Cracked Carbon Fiber Chainstay: Repair or Not

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Full Disclosure. I am not a world-class racer, but use carbon fiber bikes and parts nonetheless. :p

My Cervelo S3 tipped over on a carpeted surface on the drive side. Seemed innocent enough of a fall. Unbeknownst to me, the rear derailleur hanger bent inward. When I took the bike out for a test ride with some new insoles, the rear derailleur went right into the rear wheel, tore out the replaceable derailleur hanger, damaged a few spokes, and cracked the non-drive chainstay.

I've heard of carbon fiber repair shops like Calfee doing good work, but have never had the need to use them. Has anybody had occasion to use such services for a cracked chainstay and would you recommend such a repair.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures, as the bike is currently with my mechanic. It's about a 1-inch wide hit, which caused an indentation and very small cracking on the chainstay. Initially, I thought it would be rideable, but my mechanic says otherwise.

TIA!

[Cicli]

Fix it. I have seen some repairs that came out very good. Hard to tell they were even there.

[Louis]

I think it's a cost-benefit situation.

What would it cost to repair?
What's the frame worth to you repaired? (i.e. how much do you like it and ride it?)
What would the frame be worth if you tried to sell it, repaired or as is?
(I'm sure it can be repaired and made like-new, but have no idea what that would cost.)

Once you've figured that out you can decide what's best for you.

Good Luck

[firerescuefin]

That's an easy fix for a reputable carbon repair shop.



Full Disclosure. I am not a world-class racer, but use carbon fiber bikes and parts nonetheless. :p

My Cervelo S3 tipped over on a carpeted surface on the drive side. Seemed innocent enough of a fall. Unbeknownst to me, the rear derailleur hanger bent inward. When I took the bike out for a test ride with some new insoles, the rear derailleur went right into the rear wheel, tore out the replaceable derailleur hanger, damaged a few spokes, and cracked the non-drive chainstay.

I've heard of carbon fiber repair shops like Calfee doing good work, but have never had the need to use them. Has anybody had occasion to use such services for a cracked chainstay and would you recommend such a repair.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures, as the bike is currently with my mechanic. It's about a 1-inch wide hit, which caused an indentation and very small cracking on the chainstay. Initially, I thought it would be rideable, but my mechanic says otherwise.

TIA!

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I think it's a cost-benefit situation. What would it cost to repair? What's the frame worth to you repaired? (i.e. how much do you like it and ride it?) What would the frame be worth if you tried to sell it, repaired or as is? (I'm sure it can be repaired and made like-new, but have no idea what that would cost.)

Once you've figured that out you can decide what's best for you.

Good Luck

Hi Louis,

I have done the cost-benefit analysis and I put the over/under at around $600. I'm just worried about a squirrelly or potentially dangerous bike as a result of a repair. Never have damaged a carbon fiber bike before.

[Cicli]

Hi Louis,

I have done the cost-benefit analysis and I put the over/under at around $600. I'm just worried about a squirrelly or potentially dangerous bike as a result of a repair. Never have damaged a carbon fiber bike before.

I had an Infinito seat stay repaired. It rode like new.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Thanks guys! Just what I needed to read.

[hockeybike]

Where are you located? There's a bunch of repair shops on the west coast:

Calfee (NorCal) http://calfeedesign.com/repair/
Ruckus (Portland) http://www.ruckuscomp.com/
Predator (Santa Monica) https://predatorcycling.com/

All get good reviews.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Where are you located? There's a bunch of repair shops on the west coast:

Calfee (NorCal) http://calfeedesign.com/repair/
Ruckus (Portland) http://www.ruckuscomp.com/
Predator (Santa Monica) https://predatorcycling.com/

All get good reviews.

Thanks for the list. Hadn't heard of Ruckus.

There's a local one in Orange, CA I am considering: Cycle Therapy. My mechanic recommends them, but says they run late with their repairs. Looks like $150 for a partial tube fix plus another $100 for paint.

[azrider]

Damn that sucks. Did you eat sh*t when the explosion happened? Good on ya if you stayed up.

A buddy ran into his garage with my Kuota on the roof and put nasty gash in downtube. Calfee did amazing job and i put a good 2K miles on that frame with no worries whatsoever.

I say fix it.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Damn that sucks. Did you eat sh*t when the explosion happened? Good on ya if you stayed up.

A buddy ran into his garage with my Kuota on the roof and put nasty gash in downtube. Calfee did amazing job and i put a good 2K miles on that frame with no worries whatsoever.

I say fix it.

This all happened within three pedal revolutions of pushing off. The rear wheel locked up when the derailleur and chain went into the spokes, and I was able to just barely clip out of my pedal. Good thing it didn't happen at speed.

Thank you for all the recommendations. I am looking into Ruckus and Calfee.

[John H.]

I'd fix it.
I like Joe's in Watsonville or Ruckus up in Seattle.
Both less expensive than Calfee.
I can get you Joe's info if you need it. He used to work at both Calfee and Kestral.

[nate2351]

It's funny to read this thread about how easy it is to repair a cracked carbon tube with all the anti-carbon threads on the front page right now. Just an observation.

[Ozrider]

Serves you right for riding a carbon bike, seen as you are not a world class racer😎 best you head off and order a custom steel or Ti bike 😈
On a more serious note, if carbon repairs are done right you won't know the difference, the repair will be invisible and the bike should ride no different to before.
IMO it is better to spend a few more dollars on a good quality repair from a shop that has an excellent repair, as I've seen some really dodgy carbon repairs.
Post some pics of the before and after.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I'd fix it.
I like Joe's in Watsonville or Ruckus up in Seattle.
Both less expensive than Calfee.
I can get you Joe's info if you need it. He used to work at both Calfee and Kestral.

Thanks John, I have already contacted Joe for a quote.

[John H.]

Good deal- I know of a local team that uses Joe's for repair.
It is usually a better deal for the team to repair frames than take advantage of crash replacement from the manufacturer.

Thanks John, I have already contacted Joe for a quote.

[beeatnik]

Ruckus do amazing work and, IMO, can't be touched for price and quality. Ruckus will do the full repair and match the paint and graphics for the price that others charge for paint only. Tru story.

Check out their instagram. Smart guys.

https://instagram.com/ruckuscomp/

[gemship]

Full Disclosure. I am not a world-class racer, but use carbon fiber bikes and parts nonetheless. :p

My Cervelo S3 tipped over on a carpeted surface on the drive side. Seemed innocent enough of a fall. Unbeknownst to me, the rear derailleur hanger bent inward. When I took the bike out for a test ride with some new insoles, the rear derailleur went right into the rear wheel, tore out the replaceable derailleur hanger, damaged a few spokes, and cracked the non-drive chainstay.

I've heard of carbon fiber repair shops like Calfee doing good work, but have never had the need to use them. Has anybody had occasion to use such services for a cracked chainstay and would you recommend such a repair.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures, as the bike is currently with my mechanic. It's about a 1-inch wide hit, which caused an indentation and very small cracking on the chainstay. Initially, I thought it would be rideable, but my mechanic says otherwise.

TIA!

What a horrible story, all that damage from falling over the wrong way.

[John H.]

That exact damage could happen to a bike of any material.

[johnniecakes]

Are there any carbon repair shops on the east coast that would be recommended?

[gavingould]

adding to the chorus for Ruckus. i've seen several examples of their repair work and some custom fab stuff like putting a canti cable stop and fender mounts on an Enve fork.

[mktng]

does Parlee do cf repairing?

[RedRider]

does Parlee do cf repairing?

No...

[tiretrax]

I would definitely repair it. Let us know how it comes out. Also, there's Spiderco in the Bay area.