You already take your precious carbon racer with you in your appartment to save it from the risks of a bicylce storage room and here you are! A thoughtless turning, a gentle push with the elbow, the bicycle tilts over and hits with the top tube at the sofa table. You immediately state a small hole in the coating of the top tube with a cracking pattern around it. And ask yourself whether the frame is lost for good. As a matter of fact there is no pat answer to this question. Neither is there an answer to the question, whether frame, fork, handlebars or other components made of carbon can be used any further after a crash on the road or whether they have to be replaced.
Cyclists who have bought their cycle from a manufacturer granting crash replacement for such cases, have at least the possibility of buying a new frame at a reduced price. But even this kind of warranty expires sometime and if you happen to experience such an accident after that you will have to pay the regular price. And at this point the question comes again to the fore whether the repair of a carbon frame is possible – and if it is, at what price?
Short & crisp
Following a crash or an impact carbon frames are not necessarily fit for scrap. There are test methods for frames allowing an assessment of the condition. Even a repair is possible in many cases. There are specialist companies offering the repair of a damaged carbon frame to the condition as new.
Author: Dirk Zedler
