I am not sure about this. Getting about 50/50 yey or nay on it.
Trying to fit mudguards onto a CX bike with carbon forks that are not designed for it. I had anticipated dealing with the dropouts and that’s fine but its the fork crown that has caught me. This is the first fork I have met with no hole running vertically . Hadn’t even given it a thought to be honest. Usually with a hole I used a star nut or even a cork and a screw but here I have nothing. Cable ties work but are not pretty.
Several local shop have suggested drilling a small, say 3mm hole vertically and using a small screw into the carbon. One suggested backing this up with a bit of Velcro.
I did think of Velcro by itself but I doesn’t inspire confidence.
My gut reaction is that the drilling shouldn’t be an issue as I bet that the fork has no hole purely to make a nice smooth surface to prevent mud being caught.
The thought of wrecking an expensive fork has kept the drilling in the drawer so far.
Anyone done it or willing to cast an opinion?

We use an industrial strength Velcro at work that can be a struggle to separate but the name escapes me. Possibly some kind of 3M? It’s not the usual hook and hoop kind, think more stickle brick.

Dual Lock ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/25mm-Black-SJ3540-Dual-Lock/dp/B004AQFBE0

Aha

Rivnut installation is the answer. Tools are surprisingly cheap browsing Amazon. I’d have no worries about drilling the rear of a carbon fork. I’d be worried that a self-tapping screw into carbon would work loose with the vibration (and there is a lot of vibration from mudguards).

Got a rivnut tool but my experience is that they are fairly tough and was wondering if it would be overkill. Was thinking of drilling vertically up from below. Partly for looks and partly as it seemed less drastic and likely to affect anything structural.

I’d have no issues drilling vertically into a steerer. Having seen the Giant World Cup Mechanics drilling a carbon Anthem to provide extra cable stops, just got the Dewalt out, randomly selected a place on the frame, drilled and whacked in a rivet. JD.

Self tapper would be a big no.

tbh drilling and rivnutting should be fine but it would void your warranty. Overtime its a bad idea due to corrosion but it doesnt seem to bother most frame manufacturers.

It is a fork though so pretty much the most highly stressed part of the bike so I would glue something in place. Get a decent epoxy, abrade the surfaces to be bonded, clean with IPA and then bond something you can mount the mudguard too.

Or find some mudguards that are designed to fit a different way.

andyl +1. Yes it’s probably OK to drill the fork, but I prefer not to drill carbon, as you break the fibres and weaken it more than you’d expect. No reason to when glue works so well. TBH you probably don’t even need to do that – high strength “velcro” tends to have high strength adhesive.

Got some super Velcro on order. Can’t see me wasting good beer on leaning the fork though.
Warranty! Its a Planet X we are talking about!

Make sure you put some PU (aka heli) tape anywhere the mud guard can rub or potentially rub or trap mud as it will eat through the fork in no time. Velcro will allow a lot more movement than bolted so even more important in this case.

allthepies – Member
Dual Lock ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/25mm-Black-SJ3540-Dual-Lock/dp/B004AQFBE0

That’s the tackle!

That’s the stuff I have coming.

Use as big a piece as possible. It really is grippy stuff though.