Fatigue and Impact Behaviour of Carbon Fibre Composite Bicycle Forks.

ABSTRACT The use of carbon fibre-based polymeric composites in bicycle components has dramatically increased in the last few decades. This paper presents the results of fatigue and impact testing on bicycle forks that are known to have quality-related manufacturing defects. In the investigation performed, acoustic emission testing is used to monitor crack growth during fatigue loading and impact. The results show three distinct stages in composite fatigue failure related to initiation, propagation and final growth. Implications of the results on design and testing of composite bicycle components are addressed pointing to a greater need in understanding current design procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]