Can you get lucky in a crash? (A grim story of fork whackage on the Fullerton Loop.)

So I’m riding with two other people, and having one of “those” XC rides. The hills you normally climb seated, today you stand and drop all those who you came with. It was a good day, but those are usually dependent on you not losing your rhythm. We took a break after a tunnel section, and looked at the next 15 foot section of roots right before the sand pit drop off. Lately, I’ve just been rippin’ that obstacle.

We take off, and I’m in the back to encourage a little caution for me. I get my speed up, vibrate through the six-inch tall section of roots… and then lose my focus. There’s a ramp of old asphalt you ride, until the little drop off. I’m going slower than usual, and felt like I could look away. Instead of focusing on where I needed to ride, I got distracted by the creek. Nano-seconds later, I’m pointing directly off to the right of the broken asphalt and drop my bike (And fork) directly against the edge. Skateboarders would’ve said “Nice Grind”. The part that made real contact was the brake arch and left upper tube of the Fox Float RLC100 fork. Some of the arch was damaged, and asphalt ground into the upper fork tube. (For those of you not so familiar with this move, it is step one on how to spend $500 for a new fork that you couldn’t afford the first time. Mine is an older fork, but the dollar amount is accurate for the mental trauma.) Like any other injury, I picked off anything extra, picked up anything left behind and tried to ignore it all until I got back to the car.

After much study, I have found that in situations where the anodizing is chipped slightly you may be able to save a fork by intensively cleaning the chipped section and filling it in with clear nail polish. If the surface is still lumpy you may be able to find 2000-grit sandpaper and smooth it out.

Please notice the multiple use of the word MAY, which means that this is definitely a repair you can not do in the store. It’s a crummy repair, but allows you some time to save up to get it repaired/replaced professionally.