Possible cracked frame, advice

gaddster

Disaster, bike got knocked over onto the support strut of our staircase, don't ask!, hit it hard and has left some damage. Must be good paint as it hasn't really taken any off despite the big hit.

Now I'm not asking for a full diagnosis, I realise that it's just a picture and hard to be 100% sure. The surface feels raised and seems to follow the pattern of the carbon weave and it appears that there is some delamination of the carbon fibre.

Local bike shop seem to agree and luckily it's insured in and away from home.

Has anyone seen something similar on a carbon frame before and could this be considered a write off due to uncertainty of its structural integrity?

Anyway, I'm not a happy chap.

Best large picture of damage!

Other pictures

Cycling is Forever

looking at the photos I can't see anything that would really worry me.
unless you can press down on the carbon and feel a layer moving or depressing I'd carry on.
the only way to be sure if the weave has started to DE-laminate is to get it looked at by a FLIR infrared camera
not cheap
read here
http://www.engineeringspecifier.com/Cameras/FLIR-thermal-imaging-cameras-help-detect-material-failures-in-bikes08:57:13.asp

the safety factor built into most things is very high

centimani

Thats slightly odd markings on the frame...a castellated effect. Is that part of the build process perhaps, where the two halves are joined together, castellated to give more surface area for bonding...assuming i'm not talking rubbish because i dont actually know how they make CF bikes.
Just a theory...but if it were the case, there's obviously been some movement on the joint, so beware.

bianchiblue

That frame at the very least needs a proper inspection, repair and reinforcement unfortunately. Definitely. Don't ride it until you've done it

gaddster

Yea, written off I'm afraid, probably repairable but that's for another time. On the plus side I'm getting a new one, just means a bit of a wait!

bianchiblue

There are a couple of carbon repairers about so maybe worth a quote.

On the plus side... what are you getting to replace it? Treat yourself to something special, beautiful and Italian and the pain of the damage will vanish under the pleasure of the new machine!

gaddster

Same frame as it was/is superb, different paint job and integrated seat post this time.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61596502@N03/7687148132/sizes/l/

bianchiblue

That's quite nice. Integrated posts are great, they seem to make a really stable pedalling platform for powering in the saddle. Good luck.