Carbon frame damaged by chain jam

Hi,

Sorry to dig up an old thread. Just wondered what your outcome was? Just suffered very similar damage myself

Thanks!

Take great care with cracks, or suspected, cracks on carbon frames. It's not enough  to just blithely cover up with touch up paint, or nail varnish (the solvent in which may make the problem worse).

These are thin-walled carbon tubes, and impact damage can be hard to assess unless you know what you're doing. Take great care of your frame to prevent damage and treat any suspect areas with great respect.

You need to carefully remove the paint around the suspected area (don't use any old rough grit emery - 240 - 350 grit at least ), check the gel coat and look carefully for damage in the carbon weave. If you still suspect a crack, or impact damage, take to to a specialist who can carry out crack detecteion to determine the extent, and depth, of the damage. Be prepared to be told it's not economically repairable - it's not easily repaired like metal frames.

You don't cover it up and carry on - a catastrophic failure of part of your frame or forks could lead to a disatrous accident

Oh and while you are in the shop, get yourself a chain catcher for that extra peace of mind.

Nixter may sound like a nippy sweetie, but he's right.

 If you are so concerned that you were moved to register and ask for advice for the first time, best to get a pro's advice.

I stand by the nail varnish tip for cosmetic  damage though!

It's hard to tell from the photographs, but it doesn't look too bad. It looks like the paint has been gouged off but the frame is generally unaffected.

Don't waste money on matching paint.  A quick visit to Superdrug or Tesco etc will provide you with a nice matt black nail varnish, along with its own brush.  Probably tougher than most paints and available for about £1.00.  Take your time and build up the layers.  Ask your wife/girlfriend/goth partner if you need any advice on the last part.

I rode the Paris Roubaix with an existing (10mm) crack in my carbon forks. The crack wasn't caused a structural problem so it was fine, and still is a year on.

Its not the worst I've seen, to avoid any excess damage if this ever happens again. Its best to remove or loosen off the cranks, then pull the chain out and torque the cranks back up

If you are worried get it to carbon bike repair in Dorking or other bike repairers. I expect a bit of resin to the fill any gouges will be all it needs. They fixed my frame after the mech hanger snapped and dropped the rear mech onto the wheel resulting in 2 significant cracks on the seat stay.

Having looked at the photos I would definitely be looking for a repair if it was my bike.

You need to take the crank of to really get a good look.  It looks like FSA an Crank?  10mm allen key should get it off in 30 seconds.  If your lucky it's just paint.  

How many miles have you got on those chainrings?  The outers look interesting or it could be just the angle.