Opinions please - cracked carbon frame

trail jacker

Hi,

About 5 months ago I bought a carbon 456 frame from a seller on here, it was barely use and in great nick.
The other day I noticed a crack has developed, stemming from the slit in the seat-tube.



I know the diagnosis isn't good, and I emailed On-One yesterday for advice but they are being frustratingly slow to respond.

As a student I cant afford a new frame, and I was wondering what the best thing to do to prolong the life of the frame would be.

Any advice appreciated!

njee20

Looks suspiciously like an overtightened seatpost. Not great.

trail jacker

Is there anything I can do to prolong the frames life?

nicklouse

and that is why you should not have all the splits lined up. looks like you have had the insert/the frame and the clamp lined up.

bad move.

use till it fails as it will.

trail jacker

is it worth filling in the crack with nail polish to seal it up? And would it help is I run the clamp the other way round?

nicklouse

trail jacker wrote:

is it worth filling in the crack with nail polish to seal it up?

makes no difference really.

trail jacker

Well is it worth repairing it? I know you can buy carbon repair kits for around £30 but would it be worth it?

The Rookie

Nail polish is a really bad idea, you don't want acetone wicking into the carbon, epoxy resin (the same stuff that is there already) may help though......

Simon

Anonymous

See what On-One say. Try their twitter account, might get a reply from them quicker than email. Seems to depend when they guy is reading the account though.

twitter.com/ononebikes

DodgeT

The Beginner wrote:

Nail polish is a really bad idea, you don't want acetone wicking into the carbon, epoxy resin (the same stuff that is there already) may help though......

Simon

Are you thinking of nail polish remover? I know that contains acetone, but wouldn't of thought it'd be present in the polish.
sure i've read somewhere else that on one themselves advised using polish.
Not that im an expert on nail polish btw

cooldad

Nail polish isn't going to help structurally anyway.

supersonic

Contact this guy:

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=445731

trail jacker

Well I have used nail polish before as recommended by the tech guys at On-One to seal a scrape on a chainstay to prevent water ingress, I know it structurally wont help but it would waterproof the fibres to prevent swelling through water exposure.

Cheers for all the responses!

mfereborn

Why not just wrap it in carbon and resin? it'll not be perfect or aesthetically pleasing but it will reinforce the area.

Experience: Motorcycle body work - non structural though!

trail jacker

Something like this... http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/products/ca ... r-kit.aspx ...?

Would applying resin alone be enough to reinforce the area or not?

ste_t

Get on twitter, Brant seems to spend most of his day on there (as does Cy from Cotic though....)

Not tried it with him, but after issues with the last 3 orders I've placed with Superstar, mentioning them on twitter got a response a damn sight quicker than waiting for them to answer the bloody phone.

mfereborn

trail jacker wrote:

Something like this... http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/products/ca ... r-kit.aspx ...?

Would applying resin alone be enough to reinforce the area or not?

Not really, resin is used to bond, carbon is used to give structure.

Mate, all you need is some carbon fibre matting which can be purchased from ebay and the suitable resin+hardener. Then a pair of latex gloves and a chemically neutral squeegee to remove air bubbles. should work a treat.

P.s if the crack appears to be spreading in any direction drill a very very small pilot hole at either end to stop it growing when the frame flexes and ensure any carbon repair goes well beyond this point, and fills the hole on the inside if possible.

trail jacker

Ok, I will wait to hear back from on-one first before I try the carbon repair method!

cooldad

If you are doing that, I would get a bigger seatpost clamp and put it on before the resin cures, so you have a standard clamp size post at the end of it, or you will be trying to find one to fit your 'lump'.

The Rookie

DodgeT wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

Nail polish is a really bad idea, you don't want acetone wicking into the carbon, epoxy resin (the same stuff that is there already) may help though......

Simon

Are you thinking of nail polish remover? I know that contains acetone, but wouldn't of thought it'd be present in the polish.
sure i've read somewhere else that on one themselves advised using polish.
Not that im an expert on nail polish btw

What do you think evaporates out the polish as it dries.....acetone, that's why the stuff works to make it liquid again so it can be cleaned off! My interest is purely practical by the way!

Simon

DodgeT

Ah, I see

JD_76

Was thinking about this one last night, you could cut off the top of the seat tube completely just underneath the crack - then cut a new slot and maybe sand in a new recess for the clamp to sit on.

Just a thought.

JD_76

JD_76 wrote:

Was thinking about this one last night, you could cut off the top of the seat tube completely just underneath the crack - then cut a new slot and maybe sand in a new recess for the clamp to sit on.

Just a thought.

Maybe a last resort option.

nicklouse

JD_76 wrote:

JD_76 wrote:

Was thinking about this one last night, you could cut off the top of the seat tube completely just underneath the crack - then cut a new slot and maybe sand in a new recess for the clamp to sit on.

Just a thought.

Maybe a last resort option.

but dont as the "tube" is not really a tube but have varying thickness also it is most likely there will not be enough length.

just spin the shim and clamp around and carry on using.

trail jacker

Yeah the thickness of the 'tube' massively increases just below the crack, which is why (presumably) the crack has forked laterally. The shim is fairly well lodged in, so I'm going to take it to my lbs to see if they can remove it, then I will buy a 30.9mm seatpost and run the clamp the other way round until I can get it professionally repaired near Easter time.
On-one replied this morning and said since I bought it second hand the wont replace it, and the crack is my fault for running a shim, which is what I was expecting them to say.

Cheers for all the responses by the way, very helpful and much appreciated.

386ka

trail jacker wrote:

and the crack is my fault for running a shim

Don't want to be a general after war, but you could have bought the proper seatpost if you already got carbon frame...

trail jacker

Well yes, but I am a student and was penny pinching a bit at the time since I had to get my forks serviced, get a reducer headset and get a new BB all at the same time as the frame, so a £2.50 shim seemed more attractive than a £20 seatpost. Plus I didn't know it would increase the stress when clamped.

Hindsight is a b*tch!