Strength of Carbon fibre bars/forks

[aserota]

Stupidly i dropped the road bike when pulling onto the pavement to put on some music.

The front shifter was pushed well out of place, the handlebars are slightly scuffed on one side and annoyingly there are a few (hopefully cosmetic) deep scratches on the front forks.

Im slightly annoyed as i dont normally ride this bike in the winter, but am more concerned about the condition of the forks. How strong are carbon fibre parts after a fall?

 

[mickle]

Unfortunately it's difficult to find carbon fibre experts outside of Taiwan F1 or the aerospace industry. The manufacturer would recommend that you replace them, but then they would say that wouldn't they.

It is safe to make the assumption that any modern carbon fibre composite bicycle component is as strong or stronger than it's steel or aloonyman equivalent. Would the impact have bent or otherwise damaged a steel fork enough to warrant it's replacement? In the absence of laboratory analysis only you can be the judge. The bod down the bike shop certainly will not have the technical knowledge to advise.