bicycle failure analysis
bicycle failure analysis
Over time, bicycle components such as wheels, brakes, handlebars, forks, and frames may fail for a number of reasons. If a bicycle fails, our specialists investigate the build of the bicycle to determine the cause of failure. Bicycle components subject to possible failure include but are not limited to breaks, wheels, and frames. We are able to examine a bicycle and determine the extent of a failure and the failure’s attributing factors, whether it be an instance of external damage, material wear-and-tear, or a manufacturing issue.
Photographs showing a complete fracture of a crank arm due to fatigue. The fracture initiation site is marked with an arrow in the top photograph and a smaller fatigue crack is marked with an arrow in the bottom photograph. The fatigue crack progressed through more than half of the cross sectional area of the arm before the arm broke during a single overload event. Note that the crack initiated along the sharp edge of the web between the arm and spider arm. There is a significant stress concentration factor associated with this sharp edge.
