You may recall the video where Niner Bikes co-founder Chris Sugai smashed their new carbon fork with a hammer. A few people posted comments about what the inside of the fork may look like, and Niner said that while it was structurally sound, it should be replaced if such damage occured. The point of the test was to show that even massive hits to the fork wouldn’t result in catastrophic, rider-flying-off-a-cliff, certain death failure. Well, it seems Niner wanted to see if the fork was rideable afterall, so they tested it. Here’s the results:
After abusing a carbon Niner fork with a ball peen hammer, we sent the very same component off to our testing facility and sent it through the same rigorous tests that our brand new forks undergo.
Niner forks are tested to the new European standards specifically designed for mountain bike use. To pass these safety standards the fork must undergo a load of 650 Newtons, both pushing and pulling on the dropouts for one hundred thousand cycles. Our hammer fork passed this test easily, so we kept going… and we upped the load. At 750 Newtons, the hammer fork passed another hundred thousand cycles, so we kept at it… and at it… In the end we were not able to get this fork to break until after three hundred thousand cycles! The Niner carbon fork tripled the most stringent bike product safety standard out there, after being beaten with a hammer! We would prefer that you didn’t do this to your fork, but it is nice to know how tough these things really are.
Also, they’ve updated their demo shop list, so if you’re looking for a local shop that has demo bikes in stock, hit ‘more’ to see the current list. Oh, and you’ll see their sweet Niner Sigg water bottle…
These bottles are tough, reusable and just look damn cool. Made of aluminum (with Sigg’s new BPA-free EcoCare liner), they will resist any beverage you put into them and last for years. Sigg manufactures to high ecological standards and is 100% recycleable. We grabbed one from Interbike (thanks, Chris!!!) and they’re pretty sweet.
DEMO SHOPS:
Find a Niner mountain bike to demo at one of these shops…check their list online to see what models each of these shops has in stock to test ride:
Pure Cycle, Calgary AB
Oak Bay Bicycles, Victoria BC
Big Kahuna Bicycles.com, Littleton CO
Colorado Cyclist, Colorado Springs CO
Cycles of Life, Leadville CO
Golden Bike Shop, Golden CO
Rapidcreek Cycles, Palisade CO
The Bike Shop – Grand Junction, Grand Junction CO
Central Wheel, Farmington CT
Higher Ground Bicycle Company, Tallahassee FL
Addictive Cycles, Flowery Branch GA
Alpha Bikes, Alpharetta GA
Bear Creek Bicycle Company, Dalton GA
Outspokin Bikes, Woodstock GA
Meridian Cycles, Meridian ID
Nebo Ridge Bicycles, Carmel IN
Alger Cyclery, Grand Rapids MI
Custer Cyclery, Augusta MI
Missoula Bicycle Works, Missoula MT
Liberty Bicycles, Asheville NC
Middle Ring Cycles, Albemarle NC
Revolution Cycles/Friendly Bike, Greensboro NC
The Cycle Path, Cornelius NC
Town Cycle, West Milford NJ
Dark Horse Cycles, Montgomery NY
918XC, Tulsa OK
Providence Bicycle, Providence RI
Bicycle Sport Shop, Austin TX
Cole Sport, Park City UT
Just The Right Gear, Salem VA
Bike 29, Waterbury VT
