Carbon damage

[apriestley881]

I have done some research and am still unsure whether or not my frame is damaged. I know it is impossible to know from a photo and I should get it checked out by a professional but what do you think? There is no flex/movement in the frame when pressure is applied near or on the area of damage and the damaged area has not grown over a few weeks (but I have not been riding it either.) One person near me who builds carbon frame and also does some repairs is too busy ATM and so I am considering a local marine repair specialist who has said he thinks he could fix it. Should I trust him to fix it well? Or wait? I don't really want to have to post my frame away.

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[Valbrona]

Looks like the paint has chipped off. There will be a few who will say they can repair that for you. Get on with riding it. Not as if it is the fork What the hula-hula have you stripped it down for?

[peetee]

What happened to cause the damage? A bruised leg could just be a bruised leg....but then again it could hide a fractured bone.

[Brucey]

the photos are not really good enough to see much. You certainly have superficial damage in the colour coat but the photos are not clear enough to show if there is also cracking in the CF.

If there are cracks that run through the damaged area then you should be concerned. Yes you do need to get it looked at properly to be sure.

The only piece of good news is that if the seat tube breaks half way down whilst you are riding the bike, it probably won't kill you.

cheers

[tim-b]

Hi
What caused the damage?
Regards
tim-b

[steady eddy]

Where are you? - There is a very good carbon frame repairer east of Norwich, in Norfolk. PM me for details if that is any use to you.

[alexnharvey]

It looks like there are cracks running out from the chipped areas such wouldn't bode well in terms of it being only superficial damage.

[Canuk]

It looks like there are cracks running out from the chipped areas such wouldn't bode well in terms of it being only superficial damage.

It looks to me it's just a chip in the paint. Most damage to carbon frames is either a chip in the top clear coat or the paint. The way most pro repairers will examine for more damage is by placing the affected area under a thermographic X-ray device and flexing the area to see if any cracks open up and radiate out from it. The bigger companies will use other NDT technologies. I've seen people use home PC powered microscopes (the type you can buy for £25 online) to do the same job, but I've no experience of it myself.

The good news is that carbon is generally much cheaper to repair than steel. If your DT was cracked on a steel frame you'd have to replace it. Cost about £135 from Bob Jackson, plus likely a new paint finish/decals. So no change really out of £280. IMO its no longer cost effective to repair a steel frame, unless its something exotic like a nice 753 or a Colnago

A carbon repair would be local and cost you about £70-100 plus a touch in for paint so budget for £100-150, depending on where you go. There are several big players now. These guys in Leatherhead have invested a lot of money in repair and have been going about 12 years now, they have outlets in Australia and South Africa also. Very professional.

https://carbonbikerepair.co.uk/

[youtube]k7e004bfHyY[/youtube]

[peetee]

Is the OP still with us?

[mig]

It looks like there are cracks running out from the chipped areas such wouldn't bode well in terms of it being only superficial damage.

It looks to me it's just a chip in the paint. Most damage to carbon frames is either a chip in the top clear coat or the paint. The way most pro repairers will examine for more damage is by placing the affected area under a thermographic X-ray device and flexing the area to see if any cracks open up and radiate out from it. The bigger companies will use other NDT technologies. I've seen people use home PC powered microscopes (the type you can buy for £25 online) to do the same job, but I've no experience of it myself.

The good news is that carbon is generally much cheaper to repair than steel. If your DT was cracked on a steel frame you'd have to replace it. Cost about £135 from Bob Jackson, plus likely a new paint finish/decals. So no change really out of £280. IMO its no longer cost effective to repair a steel frame, unless its something exotic like a nice 753 or a Colnago

A carbon repair would be local and cost you about £70-100 plus a touch in for paint so budget for £100-150, depending on where you go. There are several big players now. These guys in Leatherhead have invested a lot of money in repair and have been going about 12 years now, they have outlets in Australia and South Africa also. Very professional.

https://carbonbikerepair.co.uk/

[youtube]k7e004bfHyY[/youtube]

this company are seemingly the closest to me if i wanted a carbon frame repair

http://www.targetcomposites.co.uk/pricing/

bit more than £100-£150 generally.

for me it's more of an unknown as to whether carbon is badly damaged or not and, the way you find out if still riding the questionable frame, is in a big way.

