How to tell if carbon frame is knackered

[jiberjaber]

I wonder if this can be fixed?

That would be on the other end of complex to fix, plus as someone else has already mentioned the consequences of it failing could be quite bad... that said, I think (without seeing the inside of the headtube) I would consider cutting the frame to get access to repair the top and down tubes and then re-joining - quite extreme and just an initial thought... you could make an alignment jig before the big cut using a wooden board and car body filler splodges.

The down tube looks like an easier repair given its position than the top tube, you would need some way to get the layup to conform to what ever the contour is inside the top tube/head tube area... the other challenge is you don't know what release agent may be left on the inside of the frame, so ensuring a bond might be problematic too...

Personally I think this one would be best left alone given the potential consequences.

 

[ColinJ]

No, don't be tempted. It will be difficult to align the bike properly and it may walk like a crab afterwards. But more important, that area is under a lot of stress and a failure is catastrophic. A failure on a chainstay or seatstay is survivable.

Hmm ... I think I would describe such a failure as potentially survivable! (I wouldn't fancy any part of my bike frame snapping at over 50 mph on a descent.)