Specialized Parody Ad

TTTEParody posted a Specialized Parody Ad on YouTube with a reference to BustedCarbon.com at the end. I'm famous.

Barry Wicks' Carbon Bars

On Stage 4 of the BC Bike Race, Barry Wicks managed to crash hard 2km from the end of the stage, breaking his carbon bars, but still managed to win the stage and the race. Thanks to Normon fot the photo.

Cannondale Moto

From Sam:

I have a cannondale moto carbon bike, and I found suspected ‘CRACK’ or could be simple painting problems on both side of main pivot links.

Plz check photos…..

Hard to tell from the photos, but it definitely doesn't look right.

More Broken Bars

From Luke:

I was puttering -- 8 KM/H if that -- down a 1 1/2 meter gravel embankment when my front wheel washed out and down I went. Basically I just toppled over. Having hopped clear before the bike became acquainted with gravel (visible inside the bar on some photos), there was no weight on the carbon bar other than the bike's at the time of the impact. Astonishing that such an innocuous spill could result in such a failure. Or perhaps not. I'm grateful that the bar's demise didn't come under more painful circumstances.

I've since reconsidered the merits of carbon components where recreational and utilitarian cycling is concerned. No wonder.

Carbon and downtube shifters is a pairing you don't see too often.

Another car bike rack casualty

From David:

My Specialized S-Works Tarmac didn't fair so well against Grandma's carport.

Cavendished Wheel

From Joe:

Attached is my effort at recreating the recent Mark Cavendish crash in our club crit last night (Ormeau park, Belfast, Northern Ireland). Actually, I didn't even get the chance at a of reckless sprint. Rather a case of some loose gravel on a tight corner and me sliding into a kerb. First lap too, ragin!

Look 585

From Humphr via Twitter:

@bustedcarbon here's some from last nights racing http://twitpic.com/1lbwxv Look 585 I think

HiFi 29er

Rafal sent me a photo of what I think is a Gary Fisher HiFi 29er.

I heard a pop in back of the bike but proceed to ride it for about another 10 seconds. Until Jeremy yelled at me to stop and check the wheel. I though it I have broken several spokes but no this was the end result.

Read the full story on his blog. My wife has the same bike, and she broke the rear triangle as well, but in a different location. Gary Fisher did warranty hers, and she even got him to sign it.

Before & After

From John of fastacraft.com:

I have a small business that specializes in carbon fibre processing. Lately we have begun doing repairs to bikes when possible. This one belongs to a friend Karl who for forgot it was on the roof of his car when he drove into an underground car park. Before and after repair.

Steerer Tube Failures: Trek Responds

After a rash of steerer tube failures, Trek has responded blaming incompatible stems and incorrect installation. Trek advises:

1) Always use a torque wrench, and never over-tighten stem clamp bolts.
2) Always use spacers above and below the stem. Although less obvious than correct torque, a minimum of 5mm and a maximum of 40mm spacers under the steerer, plus a 5mm spacer above the stem are required. Riders should factor in these spacers when sizing their bike.
3) Use only the stem brand and model that came with the bike, because not all stems will work with carbon steerers. Often the lighter the stem, the less chance it will be compatible with a carbon steerer. Weight-relieving cutouts on the stem clamp and steerer interface can create stress risers.

You can read the full article on VeloNews. I'd rather just have a slightly heavier bike and be able to change my stem without fear of crashing.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

This video has just started making the rounds. Impressive trials riding on a carbon road bike. While I'm impressed the bike survives all the abuse, I don't recommend it unless somebody else is paying for your bikes.

Huge Crash @ Tour of Switzerland

Big crash at the tour of Switzerland yesterday. Heinrich Haussler rides over Mark Cavendish's wheel and it folds, causing them and others to crash. Video and story.

Origin 8

From Chuck:

[Here is] a picture of my broken Origin 8 frame. It broke during this year's Lake Sunapee road race in NH. There was a huge crash in the Cat 4 race and I was in the middle of it. My friend, who was right next to me, ended up with 8 broken ribs! I was fine as I just landed on somebody else but my bike didn't do so well.

It sucks to break a bike, but breaking the body always sucks more.

JRA: Broken Raleigh Frame

A scary story from Brian:

I recently had an accident on my Raleigh in which my carbon frame broke, which caused my crash. I was going about 30mph down a hill and there was a sharp transition going uphill at the bottom. As soon as I started braking at the uphill my frame snapped and I went flying into the woods. I was fortunate I didn't hit the concrete, but still came out with several head injuries. There were no stress cracks, no dents, nothing wrong with the frame as I had just had it fully serviced and picked it up three hours prior to the accident.

These are the type of failures that made me start this blog. You can't tell me steel, aluminum or titanium fails like this.

Fork Fail

Here's one from Samuel:

Here's a picture of my late 90s carbon trek after the front fork snapped off. I was biking up Market Street in San Francisco when it happened. No train tracks, no pot holes... just catastrophic failure :-) Luckily, I was going pretty slow, so there were only minor scratches and bumps as I hit the pavement.

This was an aftermarket fork, which was on the bike when I bought it. I've been riding this bike hard through SF and Oakland for 3+ years, so I am not surprised it failed. Looks like an old design where the carbon was glued to an aluminum bracket. The carbon popped off at this junction.

Even if a fork is old, I'd rather the legs didn't pop off. I've seen modern forks fail in the same way, so I'm not sure this is a solved problem.