[Canuk]

It looks like there are cracks running out from the chipped areas such wouldn't bode well in terms of it being only superficial damage.

It looks to me it's just a chip in the paint. Most damage to carbon frames is either a chip in the top clear coat or the paint. The way most pro repairers will examine for more damage is by placing the affected area under a thermographic X-ray device and flexing the area to see if any cracks open up and radiate out from it. The bigger companies will use other NDT technologies. I've seen people use home PC powered microscopes (the type you can buy for £25 online) to do the same job, but I've no experience of it myself.

The good news is that carbon is generally much cheaper to repair than steel. If your DT was cracked on a steel frame you'd have to replace it. Cost about £135 from Bob Jackson, plus likely a new paint finish/decals. So no change really out of £280. IMO its no longer cost effective to repair a steel frame, unless its something exotic like a nice 753 or a Colnago

A carbon repair would be local and cost you about £70-100 plus a touch in for paint so budget for £100-150, depending on where you go. There are several big players now. These guys in Leatherhead have invested a lot of money in repair and have been going about 12 years now, they have outlets in Australia and South Africa also. Very professional.

https://carbonbikerepair.co.uk/

[youtube]k7e004bfHyY[/youtube]

this company are seemingly the closest to me if i wanted a carbon frame repair

http://www.targetcomposites.co.uk/pricing/

bit more than £100-£150 generally.

for me it's more of an unknown as to whether carbon is badly damaged or not and, the way you find out if still riding the questionable frame, is in a big way.

If you watch the video to the end you'll see that they offer a 'good as new' guarantee on the repair, AND a lifetime warranty. I'm not aware any British frame bulders/repairers offering such a comprehensive and confident guarantee. The average price of a chain or seat stay repair (by far the most common repair) is around 90 euro in France, including a perfectly matched paint/lacquer restoration. With a steel frame and a tube replacement you'd be looking to repaint the entire frame. Currently running at about £135 from BJ, on top of the frame repair.

[mig]

what do you mean by 'local' though?

[Canuk]

what do you mean by 'local' though?

I meant localised damage, not geography! Most carbon repairs are confined to a small area so unlike a steel equivalent where a cracked tube would mean you would have to replace the entire tube, carbon repairs are very localised and the section of paint can be touched in and colour matched. That's generally way cheaper than repainting an entire steel frame.

This myth still seems to persist that carbon frames are 'vulnerable' and steel/titanium and aluminium frames are not. I have a cupboard full of broken steel and aluminium frames back home with cracked chain stays/head tubes /bottom bracket shells etc etc which simply aren't worth repairing. Carbon on the other is worth repairing and it's significantly cheaper and IME more robust end result than tube replacement and re-enamelling of a steel frame.

As for repairing a Titanium frame, forget it. I've seen many try and empty their wallets in the process. And try getting a lifetime warranty on the repair from anyone who says they can. In fact try getting the same warranty on a steel frame repair. Ain't gonna happen.

[mig]

would you have a carbon fork repaired?

[Brucey]

you could slap a poultice of carbon and epoxy onto any frame and make a 'repair', and likewise repaint bits of it. The reason this is not normally done with anything other than carbon/plastic frames is probably because it isn't that good. Fork repairs are for folk with a death wish.

BTW thermography and X-ray are two separate and unrelated technologies; either or both could be used to inspect a CF frame.

Racing frames (of any kind) tend to break in accidents and in hard use for the very simple reason that if none did, they would all be built too heavy.

OP hasn't said what happened and hasn't responded with more information either, so this thread is basically a waste of time. It isn't clear but I agree the photos seem to show cracks running through the damaged area. If so, the frame needs repair or the bin. This sort of damage is (IME) easily caused by something as 'unusual' as the bike falling over.

cheers