Ping!

[johnc]

So got back from a very muddy ride and washed down my bike. I then lifted it about a foot and dropped it onto its tyres to dispel some water and ping one of the bolt heads sheared of my fork leg. Is this a warranty job? I know it's just a small bolt but I suspect it started out on the trail and who knows if anything was ingested into the fork.

 

[apac]

Just a faulty bolt or overtightened

 

[MinusPrevious]

Which fork? / Which Bike? / A picture of the bolt location would be nice

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Bolt from the fork leg??

Which bolt is that and what was it holding?

 

[johnc]

Not over tightened according to my torque tool.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Oh flip!
That could be the bolt that holds the internal air piston rod I think. Did the threaded portion fall out as well at the same time? Or did you remove that yourself after disassembling the fork sliders?

 

[N1ck]

Warranty job.

 

[johnc]

Oh flip!
That could be the bolt that holds the internal air piston rod I think. Did the threaded portion fall out as well at the same time? Or did you remove that yourself after disassembling the fork sliders?

Yes it is. I was able to remove the threaded without dismantling the fork.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Yes it is. I was able to remove the threaded without dismantling the fork.

I would say that bolt head snapped off because it was faulty (rare), or got over torqued (possible), or didn't get tightened to begin with (probable). A loose bolt would've repeatedly popped in and out of that hole while your fork was operating, so the bolt head could've been rattling increasingly and slamming against the bottom of the slider leg - like a jack hammer. That might also explain why the threaded shank of the bolt got progressively loosened so that you were able to remove it.

If you can't bear to be without your bike, you might be able to fix that by simply acquiring a replacement bolt and popping it back in yourself. Judging by how clean the bolt threads are, I'm assuming that there was no damage done to the female threads of the internal shaft.

I do agree that it's best to take that in for a warranty job, just in case there are other things amiss or if consequential damage had occurred internally.

 

[johnc]

Just an update. Sham are quoting 8 to 12 weeks for the parts. That's a bolt and crush washer!!!

 

[Beezerk]

Surely a decent engineering firm would be able to get a replacement bolt for pennies? Maybe RS have something which you could use.

 

[ottoshape]

Not over tightened according to my torque tool. View attachment 21018

I hope you get this sorted quickly! You should be able to present the pieces to any decent hardware outfitter and get a new one.

FWIW, Get your torque tool tested and/or find out if the torque spec is dry or wet....

 

[johnc]

TFtuned have sorted me something out. In the post should arrive tomorrow.