Carbon Wheel Repair

[Broker]

I need some advice.

My carbon rear wheel (road) got damaged when I hit a &%$# pothole. The damage is on the section that hold the tyre bead in place. The rest of the wheel are still 100%. Can anybody point me to a specialist that can do carbon repairs on wheels. Thanks

[PeterF]

It would help to know which area you are in.

[Broker]

based in Gauteng. Did find another topic with the same question so will follow up on that. Thanks

[CAAD4]

PG Carbon repairs in Benoni.

[carbon29er]

It depends on the way the bead is broken. If cracked above the braking surface it is easily repairable.

 

I've done quite a few repairs where the bead has been damaged on impact and it's really simple.

 

The basic premise is that you want to stop further damage and recreate a decent seal.

 

Clean the crack/break. Try not to remove too much fibre material.

 

Use a liquid super glue and apply it into the cracked area to hold all the fibres in place and fill any holes. Allow to dry.

 

Mix an a small amount of epoxy.

 

Apply the epoxy to the damaged area, rebuilding the bead in thin layers.

 

Use a very fine water paper to sand the epoxy smooth, being careful not to sand undamaged carbon area.

 

Repeat apply epoxy and sand smooth until you are happy the bead is consistent with rest of rim.

 

Allow time for epoxy to dry, this is not a 30 minute job elapsed time but is not much more than that actual time.

 

Replace tyre and ride.

 

The only visible sign of the repair will be a slightly different colour where you have repaired the rim.  Be careful not to build up the braking surface as your wheel will become useless if you can't brake.

 

I have done this method for road and 29er wheels, and have had absolutely no issues mounting tubed and tubeless tyres.