Skorp Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 Hey i have personally never broken any forks, but last month a friend of mine broke his SL at the steerer crown. I thought that it was purely because the Sl's beeing light..But i have thought abit about this. The ride before, his headset was really loose. So i tighten it alot. Way more than needed, but the steering was still smooth. Could this be the reason his forks broke? Could this be the reason to many fork failures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 I wouldn´t bet on it...But I expect Adam to add some more scientific info to this topic LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorp Posted April 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 (edited) Why not Ash- kennard? The headset tension bolt is actually pulling the steerertube with quite alot of force..I think thats the difference from having a SL fork for 2 months or 2years Edited April 28, 2012 by Skorp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the mysterious leemur Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 Echo SL forks ? SNAP HAPPY ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorp Posted April 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 (edited) I know.. Thats not what im asking for. The headset he uses is a Echo SL. You can tighthen them ALOT before they get harder to steer. So i guess somthing like 5nm torque on the bolt is ok. Then everything is tightly fitted. The stem, headcap, stackers, bearings and crowns are compressed allittle. My guess is you could easily torque the bolt to 15-20nm withouth notice any differance on the steering itself. Altough, the difference in linear force the headset bolt makes on the steerertube would be huge compared to 5nm, and would make it snap alot easier... thats my theory atleast. Edited April 28, 2012 by Skorp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
err Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 i'd say that the star nut would pull out of the steerer way before things got tight enough to damage the forks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradJohnson Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 I blame you, you owe your friend some new forks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 i'd say that the star nut would pull out of the steerer way before things got tight enough to damage the forks This. EDIT: Well, either that or your headset would break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorp Posted April 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) I'm offcourse not talking about pulling the steerertube out by tightening the headset too much.. I talk about the pullingforce the bolt makes on the steerertube. this force, will in my eyes give the steerertube more stress and a crack will occur much faster if the headset is tightned excessive.. Just think about whats the factors here, and not just think that a SL fork cracks anyways.. Edited April 29, 2012 by Skorp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolver Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 I think having a tightened headset for one ride isn't going to cause much damage compared to riding with the forks for however long he had them before. It's a coincidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorp Posted April 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 Yeah, thats probably true.. but what about over time? Its a quite big torque difference on a SL headset from "tight" until it doesent roll properly. If you just tighten the headset bolt as much as possible, and not just as much as needed, my guess is that the steerertube would have several 100kg's more tension than you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 If you want to believe you snapped his forks, feel free - you seem to want to! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorp Posted April 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) I dont care about his forks.. i care abouth the physics involved here, and i think that this might be something to consider when tightening your headset. Because i'm a heavy rider. I weight 220lbs, and i have used Neon snap happy forks for some time now without problems. Hooks and up to front alot .. Altough, my friend who is somthing like 160lbs, he broke his neon fork in no time.. Why is this then? We ride on the same stuff, ride just as much? but he's alot smaller than me, and breaks more forks The guy with the broken SL's boorowed a fork from me until he got a new one. I'm not going to buy new parts if something breaks just after i help somone with their bike. Edited April 29, 2012 by Skorp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolver Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 Maybe you're more smooth than him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Dark Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 I dont care about his forks.. i care abouth the physics involved here, and i think that this might be something to consider when tightening your headset. Because i'm a heavy rider. I weight 220lbs, and i have used Neon snap happy forks for some time now without problems. Hooks and up to front alot .. Altough, my friend who is somthing like 160lbs, he broke his neon fork in no time.. Why is this then? We ride on the same stuff, ride just as much? but he's alot smaller than me, and breaks more forks The guy with the broken SL's boorowed a fork from me until he got a new one. I'm not going to buy new parts if something breaks just after i help somone with their bike. more aggressive technique, isnt as smooth maybe? or... trials components aren't the highest quality in the world of cycling so the strength probably isn't all that consistent? Maybe he got a couple of " bad" forks with minor defects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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