The Repair

  • Assessing the damage:  The most common damage to a carbon fiber bicycle frame, involves some kind of impact to a tubular  structural member. Common issues are impacts to top tubes from handlebars or body parts and to chain and seat stays and occasionally down tubes. These types of damage usually result in fracturing and delamination of the carbon fiber.  If this is visible on the outside it is very likely that the damage will be to all layers in the region and extend away from the impact point with delamination that decreases with distance and depth. In all instances it is essential to remove all traces of broken and delaminated material and as a result the full extent of damage cannot be known until the frame can be inspected, however, with our experience our estimates usually come out pretty close from studying good photographs

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  • The repair:  Once all damaged material has been removed the process involves replacing the individual layers of carbon fiber removed in the proper orientation, tapered back into the surrounding good material.  To do this a number of different processes can be used to get a well consolidated laminate depending on the geometry, location and type of repair. To do this we are able to apply pressure to the curing laminate using vacuum bagging, bladder or winding.  The result is a repair that reproduces the contours of the frame without any deformities.

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  • The Finishing:  All factory finishes are base/clear coat with a lot of variation of color with effects like pearlescents and metallics along with graphics.  Also Increasingly manufacturers are using matte and semigloss along with the high gloss clearcoats.  With all these variations the painting process can become increasingly complex it is therefore important to consider your options.  We can restore frames to their original finish but can discuss options to suit your budget.  A note on matching finishes, unlike automotive companies the bicycle industry has no color code information to re finishers and as a result we do our best to get as close a match as possible and in all cases our customers have been very happy with the results.

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  • Preparation:  Having decided on having us repair your frame you need to get it stripped and if close enough we encourage you to drop it off otherwise obtain a used frame box and packaging materials from your local bike shop and ship it to us.  Please clean the frame before shipping. For local customers depending on the nature of repair needed the selective removal of components can be discussed.