Second hand carbon. Safety issues. Advice sought.

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Cyclopathic

Veteran
Location
Leicester.
I have a second hand bike in my sights that I'm seriously considering buying. It's a GT ZR 3.0 road bike with ali' frame and carbon forks. Despite its age it seems like it's in good nick and in need of little more than the odd tweak and a service, however it has carbon forks which must be about 10 years old and I want to know if there are any safety implications. I don't know the bikes entire history so can't know if it's had a crash or received some blows.
Carbon is very much a mystery to me and somewhat like alchemy or witchcraft. I have no idea how it works or what to look for when examining it other than obvious flaws which it does not seem to have.
In short can I trust 10 year old carbon with no visible signs of damage?
 
yes you can. If there is no evidence of damage (not just superficial scratches or scuffs, etc - which are inevitable), then it should be as good now as it was when new.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
As above - but beware if there is a carbon steerer. The early ones suffered from a lot of wear from the headset and could fail.

Look inside the arch for tyre wear and make sure the area around the drop-outs is clean.

Personally I'd get a decent new pair - they will be a lot lighter and more comfortable and if cut generously can follow you around as you change bikes.
 
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