for personal injuries as the claim is most likley to be passed on to their insurers.
I would advise against naming the company until you have spoken to a solicitor and they say you can. It just might prejudice your case at this stage.

[jonbott]

damn,makes me think about my rusting forks on my daily work bike eek