cracked carbon seatstay

[arimajol]

I was sitting on the floor of my home office/bike trainer room and noticed this crack in the seatstay of my Look 585. It's about halfway between the dropout and where the stays split above the wheel. I'd really like opinions on how much of a problem you think it is. It doesn't seem to be a high stress area, in the middle of the stay, but obviously cracked anything is bad.

Worst case, if it's a permanent trainer bike, that's not the worst thing in the world. It's such a nice riding frame, that'd be a bummer, but catastrophic carbon failure while riding isn't worth it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Fh8223mvq8g-IWeJZhyjNNMNDf688HKCn568dT6vgjM7--4Jv4WjD7NIlZJ7wCJ0dHfINL4IU9cx0Fl44SMM3IwJNZ0LQEaz IbYESgcf9_BWdpE7K_OblcEZqnz5gWK9WH8I4IPQ359u5k1NGe EUSg-G1yb66bPOpQ-aVzyhE5BvmY-HWQ5lgl0v_JRw8zGqDtxrpHlv2Yi0TPdhOvPw7c--bBHrHPc_ZyG2Fu9C5PeWlWSb4byWReLno4ThJsUEZc-Jbdy-I9VPpZH0NvRabxFJP_ncoSx2zBjUN02yqOBi8yV9fwJWX2QNsE hELNK19sV553nUIfuetIPnZQwPi8t15jgN7qMOaaLQ83pya1zq RVClrc1vm2IljWqQz8QN1qWfArYGwSD0oCrAeRzeVXRQmGZa-GOaTbJTu0jPpbUZ6CNZ7zcTixrp9UbfbSSUHjhobfdwBYENJZl YKYIE-K7Xc4EsjnwT8eL44VKie_TiX8oXUsVGxre_8fNy5bxsNnYsgMU noer70dv8Dc6LMUhsKexsqyLq_d_Yk6me3JiAoF71UG2jBumc3 sLPQci9I5J6ZgRr2sMHVn-UerXSlDedJsxJvkpBb99lGrG2ntOvJjD4DN0NMxdPdRSafbY6U Qxc5C046IvrhiCbwvBHzJw8Ep4MheoRdKblquzcDLFTM1qya7D T5_XBpmOSnNlUgOD_wfslyGzHTgIuAReRBbBIF_A5GQPENVU85 CtjlvUq-u2joOK0vF8A=w886-h1180-no

[saab2000]

It can likely be repaired. Whether or not that is worth it to you is another question. The frame is every bit of ten years old and nothing lasts forever.

If that is deeper than the clear coat and paint I wouldn't ride it anymore until it is repaired.

[terry]

If you’re anywhere near MA I’d recommend Toby Stanton @ Hot Tubes. He’s done work for me and I was more than pleased.

[AngryScientist]

yea, that's an easy area for repair with a simple wrap. as long as you dont need it to look perfect, i think it would be worth it getting that repaired.

i wouldnt ride it as is

[arimajol]

I just found this guy, an hour drive away and requested for a quote. If it can be fixed for a couple hundred bucks, I think it'd be worth it.

http://carbondr.com/

[saab2000]

I just found this guy, an hour drive away and requested for a quote. If it can be fixed for a couple hundred bucks, I think it'd be worth it.

http://carbondr.com/

I agree it's worth fixing if it can be done for a couple hundred or so. A new frame is a lot more than that.

[wallymann]

i had a crack in the same place on my C50...about 6" up from the drop-out on the non-drive side seatstay.

CF bikes from that era were overbuilt...and seatstays are lowly-stressed (look at all the modern bikes with pencil-thin seatstays)...i just sanded the area down to expose the CF, cleaned up the crack and smooshed some high quality epoxy into the offending area, sanded and clear-coated the repair, then pressed the bike back into regular everyday/beaterbike duty.

the repair hasnt changed at all and i've been rolling the bike for several years now since...i went down in a racing pile-up in 2015 and i broke my pelvis and pringled the front wheel...the C50 was fine.

[arimajol]

I agree it's worth fixing if it can be done for a couple hundred or so. A new frame is a lot more than that.

And a new frame is definitely not in the cards for me for the next while.
Unfortunately, I've only ridden the bike a handful of times since I got the frame from you 1.5 years ago. Enough that I don't want to give up on it, but not so much that I just have to keep it, ya know?

[arimajol]

i had a crack in the same place on my C50...about 6" up from the drop-out on the non-drive side seatstay.

CF bikes from that era were overbuilt...and seatstays are lowly-stressed (look at all the modern bikes with pencil-thin seatstays)...i just sanded the area down to expose the CF, cleaned up the crack and smooshed some high quality epoxy into the offending area, sanded and clear-coated the repair, then pressed the bike back into regular everyday/beaterbike duty.

the repair hasnt changed at all and i've been rolling the bike for several years now since...i went down in a racing pile-up in 2015 and i broke my pelvis and pringled the front wheel...the C50 was fine.

