2nd Hand Carbon Frame Buying.....what to look for

giantjason

i have an oppurtunity to buy a 2nd hand Ibis carbon frame and am querying if this is a good idea or to stay completely away from it.

The frame is about 14 months old and appears to be in good condition and well looked after.

Is there any obvious issues to look out for, questions to ask etc?

stevieboy

Fine tooth comb over every square mm

Just look in detail at the tube junctions/interfaces with dropouts etc for cracks in paint. Some hairlining does occur where a flexible carbon stay meets a stiff ally dropout, but even so i'd recommened a third opinion on these (I had some appear on my old scale's dropouts)

Any major damage will be obvious though, carbon fails properly when it fails

Chaka Ping

Contact the importer and ask what their policy is for frame failures on secondhand bikes.

If they don't seem helpful, give it a swerve.

That's what I'd do anyway.

grantway

Check all joints and any damage to frame

Best way but no idea how you do this, is to X-ray the frame.

But personlay unless you know the person I would not go there.