No Dice

What we have here is a very nice lugged steel fork with a polished crown. It is part of the Soma Stanyan frame and fork set. I saw this on the Soma Fabrications website and thought it would be a very nice alternative to the full carbon fork over which I am having second thoughts. Knowing it is made for the Stanyan frame I sent off an email to Soma anyhow inquiring if the fork can be purchased individually. It doesn't hurt to ask. Here is my inquiry verbatim:

  To Whom It May Concern,

   I'd really love to have the polished, lugged fork that comes with the 
  Stanyan frame for my Smoothie. Do you sell that fork separately?

  Kevy

A few days later I received a response from Soma which was simply one sentence:

  Sorry we don't right now.

Well, that certainly answered my question.

Busted!

This is not a photo of a bike I own. This image is taken from the entertaining blog Busted Carbon which showcases cases of carbon failure in events of crashes, flying debris or even simple JRA (just riding along) scenarios. This picture and the many others at Busted Carbon illustrate why I will not have a carbon frame. I never want to be on a bike when the frame snaps like that. The odds are in your favor that it will not happen, but still if and when it does pray to your God that you come out of it in one piece. This damage isn't repairable. At least not worth your efforts to repair. As is testified to by some of the owners of these frames, the manufacturer isn't so willing to replace the frame either. Good chance you could be SOL. A steel frame will endure most of the crash and smash situations it's carbon cousin wont. I haven't been 100% on the carbon fork I bought for my Soma Smoothie, and seeing some of the examples at Busted Carbon has me closer to opting for a steel fork instead. The weight difference between the two doesn't mean much to me. The lack of options in a 1-1/8" threadless steel fork is the problem.