Very interesting, thank you for sharing. Especially with the Y seatstays it doesn't seem like there'd be a lot of stress on that spot.

[Tony]

i had a crack in the same place on my C50...about 6" up from the drop-out on the non-drive side seatstay.

CF bikes from that era were overbuilt...and seatstays are lowly-stressed (look at all the modern bikes with pencil-thin seatstays)...i just sanded the area down to expose the CF, cleaned up the crack and smooshed some high quality epoxy into the offending area, sanded and clear-coated the repair, then pressed the bike back into regular everyday/beaterbike duty.

the repair hasnt changed at all and i've been rolling the bike for several years now since...i went down in a racing pile-up in 2015 and i broke my pelvis and pringled the front wheel...the C50 was fine.

That type of repair only acts as a filler, mostly cosmetic. Adding little to nothing to the structural integrity

[saab2000]

And a new frame is definitely not in the cards for me for the next while.
Unfortunately, I've only ridden the bike a handful of times since I got the frame from you 1.5 years ago. Enough that I don't want to give up on it, but not so much that I just have to keep it, ya know?

Oh..... I didn't know that's the one from me. I hope it's served well otherwise.

I certainly didn't know it had a crack in it. PM me if there's any issues.

[C40_guy]

i had a crack in the same place on my C50...about 6" up from the drop-out on the non-drive side seatstay.

CF bikes from that era were overbuilt...

And Colnagos specifically tend to be overbuilt. Not sure I'd say the same about *all* CF bikes from that era...

Glad to hear that yours is hanging in there. My C50 is my favorite bike!

[wallymann]

That type of repair only acts as a filler, mostly cosmetic. Adding little to nothing to the structural integrity

maybe so, but if the area was truly stressed the repair would have cracked again...and as i said, it hasnt budged in over 5 years of very regular, rough-duty use!

i'll admit...it aint pretty!

[arimajol]

Oh..... I didn't know that's the one from me. I hope it's served well otherwise.

I certainly didn't know it had a crack in it. PM me if there's any issues.

I didn't mean to suggest anything. I gave it a good look over when I received it. If it was there, neither of us noticed it. You're good!

[Tony]

maybe so, but if the area was truly stressed the repair would have cracked again...and as i said, it hasnt budged in over 5 years of very regular, rough-duty use!

i'll admit...it aint pretty!

I agree

[saab2000]

I didn't mean to suggest anything. I gave it a good look over when I received it. If it was there, neither of us noticed it. You're good!

Excellent. I'd never sell something and not stand behind it, so don't hesitate to contact me if there are any issues.

I hope you are able to enjoy that Look as much as I enjoy mine!

[Tony]

Excellent. I'd never sell something and not stand behind it, so don't hesitate to contact me if there are any issues.

I hope you are able to enjoy that Look as much as I enjoy mine!

I have a list of the best of the best sellers and you just made it to the top!

[Black Dog]

Time and Look Carbon frames are extremely well built. I would be repairing and not replacing. Almost looks like a scratch. Worth sanding down to confirm.

[wallymann]

I agree

a C50 a tool, a weapon, a thoroughbred...not a show-pony!

[Peter P.]

I believe ANY frame should be repaired at least once, if possible.

And for goodness sake if you repair that Look, give it a proper repaint, too!

Report back on how the repair goes.

[mulp]

I had repaired my carbon dogma and its actually not that difficult, probably about $100 in materials and a 5-10 hours in prep and repair time.

Carbon is pretty easy to work with for the most part.

[ultraman6970]

OP the 1st thing is to remove the paint to check the damage under the paint, probably isnt that bad under the paint, maybe just cleaning and drop some epoxy and call it a day. Either way who knows since when that has been there and you did not notice till the other day. The other thing if its not creaking then is not as bad you think.

So far i can tell thats a crack but you have a few layers under it aswell, it is soft to the touch? probably not.

[mhespenheide]

Drew Wilson at http://www.cyclocarbon.com/ gets good reviews over on FaceBook. His site says that basic repairs start at $200 including basic paint. He's in Rochester, MN.

[arimajol]

OP the 1st thing is to remove the paint to check the damage under the paint, probably isnt that bad under the paint, maybe just cleaning and drop some epoxy and call it a day. Either way who knows since when that has been there and you did not notice till the other day. The other thing if its not creaking then is not as bad you think.

So far i can tell thats a crack but you have a few layers under it aswell, it is soft to the touch? probably not.

I can't make it flex, but tapping right on the crack with a coin does produce a dull thud, unlike the nice "tink" elsewhere.

No creaking that I've been aware of. Been sitting on a trainer for 4 months though.

[gemship]

I can't make it flex, but tapping right on the crack with a coin does produce a dull thud, unlike the nice "tink" elsewhere.

No creaking that I've been aware of. Been sitting on a trainer for 4 months though.

Count me in the camp that it looks like a stcratch. How about just taking a sharpie marker with a fine point and simply draw an outline end to end of the offending crack or whatever it may be and then you can set some baseline to see if it grows over time.