Carbon frame crack?

[Davmol]

Hi all. I am buying a bike and saw what appears to be a line in it. It's at the bottom of the saddle post. Can anyone offer advice of opinions on this ?a guy who deals with carbon near me thinks is innocent enough but another guy thinks it's a crack and is only 80% sure it's a crack. Any ideas?[/php]

[Painkiller]

If you have not purchased the bike as yet, I would pass. It will not get better and the next possible buyer will have the same concerns as you. Carbon bikes are pretty much a one owner bike and not always the soundest used bike purchase. It certainly is caused by stress. little by little will deteriorate. it could easily enough "Hidden" with some epoxy repair and proper paint match and blending, but that would not be right if not disclosed @ resale would it? That is why I say not always the soundest used bike purchase unless you really know the history of the bike.

[Davmol]

(12-20-2014, 01:54 PM)painkiller Wrote:  If you have not purchased the bike as yet, I would pass. It will not get better and the next possible buyer will have the same concerns as you. Carbon bikes are pretty much a one owner bike and not always the soundest used bike purchase. It certainly is caused by stress. little by little will deteriorate. it could easily enough "Hidden" with some epoxy repair and proper paint match and blending, but that would not be right if not disclosed @ resale would it? That is why I say not always the soundest used bike purchase unless you really know the history of the bike.

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Thanks for the reply. Regarding deterioration,what do you think is the likely prognosis for it?

[Painkiller]

Simply no real science to tell. It could go in one wrong move or just be an eyesore for a long time. If you already bought it, just monitor it by taking some measurements and comparing over time. Other than that not much worth doing. Once a Carbon frame fatigues it is done. Sure they can be patched but at an unsightly cost. I f you have not bought it yet, move on unless the rest of the components make it worth applying to another frame off build. Nothing else I can say to make it better.

[GeorgeET]

10-4 to what PK said. For now it could be just the paint cracking, but flexing at the seat post caused it. How long before frame starts cracking? Do you feel lucky? You could reinforce it but is it worth it?

If you can, get a steel frame and move all the parts and still save money over buying a steel bike or just want to have a winter project, than maybe.