I did some research on the net and found loads of broken carbon forks from different manufacturers . I found one site which might explain what has happened to mine . Galvanic action ! The reaction between the carbon fibres and the aluminium . It might explain why there seems to be a lot of corrosion on the fork crown . It could be that the corrosion could be working its way underneath the bond between the two materials .
Indeed; galvanic corrosion is one since the carbon fibres are conductive. Another is simple stress raisers resulting from damage in high-stress areas such as the steerer tube (if it's all CFRP construction) from poorly-specced or over-tightened stems or steerer-tube bungs, or scoring from careless disassembly / reassembly.
In use I love my CFRP Boardman and I know there must be many tens of thousands of placcy bikes being ridden without issue in the UK. Equally it seems the cycling industry hides a murky underbelly of hushed-up, potentially fatal failures of CFRP parts - with fork assys being a favourite as they're so highly stressed (and the outcome of failure is potentially so severe).
I've heard many stories of such failures (some pertaining specifically to Boardman bikes) and I'll now never buy anything other than steel. I've not ridden my Boardman for any significant amount of time recently after getting cold feet about it's safety / acquiring a lovely steel gravel bike.. As much as I like it, know I really need to punt it on. Shame as I really like riding it, however it certainly gives zero peace of mind compared to a steel equivalent.
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