I have a set of carbon exotic mtb forks and there is a tiny crack in the steerer which is aluminium. The crack runs around the tube about 2cm and has gone up and down (at right angles) very slightly. Width wise (vertically up the tube) it is incredibly small and you wouldn’t really see it without checking very carefully.

Now when I ride it whenever I brake hard it sounds like the headset is loose with a knocking sound and its incredibly annoying. I actually rode the fork like this for a while buts been retired for almost 18 months now.

Short of buying a new fork is there anything I can do about the crack? Its about half way down the steerer tube and even with a bolt through it still cracks.

😯

There is not a big enough barge pole I’d use to touch those! I hope you’ve got dental insurance!

For the love of god get new forks.

this is probably one of those rare occasions when the correct answer is;

‘Not only will you die but those forks may well cause your death’

If you know the crack is there, its going to play on your mind when you ride, that for me, would be enough of a reason to replace them 😉

Bin them.

Or give them to someone you really don’t like.

cut them up, or

give them to someone you really don’t like

You knew the answer before you made this post 8) The “crack” you can see is only the part of the defect that has broken the surface. It’s time not only to retire the affected part but also to destroy it & make sure it can never fall into unsuspecting hands.

All IMO of course.

D.

I had a pair of forks crack at the base of the steerer. I didn’t notice.

I was riding along an easy sustrans like trail. No idea what happened as I lost at least 45 mins of memory. But I was riding along then carrying a bike with the forks only attached by the brake cable.

I had no bruises but a dent in the front of my helmet and mud on the end of the bar ends. i think was lucky not to have have been permanently injured or killed.

i won’t bother telling you what I think you should do…..

Well, it’s a nice antidote to the “is this a crack or a sticker” threads…

If you are going to ride them sell all your other gear first as it will help with the funeral costs!!!!

My brother is testament to catastrophic front end failures. He was riding a bike that had been in the family since about 1987; it was all original including the Cinelli 1a stem, which, I kid you not, snapped clean in half as he was cranking the bike on a fast stretch of road 😯

He managed to keep his own teeth and the scars healed well, but he was a mess for a few months.

Been there without knowing about the crack, me a mess and out for ages, bike right off. Mate managed not to hurt himself at all when he went over me and the car behind just missed us both.

Troll, surely?!

Anyway, on the off-chance that this is actually a serious question, don’t be a kn0b. They WILL snap, and it WILL hurt.

I had a set of RST suspension forks back-in-the-day, they developed a steerer crack underneath the crown race and snapped clean off above the crown one day when I hopped off a kerb (classic bike shop explanation for a dubious warranty claim, but actually true in this case).

Result? 2 shattered front teeth, a fractured cheekbone and a broken nose.

It’s up to you.

Oh, post the pics when you get out of hospital please 🙂

No its not a troll and I’m not planning to ride them as is. Hence why I was asking if there is a way to fix them. Whilst a lot of responses are very funny (and helpful) theres some big assumptions the crack is massive. Its not actually gone all the way through the tube even and never got worse in the time I had it before. When I had to use it (due to not having funds for new ones) I used a headlock so if it did fail it wouldn’t send me tarmac surfing.

I was wondering if theres any way to replace the steerer but as they are Exotics I doubt its possible.

If it had gone all round the tube, surely you’d have a set of forks with a very short steerer and a tube? It can’t be worth it under any circumstances can it?

Natural selection at work, continue as you are 🙄

you will die or be seriously maimed. Thats a massive crack.

Can you post a pic of the crack? (as it were) I’m quite interested!

Fixing them by reinforcing the inside of the tube would be the only way to strengthen it. you have to bridge across the crack which won’t be very easy. I guess you could bond a hefty great steel tube down the centre. Your lightweight forks will weigh a ton, but belt and braces is the only way (or not at all). In summary, trying to repair the damage is crazy, don’t bother.

can you replace the uppers? Probably won’t be cheap, and maybe the original design is flawed or is designed for featherweights only, so it may just crack again

It’s madness really, bin them.

Its not actually gone all the way through the tube even and never got worse in the time I had it before.

I hesitate to make another post on this after clearly outlining what I thought in the first one. Are you in any way qualified to make that statement ? Crack (surface breaking defect) formation & propagation is a highly specialised field 8) I can tell you from experience that the surface indication that you’re seeing with the naked eye probably doesn’t reflect what’s underneath.

The use of a headlock may mitigate against the forks dropping out of the headtube, but this may leave you with the steerer in two bits & the handlebar turning a short length of fractured steerer tube.

I’m a cautious person & would take the discovery of a visible crack as a heads-up that the component had come (prematurely) to the end of it’s service life. Especially considering the consequences of this as a single point of failure.

D.

If you can actually see a crack in Ali , it’s already way to far gone to ride.

This happened on the flat bit at the top of the Cwmcarn DH…

It’s up to you what you do with your steerer…

Rachel

Had the steerer break on a pair of RC31’s years ago – not an experience to be recommended!

You’ll be fine

Once again – I’m not planning to ride them. My original question was whether or not there is any way to replace the steerer. Also I am well aware that a small crack will always propagate out into a larger crack and eventually failure hence why I said I wont be riding them. At the moment I have a horrible Steel fork I am using.

Unfortunately the crack is around half way down the headtube on an inbred….so if anyone wants a pair of carbon forks with an 80mm steerer tube I’m your man. 😆

Had a similar failure to allthegear….very strange feeling flying through the air holding a bar that is attached to the bike by brake cables. Mine left a sharp jagged spike, which thankfully I soared right over the top of. Bin them.

What would have caused ms gear’s steerer failure? I can see why a fork would break at the crown but there’s not a lot going on at the top.
Some sort of fangled nut issue?
Some of my forks are over 10 years old does a steerer have a life span?
Scared now!

Cut them up and lob the bits into the neighbours garden.

What would have caused ms gear’s steerer failure? I can see why a fork would break at the crown but there’s not a lot going on at the top.
Some sort of fangled nut issue?
Ps scared now!

I’d say possibly the stem’s been way over torqued.

Even though I have a torque wrench I still like to tighten to near bolt snappage.
Is this an example of poor design? Splined steerers would be good.

>I was wondering if theres any way to replace the steerer but as they are Exotics I doubt its possible.<

Like everyone above my first instinct would be to cease riding with them and destroy the component. The Steerer will be bonded in but even if it were replaceable the fork blades themselves could have issues for all you know. Just take them to your friendly LBS, hear it from the horses mouth so to speak, then buy yourself a new set of forks 😉

Windwave have replaced steerers on marzocchi forks for me a few times.
They may be worth a call,not sure how your forks are constructed.

Okay so what now…

I imagine carbon forks make a reasonable replacement for bombers. The idea of a carbon tube shattering into a million pieces around your face sounds suitably unpleasant 😯