Joined
·
70 Posts
Bought this frame brand new from intense a month ago and rode it 5 times. Today I noticed this. I dont recall the frame being hit in this area but it's possible. Is this just the paint cracking or could it be the carbon?
M16 crack or just paint
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Joined
·
45,031 Posts
Give it to me and I’ll test it for awhile and get back with ya on my findings.
Joined
·
70 Posts
The captain goes down with his ship, sorry chief
Joined
·
39,135 Posts
Does seem like an impact, but it's impossible to tell from visual inspection alone. Tap-test (look it up) may help. Other more advanced methods may be necessary. The good part is that on a relatively open surface like that (no complicated bends, etc.) carbon repair would be relatively easy.
Joined
·
1,778 Posts
It looks to me like an impact ding, circular in nature. Look at the radiating surface cracks in the dark/shaded part of the frame, semi-circular shaped. Cannot tell from the picture how deep is the linear crack.
If it was my frame I would get it checked out by someone that works with carbon fiber and stands behind their work.
If it was my frame I would get it checked out by someone that works with carbon fiber and stands behind their work.
Joined
·
70 Posts
Couldnt hear any noise difference from doing the tap test. From talking to local riders I've been hearing intense frames are fragile. I bought a used m16 alloy that was in decent condition and it cracked across a weld only 2 park days. I didnt even crash or hit anything big. Randomly noticed it while cleaning it. Now this happens to my carbon. I think it happened today when I had my bike in the work stand and a gust of wind blew it over. That mark is perfectly lined up with the work stand so it's very possible it was damaged when the bike landed on it.
Joined
·
39,135 Posts
Something doesn't sound right there. I've beat the living **** out of my Turner RFX (carbon) and it's still going strong. In general, they will take impacts and crashes just fine, with some cosmetic damage. I screwed up and hit the chainstay twice with a hammer on my carbon fat bike and THAT showed signs of delamination, impact damage. Not cracked where the surface was uneven, but where you can see a layer went "white" as it delaminated. So I sanded it down, layed some opposing helix carbon layers with resin and hardener, a few cosmetic layers on top, let it cure, then went and sanded it back down to smooth and put some clear-coat on top. My point is you really have to be trying to damage these usually, it's usually not something that happens without knowledge. Carbon stuff is amazingly strong.
Joined
·
1,200 Posts
Im a big guy (currently 280lbs) and ride an Intense Recluse. I dont take it to any park days or anything, but I wouldnt call them fragile from my experience. I have OTB'd more times than I would like to admit and mine has taken more tumbles than I would like to admit. Still perfectly fine without any cracks or anything. Plenty of paint chips though!
Anyone who breaks an intense frame (riding hard) would likely break any carbon frame. Just my opinion of course.
Joined
·
70 Posts
You're correct, something doesn't sound right. The fact that I didnt crash or hit anything huge on my m16 alloy is a total mystery. I had a little get off on this frame, but I would never expect carbon to break from a minor crash. I've beat the **** out of a lot of bikes ( yt, gt, devinci) and never broke a frame, let alone 2 of the same bikes in half a season. I'll have to call intense and see what they say.
Joined
·
70 Posts
I pretty much only ride at bike parks and shuttle dh lines. I'm a 155 lb cat 1 racer, so I'm using the bike for what it's meant to do. I've crashed way harder (otb on a 30ft gap on a rc slayer and the frame was fine. On this bike I just slid out around a corner
Joined
·
1,200 Posts
Which is indeed how this bike is designed to be ridden, agreed. I was just saying that I dont think Intense builds weak bike frames by any means.
Joined
·
443 Posts
I heard you were hammering nails back into the wood features on Smiles with the frame. I've also heard your lacking in the speed and style departments... it's got to be a defect, you aren't fast enough to cause that kind of damage...you should probably just ship the bike back and pack it in on the sport
lol
ultrasound is needed on that to know for sure
or xray
intense (or anyone else) can make fine frames, but voids happen, slop happens, and can show up just like that...
obligatory link to a composites repair expert who reveals a lot about composite bike parts
https://www.instagram.com/luescher_teknik/
or xray
intense (or anyone else) can make fine frames, but voids happen, slop happens, and can show up just like that...
obligatory link to a composites repair expert who reveals a lot about composite bike parts
https://www.instagram.com/luescher_teknik/
Joined
·
70 Posts
Did 2 park days riding pretty hard and it didnt get bigger. Waiting to hear back from intense
I think you're good to go. There is a fair amount of primer under your paint so I'm thinking it's just cosmetic.
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Join the discussion
