Repaired carbon frames Repaired Carbon Frames

[johanmeiring108]

Have any of you been caught by people selling carbon bicycles on the hub that look good as new, only to find the frame breaking / cracking soon afterwards? I am learning, as a new cyclist, that their are sellers out their that get hold of broken carbon frames, have them repaired and painted and sell them to unsuspecting buyers like me. I have been caught twice already and have decided not to buy any 2nd carbon bike or frame from the hub anymore. In my instance both sellers had been supported by 2 high profile cycle shops. I thought of the latter I would be safe, but have learnt the opposite unfortunately.

[Thomo]

Could it just be bad luck or is there clear evidence of repair.?

 

 

Carbon repair has become a lucrative business.

Some guys are really very good with substantial warranty on their work.

 

That said, any repair should be disclosed.

[Me rida my bicycle]

Buying second hand is always a gamble.

I have bought a carbon bike and the seatpost was ceased without the owner knowing he never moved it since set up.

So my new 2 rules I don't buy anything resprayed and I aways check the seatpost.

[Martin PJ]

I had my MTB frame repaired by Carbon ninja in Durban. His repairs have lifetime warranty and they are as strong as new. If it is a rubbish repair, you should be able to see it from the paint job. That would also be rubbish. A repaired frame would have a slight thickness at the repaired area (not easy to spot). But a agree with you about buying from someone you don't know. There is always risk and not everything is what is seems at face value.

[Grease_Monkey]

I don't buy second hand carbon as a rule. Not saying no-one should, I just don't know enough about it to be able to check the integrity of the frame.

 

To be honest there isn't much I do buy second hand having been caught out a few times. My comment isn't much help - just my experience...

[Mountain_Goat]

What I normally do when buying wheels or a frame second hand is take it to a knowledgeable LBS of my choice (not the sellers choice) and have them inspect the item.

They usually do it free of charge because of the relationship I have with them.

[Schnavel]

Another feature to use when buying second hand is to view the sellers ratings. If the seller has a high positive rating, this rating is only achieved through good experiences.

 

I don't deal with sellers who don't have a rating for this exact reason.

[David Marshall]

Another thing that is blatantly lied about is the year of issue.  I am amazed at how often this happens.  I've seen bikes that I know were last manufactured in 2009 sold as 2014 etc.  Some of the bigger sellers who know (or should know) are often guilty.

 

That said I have never bought a brand new bike but I will buy new components or wheels before second hand - unless I can have a very, very good look first.

[Thomo]

Another thing that is blatantly lied about is the year of issue. I am amazed at how often this happens. I've seen bikes that I know were last manufactured in 2009 sold as 2014 etc. Some of the bigger sellers who know (or should know) are often guilty.

 

Agreed - many can't distinguish between year of manufacture, and year of purchase.

I think some bike shops are also guilty of creating false expectation when selling new old stock.

Anyway, probably a topic for another thread and not really contributing to the carbon repair debate.

[BogusOne]

Could it just be bad luck or is there clear evidence of repair.?

 

 

Carbon repair has become a lucrative business.

Some guys are really very good with substantial warranty on their work.

 

That said, any repair should be disclosed.

 

 

 

As a rule i have stopped doing repairs for re-sellers purely because of this... Disclosure.... When selling something that has been repaired its crucial to disclose this to the buyer otherwise you as the seller are nothing but being SKELM.

 

As Thomo says people are seeing this as a lucrative business and unfortunately not all will take the safety aspect of a repair in consideration when taking on a repair job.... 

As i said to one of my clients a few weeks back "your safety is more important to me than saving you a few bucks and me making a few".  I would much rather lose a repair than someones teeth or life for that matter.

 

So the moral of the story, be careful when buying repaired 2nd hand carbon. 

[Eugene]

I don't trust a repaired carbon frame for the simple reason, you don't know who did the repair or the quality of the repair.

 

To my knowledge there is no industry accreditation for repairers or training by people qualified by an industry body to do so. Anybody can teach themselves to do a repair. Some can offer a quality job, others not so.

 

What is also worrying is there are players in the insurance industry who would rather repair than replace.

[Grease_Monkey]

I don't trust a repaired carbon frame for the simple reason, you don't know who did the repair or the quality of the repair.

 

To my knowledge there is no industry accreditation for repairers or training by people qualified by an industry body to do so. Anybody can teach themselves to do a repair. Some can offer a quality job, others not so.

 

What is also worrying is there are players in the insurance industry who would rather repair than replace.

You hit the nail on the head. If I know the repair has been done by one of a few credible carbon guys then I'd maybe be okay with it, but you just don't know.

 

As for the insurers - it's why I left MiWay and went to CycleSure. MiWay chooses to repair even when shops tell them frames are beyond repair.

[Daxiet]

At risk of repeating the fact that there is always a risk to buying second hand. So the decision to buy second hand comes down to risk vs. reward. The reward in this case is a far lower price tag, well should be, many times I see insane asking prices. Needless to say, it is the buyers responsibility to do their homework so as to avoid over paying.

 

As for carbon frames, I have bought 3 carbon bikes second hand and 1 carbon frame. The one was purchased at high risk, sight unseen and my reward was a couple cracks in the rear stay (MTB). The price was worth the risk, so I got the cracks repaired, no further issues. The other was a road bike, I spotted a crack in the frames seat tube and walked away from the deal. The seller later called and asked for advice on what to do, I told him what the rough repair would cost based on past experience, he then dropped his price dramatically and asked if I would be interested. Note, this seller could have continued to try sell the bike to others, hiding the knowledge of a crack, but was honest enough not to. I took the bike and sent the frame in for repair, no issues since. The other carbon bikes/frame were 100% perfect.

 

If your carbon repair has been done by a reputable repairer, you should be good. Decent repairers know what can be safely repaired and what can't, I am also sure these repairers would also like to ensure their reputations are not tarnished by repairs failing.

 

Side note, decent repairs are very hard to spot, so you will bump into undisclosed repaired frames being sold. In all of the repairs I have had done or that I have seen, no full respray was done, the frames therefore look stock. So there is a risk, so make sure the price you pay balances out the risk.

[Edereese]

It all comes down to this, HONESTY!

I don't mind buying or selling a carbon repaired frame, just have the decency to inform the buyer/ seller.

Also, if you do sell a carbon repaired frame, supply pictures of what the damages was before repair. 

And as mentioned before, make sure the price you pay balances out the risk.

[Spinnekop]

I don't buy second hand carbon as a rule. Not saying no-one should, I just don't know enough about it to be able to check the integrity of the frame.

 

To be honest there isn't much I do buy second hand having been caught out a few times. My comment isn't much help - just my experience...

Then you should definitely not buy Alu frames as well.

Just saying.

[Skinnyone]

Alu frames can be repaired too, and have it hidden under a lick of paint...generally that would result in a crack next to the weld...

 

I have sold a repaired frame in the past, I was open about it and told the buyer of the damage and the repair, as I sold it at a respectable price considering the repair he took it...never heard from him again...BUT I also had it repaired by PG carbon repairs who are reputable and trust worthy...