Two Wheel Blogs

May be it should be titled "life of carbon". The real question is when do you replace those expensive carbon bits on your bike that cost you a fortune?

There are several schools of thought that I have encountered over the years.

When forks for road bikes first were offered with carbon steerers, I recall a recommendation to replace said forks annually. Others recommend replacement of carbon structural parts (such as forks and handle bars) immediately after a crash. The last group I encountered (I am omitting a few) say replace when cracks are visible upon close inspection, or when a crunchy sound can be heard while flexing the part.

Why do I ask? Well now that my wounds are healing enough to consider the condition of my bike, I am forced to make some decisions (with my LBS wrench).

The really sad thing is that almost everything on this bike is new...and damaged. I can reuse a lot of things with little concern such as pedals, deraillers (if they are not too bent), etc. But what about the fork and handle bars?

It is a fairly simple decision to replace the parts that are not functioning correctly, but what do you do about those that are scratched up, but otherwise "look" OK....but they are those that you depend on heavily every time you go down a hill or enter a curve?

I think I might have some mental scars from this crash too. I am not sure I want to have any worries about my equipment, but it is not like I can order up a complete new bike, nor do I want to give up the bike I have molded and built into my dream. I say "my dream" because this bike is like an extension of me (it is not all carbon, but "life-form" seems to fit)

I am pretty conflicted right now...I have some thinking to do.