Just bought a used bike and as I took it apart I saw this indentation on the carbon. I’m brand new to this hobby and trying to learn, I’m not sure if it’s damaged. Should I ask for my money back? Thanks
That kinda looks like someone rode with a loose headset and it damaged the fork.
betasp on
It’s definitely worn from what was a bad bearing.
But tbh, I would fix the bearing and would ride it. But that’s my opinion and don’t care if others disagree. It’s fine if they do.
Gullible_Raspberry78 on
That’s a design feature that is there to make sure your forks break before your wrists do when you hit a pothole. Sort of like a “crumple zone” on a car.
dae-dreamer on
Previous owner rode with a loose headset. This causes the headset bearings to rattle around and slowly wear away the carbon.
The fork steerer tube won’t be as strong as when it was manufactured as a result of the wear.
Johnny12679 on
That’s called “the ring of death” and it is indeed caused by a worn upper bearing that ate its way into the carbon. Although the name is a bit dramatic it’s not something to just simply ignore. Even with new headset bearings the fork will always have some play and it will get gradually worse, eventually resulting in a broken steerer tube (will probably take thousands of kms, no immediate risk here). You don’t want that to happen while riding.
You got unlucky in the second hand bike market bingo. Contacting the seller seems like the right thing to do. If you plan on riding this bike a lot for years I’d look into finding a replacement fork or have it reinforced by a carbon specialist.
5 Comments
That kinda looks like someone rode with a loose headset and it damaged the fork.
It’s definitely worn from what was a bad bearing.
But tbh, I would fix the bearing and would ride it. But that’s my opinion and don’t care if others disagree. It’s fine if they do.
That’s a design feature that is there to make sure your forks break before your wrists do when you hit a pothole. Sort of like a “crumple zone” on a car.
Previous owner rode with a loose headset. This causes the headset bearings to rattle around and slowly wear away the carbon.
The fork steerer tube won’t be as strong as when it was manufactured as a result of the wear.
That’s called “the ring of death” and it is indeed caused by a worn upper bearing that ate its way into the carbon. Although the name is a bit dramatic it’s not something to just simply ignore. Even with new headset bearings the fork will always have some play and it will get gradually worse, eventually resulting in a broken steerer tube (will probably take thousands of kms, no immediate risk here). You don’t want that to happen while riding.
You got unlucky in the second hand bike market bingo. Contacting the seller seems like the right thing to do. If you plan on riding this bike a lot for years I’d look into finding a replacement fork or have it reinforced by a carbon specialist.