Carbon dropout - is this an issue?

gotwood25
gotwood25 Posts: 314
edited March 2014 in Workshop
So giving the bike a clean and notice an issue on the dropout which looks as if the carbon has started to split. I posted on here a while back a concern I had with a rough area on the dropout which has seemingly progressed to this.

I never over tightenand this uses Scott Foil skewers rather than a quick release cam so you can only ever hand tighten.

Does this need to go back to the shop?

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=BBDD17AF8762D537!14303&authkey=!AP5pw3kQ6D_rH_s&v=3&ithint=photo%2c.jpg

Hope this link works, I'm on my phone.

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Firstly, there's a huge amount of material which is massively over-engineered so unlikely to be a 'structural' problem. Looks like mechanical damaged when fitting the wheel - suggest you clean the area and lightly sand until you reach the bare carbon and then apply some epoxy to fill/seal the area and then smooth flat again. I've used the following to repair structural damage to wheels:
    http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/products/black-epoxy-repair-filler-for-carbon-fibre.aspx
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    This is the guy to get an opinion on it:

    http://forum.errl.org.uk/entry.php?356- ... e-Products

    You wouldn't believe it, but he's the UK Scott repair shop.
  • gotwood25
    gotwood25 Posts: 314
    Cheers for your replies. Just took it to the LBS where I got it from and they said absolutely nothing to worry about. They were sure if they sent it back to Scott they would return it saying it was fine, so for now I am happy with that.
  • gotwood25
    gotwood25 Posts: 314
    Amazingly I have just found out that the Warranty and Service Manager for Scott UK lives in the same tiny little town in the North East as me. Now all I have to do is make him my best friend :D
  • jermas
    jermas Posts: 484
    If you aren't going to warranty it, I'd definitely fill it with epoxy as Monty suggested -looks like a good repair kit on that link. With carbon dropouts, I think it's better to do the skewers up nice and tight. I reckon a lot the wear is caused by the wheel axle moving in the dropout- especially if the axle ends are threaded (some shimano).
  • gotwood25
    gotwood25 Posts: 314
    jermas wrote:
    If you aren't going to warranty it, I'd definitely fill it with epoxy as Monty suggested -looks like a good repair kit on that link. With carbon dropouts, I think it's better to do the skewers up nice and tight. I reckon a lot the wear is caused by the wheel axle moving in the dropout- especially if the axle ends are threaded (some shimano).

    The fella in the shop said to just leave it as is. The way I see it, if it gets any worse it goes back to Scott so thats how I am going to play it. If I start dabbling I don't know what impact that will have on any warranty.
  • jermas
    jermas Posts: 484
    ^^Probably best. You would certainly void the warranty with a DIY repair.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    How does warranty apply in this case when it's wear and tear - most likely due to the bike being ridden with the wheel QR loose or forcing the wheel into the drop-out. By all means get Scott to do an 'official' repair but leaving it isn't oing to make it get better.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • gotwood25
    gotwood25 Posts: 314
    Yes this area gets (probably the most amount of) wear and tear but to suggest that any fault in this region wouldn't be covered by warranty I don't quite agree with nor do I think the damage has been caused by normal wear and tear.

    The skewer isn't a typical QR cam type so the pre-load is virtually the same every time and has to be turned by hand. To the point where it just about starts to dig in. Can't see this being the issue.

    Forcing a wheel in, well I have never done that but again I don't think that could cause a vertical split in the carbon.

    When designing a full carbon dropout I would imagine that there are tolerances to allow for such wear and tear on the understanding that (as I previously said) this area gets the most amount of it. But I can't imagine for a second that this would void or not be covered by a warranty.

    The fella in the shop said they would send it back if it did progress and that Scott were very good with supplying replacements so I am not overly concerned.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    Monty Dog wrote:
    How does warranty apply in this case when it's wear and tear - most likely due to the bike being ridden with the wheel QR loose or forcing the wheel into the drop-out. By all means get Scott to do an 'official' repair but leaving it isn't oing to make it get better.

    Still, doing "something" to it and not really knowing what you're doing might make it worse. My first reaction to the picture was "whoa, let's not ride this thing till we find out the real deal".

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