[Bangkok Biker]

I recently did the RAGBRAI, put my bike in a bike bag and flew back to Bangkok. When I unloaded my bike, the front wheel had a bent spoke. So I took it into the bike shop, there they discovered that front fork was cracked. Upon further examination, it appears that both sides of the fork have a similar "crack." Could it be that it's where a joint is and the paint has just been chipped away? I've included a couple of photos of the crack. Do you think that it is safe to continue riding the bike? (BTW, I ride a Giant OCR.)

Thanks so much.

 

[ire]

You can always sand the paint back to inspect the crack....I say buy a new one to be safe. If that fork breaks at speed you'll be in the hospital with bills a lot larger than a new fork.

 

[loco-gringo]

If you won't jump from a moving vehicle at 30 mph, don't ride the fork. If you will, do what you will. It's insane to ride damaged controls on any bike, but especially on the road bike. Sorry it's busted, but please don't take chances.

 

[splat]

I wouldn't ride it.

 

[maddog17]

is that a carbon fork? it's possible you may have a failure where the dropout is inserted into the fork blade. if you sand the paint off you may get your answer. either cracked or just the paint failed at that seam.