Cracked Carbon Frame

sml-2727 · Jul 20, 2018

I recently purchased a used Pivot Les Fat frame, I decided to also buy a used seat post because I was trying to keep the cost down, got a thompson post for 30 bucks on ebay, guy cut some on it off and when I got it, it looked way shorter than I thought it would be, but I thought it would work, I went out for my first ride tonight and the post moved backwards, I immediately jumped off the bike and noticed I cracked the seat tube, I must of not had enough of the seat post inserted... I shoved it all in and pedaled back home. Im also thinking I did not have the seat post clamp all the way down.

So is there a repair solution for this? The crack is about the length of your pinky finger nail.

Pisgah · Jul 21, 2018

Carbon fiber can be fixed. A friend recently repaired a bike. He nearly tore the BB from the frame. I'm pretty sure he raced the same bike at the Snowshoe enduros this week. I don't know how he did it, but it can be done.

Harold · Jul 21, 2018

It's just a laminate of carbon fiber sheets and epoxy resin. You can buy DIY kits, but it'll look like ****. A pro repair will probably cost around $300 or so, which will usually include matching the finish the best they can.

Calfee is the standard for this service.

Not all locations on the frame are equally repairable. Middle of a tube is going to be the most straightforward. Other locations are a mixed bag, because of issues with complex shapes and the potential for clearance problems with components, structural soundness, and whatnot.

thesmokingman · Jul 21, 2018

sml-2727 said:
So is there a repair solution for this? The crack is about the length of your pinky finger nail.

I wish carbon damage was limited to what you can see. How deep was the post inserted? Take a pic too.

maverickc_c · Jul 21, 2018

Call Pivot and ask their opinion. They're pretty responsive also post this on the Pivot forum.
Take this with a grain of salt but one way to stop crack propagation is to drill a small hole at each end of the crack. Disclaimer: I've never done this with carbon but my Pivot has a slot and hole where the seat tube clamp is as an example of how Pivot does it.
Good luck!

jestep · Jul 21, 2018

Can you post a picture? I'm inclined to say, it's dead Jim...

sml-2727 · Jul 21, 2018

Well I got a better look at it today and there seem to be a crack but only on one side of the frame, and its not from the top of the seat tube its kinda 3/4 ways down. When I put my finger inside the hole for the seat post I feel nothing inside (thats what she said...lol)

I have this stuff called "mighty putty" that claims to work on anything, so I applied it to the crack and it hardens in an hour, I gotta say, im thinking it might of worked,feels very solid..the bad is it looks like ****...lol

Im going to wrap some black duct tape around it and see how it goes.

fastpath · Jul 22, 2018

fiber fix?

Cracked Carbon Frame

sml-2727

Pisgah

Harold

thesmokingman

maverickc_c

jestep

sml-2727

fastpath

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