Advice after a crash

[AyBee]

I was involved in a crash on Friday after some idiot cut across me turning right from the opposite direction of travel to me (his excuse being "it's early, I didn't see you"). I hit the side of his car and went over my handlebars but am alright apart from a few minor cuts and bruises. I've checked the bike out and there appears to be no damage (apart from the standard bent hoods ), however, I have carbon forks (which would have taken the majority of the impact) and for which I can't tell if they're actually damaged or not. Any thoughts about their condition welcomed, is it worth getting them replaced for the sake of safety? The bike is a 2010 Langster.

Thanks, AyBee.

[GBDG]

Take it to your LBS to be inspected. Any repair should be paid by other parties insurance.

[AyBee]

GBDG said:

Take it to your LBS to be inspected. Any repair should be paid by other parties insurance.

When you say "inspect", what would this involve given we're talking about carbon?

[khushy]

GBDG said:

Take it to your LBS to be inspected. Any repair should be paid by other parties insurance.

LOL - would you seriously "trust" your LBS to inspect your forks?

Front end damage of any consequence will usually result in wheel damage of some kind, if you are worried about the forks In the absence of wheel damage - change em - simple - trust your own judgement, because until YOU trust your forks, you will not feel very comfortable riding it again.

Khushy

[anonymous-user]

Would be surprised if the shop make a judgement as they could then be liable if the forks fail in the future ie they say they look fine, you ride away then they crack and you're injured. You should be able to see if there is any damage to the carbon, cracks etc, and if the integrity of the weave is compromised. New forks can be had for less than hundred pounds, seems like a no brainer to me if its their money?!

[AyBee]

pablo said:

Would be surprised if the shop make a judgement as they could then be liable if the forks fail in the future ie they say they look fine, you ride away then they crack and you're injured. You should be able to see if there is any damage to the carbon, cracks etc, and if the integrity of the weave is compromised. New forks can be had for less than hundred pounds, seems like a no brainer to me if its their money?!

I guess my main question surrounds whether the current forks are likely to be fine and could be inspected, or whether it's worth pushing for a new set of forks.

[anonymous-user]

Only you know the force and the nature of the impact but for safety I'd not risk it. Glad you are ok too :-)

[AyBee]

pablo said:

Only you know the force and the nature of the impact but for safety I'd not risk it. Glad you are ok too :-)

Thanks, I'm not entirely sure what hit what unfortunately, he cut across, I tried to avoid whilst braking heavily and then headed over the bars not really watching what hit what. The forks don't look damaged but the two shops I've spoken to have stated that they wouldn't be able to tell without x-raying (which I imagine is probably more expensive than the forks). Has anybody any experience of getting items replaced through insurance after a crash, I assume I'd need a bike shop to state that the forks were damaged and needed replacing before the insurance company (theirs) would swallow the costs?

[daz3210]

AyBee said:

Thanks, I'm not entirely sure what hit what unfortunately, he cut across, I tried to avoid whilst braking heavily and then headed over the bars not really watching what hit what. The forks don't look damaged but the two shops I've spoken to have stated that they wouldn't be able to tell without x-raying (which I imagine is probably more expensive than the forks). Has anybody any experience of getting items replaced through insurance after a crash, I assume I'd need a bike shop to state that the forks were damaged and needed replacing before the insurance company (theirs) would swallow the costs?

In general terms you have a duty to mitigate your losses. That basically means spend as little as possible while putting yourself back as was.

Two ways of doing things are:-

1. Pay for repairs yourself, keep receipts, old parts etc etc, get a written detail of what was required and why from the repairer, then pursue the repair as a small claim. This will probably get you mobile again quicker.

2. Speak to the other blokes insurance and see how they wish to proceed. Will take longer, but at least way forward will be agreed in advance of you shelling out any money.

[SixtySpeedTwin]

You often cant tell is a carbon structure is damaged from the outside as it can delaminate between layers internally. This is especially the case on curved components which many carbon forks are although mine are pretty straight.
Xray will work but really it isnt worth it for the money involved.
I have designed loads of CF components and if they were my forks i would be replacing them, when it goes its rarely a nice ductile failure.

Realistically the forks are probably less than the drivers excess so they may just pay up if you get a proforma invoice from your LBS. I had my rear wheel and tape replace by a driver when i got punted off.

Sorry to be the voice of doom

[daz3210]

But drivers usually have no excess for third party claims only.

BUt it will affect no claims

[AyBee]

SixtySpeedTwin said:

You often cant tell is a carbon structure is damaged from the outside as it can delaminate between layers internally. This is especially the case on curved components which many carbon forks are although mine are pretty straight.
Xray will work but really it isnt worth it for the money involved.
I have designed loads of CF components and if they were my forks i would be replacing them, when it goes its rarely a nice ductile failure.

Realistically the forks are probably less than the drivers excess so they may just pay up if you get a proforma invoice from your LBS. I had my rear wheel and tape replace by a driver when i got punted off.

Sorry to be the voice of doom

Unfortunately he didn't give me his details at the scene so I am going to have to go to his insurance as my only option (I guess he probably should have looked and been fully awake before getting in the car!). I'm leaning towards getting the forks replaced given that I can't imagine it would be much cheaper to send the forks away to be x-rayed, I just need somewhere to state that the forks need replacing.

[Simond S]

I would be changing the forks and also the headset. Neither is designed to do a hard stop.

the old "what price safety" is never more relevant then when travelling along at 30 or 40 mph with nothing but a piece of thin clothing between you and a lot of pain.

What may look fine could be weakened and the next stress it encounters could be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Also, did your helmet come into contact with his car, if so look for any damage to it internally or externally. I saw a helmet on Sunday that looked fine on the outside, but had fine cracks throughout the foam.

[AyBee]

No idea about the helmet unfortunately, I don't really remember what hit what since it was so sudden, he pulled across at the last second so it was a case of pull brakes as hard as possible, brace myself for impact and hope for the best. I'm currently trying to get hold of cctv which I think will have the accident recorded but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get it.

[rhinochopig]

To detect any form of structural damage you'll need to x-ray or possible some type of ultrasound may be possible these days.

Given the consequences of failure - they're a safety critical component after-all - simply present the insurance company with option of either formal NDE testing or replacement.

Given how much NDE chaps charge by the hour new forks will be their preferred option.

[JuniorD]

You just don't know what damage was caused and when it will manifest itself. Why not try making a claim for a replacement bike. I should think that paying you a grand to go away would be in his interests, considering that you could well bring a dangerous driving charge down on him.