Paris Roubaix

[Paul Swenson]

Did anyone watch this race yesterday? George Hincapie's Steerer tube broke off in one of the pave sections. It was not pretty.:hit:

http://www.velonews.com/images/int/9720.14346.f.jpg

[berrywise]

Somehow I have a feeling we will not see that in an advertisement for Trek.

[soupboy]

No, but maybe for a helmet or facial reconstructive surgery outfit. How did Georgie-boy fare?

Weird to see it crack off at the top where the stem mounts vs. at the crown. So much for CF steerer tubes... Metal still works for certain apps.

Somehow I have a feeling we will not see that in an advertisement for Trek.

[noise_is_life]

I'm just watching it now, that SUCKED.

Doesn't look like he was seriously hurt. Georgie just can't catch a break on PR.

[noise_is_life]

So much for CF steerer tubes

You would think they would go conservative on Paris-Roubaix too, I can't imagine there would be any benefit of going with CF.

[Paul Swenson]

How did Georgie-boy fare?



Not Good.

The Discovery rider will return to the United States on Monday to get an operation.
"We don't know yet how long Hincapie will be out of competition," team director Dirk Demol told Belgian media. "It is a severe injury, that's for sure." X-rays in hospital reveled a fracture of about three centimetres.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/apr06/apr10news2

[danger!]

Ouch! That sucks. I still like the failure mode of chromoly much more than that of carbon.

Does anyone else think maybe his stem looks really long? Maybe it's just me being used to my BMX stem...

[bike>>rider]

I was watching the coverage yesterday. Prime position for the win with Boonen isolated as he was and then all of a sudden George is sitting straight up like he's riding a unicycle with the handlebars dangling in his hands. That must have been terrifying -- you could actually see the fear in his face. Apparently he had a crash about 30 km into the race that they were saying likely compromised the part. While watching, I thought for sure his stem failed but that appears intact in the photo below.

On pavement, he probably would have been able to ride it out, but not on the cobbles. On pavement, I wonder if he could have extended his arms while holding the bars to get the necessary brake cable tension to apply the rear brake?? Not something you ever contemplate I suppose.

[bike>>rider]

Oh yeah, and how much does that rule with the trains suck? I guess there's no way to avoid it, but geez . . .

[KleinCrazy]

Hey!!!

That looks like what happend to me at the Chaindrive last year!

I have a picture of it around somewhere.

I know mine was comprimised in a crash and failed in a rough downhill section. Luckily it held together until I was able to stop.

I was watching the coverage yesterday and saw it also. I did not see the original crash but, did get to see the failure one.

[Paul Swenson]

This is interesting.

The steerer was aluminium.

CN: Is this something new you'll bring into the Trek line?
SD: No, it's actually from Bontrager's Satellite line, almost from their commuter level, but it has dimensions that are appropriate for Roubaix. It's an in-house made fork, made at Trek from OCLV carbon, it's just on a different model bike.
CN: Is it a steel steerer?
SD: No, it's aluminium; it's been blasted then anodized black.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/apr06/roubaix06/?id=/tech/2006/features/hincapie_trek

[Kosk]

All steerer tubes should be steel!

I'll never buy an aluminium steerer tube fork. In fact, I'd proally buy a carbon steerer over an AL.

[soupboy]

Few forks have steel anymore save really cheap ones or really HD boom-boom-huck-jams Zoke forks.

I can think of few bike related mishaps worse than your bars coming off. Well, maybe your bars coming off and you flying off a cliff into a shallow coral cove full of piranha.

All steerer tubes should be steel!

I'll never buy an aluminium steerer tube fork. In fact, I'd proally buy a carbon steerer over an AL.

[Kosk]

Few forks have steel anymore save really cheap ones or really HD boom-boom-huck-jams Zoke forks.
All mine are steel, but I suppose they all fall under one of those two catagories.....now, about those carbon bars you have for me to put on my boom-boom-huck-jam-steel-steerer bike....