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Cracked Carbon

by Velo_Dom
Wed, Sep 10, 2014 18:38
8

Hi All

I got my Dolan Hercules SL about 18months ago through the cycle to work scheme. Not long after purchasing said bike I cycled into a bush... The result was very little damage to myself and of course my first concern was my new pride and joy. Having checked the bike over I noticed a small mark half way along the top tube, however it appear to be nothing. At this point its worth noting that the frame is carbon fibre. The other notable damage was a bent rear mech hanger with necessitated a trip to the LBS. Once there the mechanic noted the mark on the top tube but was non-plussed. He stated that I shouldn't worry and that it is the paintwork rather than a crack in the carbon.

Thought nothing of it and continued to ride the bike through all seasons. However, I recently took the bike to a different LBS, the mechanic (who is apparently well thought of and I have on good authority is ex-british cycling head mechanic) stated that the apparent scratch is actually a crack, that the structural integrity of the carbon fibre is compromised and that he would personally "write off" the frame... This could be accurate, if you push on the affected area of carbon it feels "spongy"

Wait there's more... My boss, who is good friends with the aforementioned ex-british cycling mechanic. He was immediately sceptical and suggested that his friends advice could be taken with a pinch of salt as he is more than likely trying to send me away with one of his own bicycle and a wallet that is £000's lighter

This leads me with the dilemma of what to do now??

Also, I'm wondering does anyone have any experiences/ suggestions around carbon frame repairs??

Cheers
Dom

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8 comments

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Gkam84 | 9 years ago
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Carbon repair is a great option. I've seen a frame totally written off, the headtube was ripper right through and it still got repaired as good as new.

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Velo_Dom | 9 years ago
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Thanks for the response guys.

GKam, your suggestions are correct, the man in question is infact Spike. At present he is heavily involved with and building Beacon bikes out of the Fell store in Whalley. (The bike and kit you may have seen Rob Hayles ride up the tumble on ITV4's highlights of the ToB) hence my boss and Spike's good friends' suggestion that he is aiming to send me away with a Beacon bike. That being said his knowledge is obviously worth trusting. That and Chris S' advice have further convinced me that the carbon may well be knackered
At present I am not in any financial position to scrap a frame though and have considered carbon repair but have to admit that I was completely unaware whether this would be a cost affective viable route. http://www.carboncyclerepairs.co.uk/index.html would appear to be a good route for me to take and requires further exploration.
As for insurance, the bike is cover on my house/contents insurance. However it doesn't appear that it is cover in this circumstance, although I could be wrong

Avatar
step-hent | 9 years ago
0 likes

+1 to a carbon repair specialist. It certainly sounds damaged (good knowledge and a clear explanation from Chris S above), much like the cracked seatstay on my Cervelo. Good repairers can work wonders, and aren't too expensive - a lot cheaper than a new frame! The guys mentioned by Fluided did a great job on a Cervelo frame which I sold and was then damaged in transit, and I've heard excellent things about Fibre Lyte too. Best to get it sorted and then you can ride in full confidence again.

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Binky | 9 years ago
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Sorry i know nothing about Carbon Bikes, i just thought that if you told who ever the bike is insured with, that they could sort it out or at least get it inspected.

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Gkam84 | 9 years ago
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If the guy you took it to is one of these names I mention below, I'd be tempted to trust them.

Mike Norris
Peter (Spike) Taylor
Colin Gardner

Looking at your area, I'd go with Colin....but you should be able to work out if it is a scratch or a fault in the carbon just by looking at the ends of the mark

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
0 likes

Get a carbon specialist to repair it, better safe than sorry.

You don't want potential damage to spread.

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Chris S | 9 years ago
0 likes

Failures in composite layups take three forms; starting with the one associated with the lowest load or impact, resin failure, then single-fibre failure, then complete failure (may be local) of both resin and multiple fibres. Any visible form of damage can be assumed to be at least associated with resin failure; the first important thing is to take steps to prevent the damage getting worse. This means coating the surface of the damaged area with a waterproofer such as touch-up paint, to stop moisture getting into the layup and causing the bond between the fibres and the surrounding resin to deteriorate further. If the area of your frame around the damage feels spongy, this could well be what has happened. In the aerospace industry, where any damage can rapidly lead to a catastrophic failure, a non-destructive test procedure such as X-ray or C-scanning would be used to get more information on the severity of the damage, but for a cyclist without access to such high-tech equipment I think all you can do is to either follow the advice of the fitter and scrap the frame, or mark around the extent of the spongy area with a felt tip pen or similar, and check regularly to see if the damage seems to be spreading. Depends how brave (or impecunious) you are feeling.

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fluided | 9 years ago
0 likes

I wouldn't believe that, I had cracked my cervelo frame I got it fixed by these guys

http://www.carboncyclerepairs.co.uk/index.html

you would never know it had been repaired and still feels the same as when I bought it.

maybe worth speaking to them before you go spending loads on a new frame/bike.

Sadly there seems to be a myth that carbon can't be repaired

cheers

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