carbon frame checks

JasonC1986
JasonC1986 Posts: 5
edited July 2010 in Road beginners
Hi guys,

Just a quick one.Just come off my brand new CB Team Carbon Road Bike in the good old British weather mixed with some oil. Dropped it on its side with me underneath. Ive heard that carbon frames can break very easily, so I was wondering if their were any checks that i could do to see if i have cracked or fractured my frame.

Comments

  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    If you think they break easily why did you get one. They are as strong as alu ones. In a very heavy impact they will break while an alu one will fold up.
    All you can do is give it a good visual inspection. If nothing worse than the odd scratch get back out on it.
    My Fleet.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Did any of the frame hit the deck ? I'd worry more about the handlebars than the frame really.
  • anto164
    anto164 Posts: 3,500
    if you think about it, the frame is protected by the handlebars, cranks, mech and QR skewer.. Unless it falls onto uneven ground, i'd be surprised if it touched the ground.
  • skyd0g
    skyd0g Posts: 2,540
    Tap the frame all over with a pencil or your finger. If there's a crack, you may hear a 'buzz' or it may sound particularly dull in one area.
    Chances are the muppet riding it absorbed most of the shock. :wink:
    Cycling weakly
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Carbon frames are as strong as any other. I've crashed my Focus Cayo a few times and it has nothing more than bits of varnish flaked off. One time I went over heavily on the drive side and smacked up the rear mech but the frame remains fine. The other day I was using a hammer in the garden from my cheapo tool set, can't remember exactly what I was doing but as I swung the hammer up, the actual metal head came off the wooden handle and flew straight into the carbon frame with a crack. The impact area was pretty obvious but all that seemed wrong is a bash to the varnish and external finish of the carbon. Tapped and pushed all around the impact area but no obvious damage other than aesthetic.
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    Headhuunter wrote:
    Carbon frames are as strong as any other. I've crashed my Focus Cayo a few times and it has nothing more than bits of varnish flaked off. One time I went over heavily on the drive side and smacked up the rear mech but the frame remains fine. The other day I was using a hammer in the garden from my cheapo tool set, can't remember exactly what I was doing but as I swung the hammer up, the actual metal head came off the wooden handle and flew straight into the carbon frame with a crack. The impact area was pretty obvious but all that seemed wrong is a bash to the varnish and external finish of the carbon. Tapped and pushed all around the impact area but no obvious damage other than aesthetic.

    You're jinxed dude. :D
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Cleat Eastwood wrote:
    Headhuunter wrote:
    Carbon frames are as strong as any other. I've crashed my Focus Cayo a few times and it has nothing more than bits of varnish flaked off. One time I went over heavily on the drive side and smacked up the rear mech but the frame remains fine. The other day I was using a hammer in the garden from my cheapo tool set, can't remember exactly what I was doing but as I swung the hammer up, the actual metal head came off the wooden handle and flew straight into the carbon frame with a crack. The impact area was pretty obvious but all that seemed wrong is a bash to the varnish and external finish of the carbon. Tapped and pushed all around the impact area but no obvious damage other than aesthetic.

    You're jinxed dude. :D

    Yeah. My poor, previously shiny Focus Cayo is looking more beaten up these days, but it still runs fine
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Worst story I heard was a bloke taking a photo of his new carbon Colnago.
    He'd propped it up on the rockery for a lovely backdrop - when a gust of wind blew and knocked it over. A rock hit the frame and holed it. :-(
  • themightyw
    themightyw Posts: 409
    Ok, before anyone complains I'm not saying that carbon is weak - I'm simply giving another side to the story here and a bit of a cautionary tale to people who are new to riding carbon.

    I'm a fairly cautious rider, and I'm lucky to have had very few prangs or scares whilst riding. A few months ago, however, my lucky run ended when I went into the side of a car while riding from London to Paris.

    I was very lucky and got off with only a broken knuckle and a bruised chin where I hit the windscreen. It wasn't a huge crash, and the bike seemed relatively unscathed, despite the inevitable scratches and bumps so I rode the remaining day or so on the bike and thought I'd got away with it (not easy riding a bike 1 handed and unable to change gear with your left hand!).

    However when I got home and had the bike checked over properly we found a major crack down the fork, a badly bent steerer and the advice from several professionals was that, sadly, the frame was almost certainly damaged or rather 'untrustworthy' since an impact that could damage the steerer that badly was considered likely to have weakened the frame also.

    My LBS were phenomenal, and have sorted me out brilliantly with a half price brand new replacement complete bike, and I've obviously been able to salvage all of the parts from my original bike to build up a second bike. I intended to buy a new bike to set up for a tourer anyway, so I've not ended up out of pocket in the long term.

    The frustration is that it can be very hard to see what damage you've done to a carbon bike after an impact. They're certainly not bullet proof, but then again neither are alu bikes.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    The frustration is that it can be very hard to see what damage you've done to a carbon bike after an impact. They're certainly not bullet proof, but then again neither are alu bikes.
    This is true but you would have been able to see the damage on an alu one. Very bent tubes. Your frame could well be OK. The sort of damage from that kind of crash would probably be visible if there was any. You would not have ridden home on an alu one.
    My Fleet.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    JasonC1986 wrote:
    Hi guys,

    Just a quick one.Just come off my brand new CB Team Carbon Road Bike in the good old British weather mixed with some oil. Dropped it on its side with me underneath. Ive heard that carbon frames can break very easily, so I was wondering if their were any checks that i could do to see if i have cracked or fractured my frame.
    Yes they are and don't take it out in the rain, cos they do tend to melt away with the water you see .....
  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    giant mancp wrote:
    JasonC1986 wrote:
    Hi guys,

    Just a quick one.Just come off my brand new CB Team Carbon Road Bike in the good old British weather mixed with some oil. Dropped it on its side with me underneath. Ive heard that carbon frames can break very easily, so I was wondering if their were any checks that i could do to see if i have cracked or fractured my frame.
    Yes they are and don't take it out in the rain, cos they do tend to melt away with the water you see .....

    And they can go soft in direct sunlight.

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