carbon frames maintenance

[gongmech]

Hey all,

Just wondering is there any special maintenance for carbon mTB frames?

 

I hear you should use carbon prep paste instead of grease so as not to weaken the frame..dont even know what that is.

 

When cleaning is there stuff you shouldnt use?

 

Thanx

 

[gongmech]

Anyone???

[David Marshall]

I am no expert but carbon epoxies are pretty resilient.  You should have no problems with the usual lubes used on bikes - oil, grease, Q20 etc.  Wash with soapy water and rinse - polish with Pledge furniture polish or similar.   They do not like heat and direct sunshine, so keep this in mind for storage.  The carbon "paste" is used like you would use copper paste, to stop movement and noise on seatposts, stems etc. and not to lube moving parts.

 

I think the main thing is to have a good 1 to 20nm torque wrench and to torque components carefully and in increments.  From what I read most damage to carbon frames comes from mishaps while transporting.

 

Every now and then it is advisable to remove the seatpost and hang the bike up by the front wheel to allow any trapped water to escape.

 

[blackbutton]

Sounds like solid advise.

 

I'm looking to get a full carbon frame and maintenance is also one of my concerns. Will keep these tips in mind.

 

[gongmech]

aah thank you.  wonder why noone has asked this before.

[Minion]

Chowder pretty much nailed it, I think. Carbon paste is used because the CF-CF joint has quite low friction so you generally need an anti-slip compound.

I believe there are some solvents that may affect epoxy, but I suspect the same solvents would also do bad things to the paint on metal frame.

If I had a carbon MTB frame I'd also periodically inspect it for cracks (but you should really do this on any frame). While giving it a wash is quite a good time.

 

I think the main thing is to have a good 1 to 20nm torque wrench and to torque components carefully and in increments.

Just make sure you know how to use it properly.

All threads must be clean and free of dirt, grit, etc. Ideally you also need to find out whether the torque spec is for a greased or an ungreased thread.

On multi-bolt assemblies (e.g. stem-bar clamps) do what Chowder says and tighten all incrementally - tighten each one a little bit and then go back and tighten them a little bit more. You should also spread the load across the clamp i.e tighten top left then bottom right, top right and bottom left - it's the same principal that you apply when putting a wheel on a car.