This might not be the right forum to post this but I thought it may be of general interest to the extent that like me there are those of you have have carbon frames of any description and may have had to chuck a frame away after a crash.
In a moment of distraction early in Jan I managed to hit a curb pretty hard and tumbled down on top of my Merckx AXM, headbutting a car on the way down and in the process cracking carbon bars, cracking my helmet and putting a crack across the toptube about 10cm back from the headtube (oh and possibly cracking a small bone in my wrist).
Like most people, I thought the frame was likely to be completely fucked from the side impact but I took it to Fitzroy Cycles in Carnegie immediately upon my return home. They deal with a guy based down in Geelong (Andrew McDonald or something similar) who does carbon frame repairs and has been doing so for years. He xrays the frame, assesses whether it can be repaired and then proceeds to repair the frame including a full repaint which involves sourcing and reinstalling decals.
I picked up my bike yesterday after about a 6 week wait - the repairs cost me $800 and I can honestly say that the work is flawless. You just can’t tell if its been worked on - its as good as new - possibly better they tell me in fact. The guys showed me another customer’s De Rosa that he had done which had apparently had a split running most of the length of the toptube repaired. Again you couldn’t tell it had been fixed.
I couldn’t be happier with the results and although the costs seem expensive its far cheaper than replacing an expensive frame - I was surprised this could be done so I’m guessing I’m not the only one to have not known this was possible.
So if you ever end up in the same boat as I was its well worth getting frame damage assessed before consigning your pride and joy to the waste bin.
Or you could buy a brand new plain carbon frame from the OEM supplier in China or Taiwan for 500 bux and put your own stickers on it.
My mate trashed his Felt racing bike (left it on the roof while driving into the carport) I don’t think he is holding much hope for an insurance payout. But he scored a generic black frame from somewhere and he is building it up with the Dura ace bits from his felt. He said the frame looks pretty good, it even has the headtube setup for tapered steerers.
He did say the finish in a few parts wasn’t as good as high end branded frames, but nothing major, and it was very light. I’ll see if he wants to post some pics. I think he’ll actually be selling it any case, i’ll post a link if he ebays it.
Was your frame hand made in Europe or America? I would be more inclined to get it repaired as well if it was a high end original.
Horatio, yes, I believe the time taken to turnaround the repair was partly due to sourcing decals from Merckx in Belgium. The Fitzroy guys said he can also organise pretty good copies of decals too as was the case with the De Rosa I saw. Re warranty yes it is covered although I’m less fussed on that aspect (maybe its just me).
Watimena, I did a fair amount of research on generic frames such as the ones you mention which you can bring in for around $500 or so - there is a cost benefit analysis to be done for this type of repair - in my case the frame is an 09 model no longer made that was hand produced in Italy for Merckx - top of the range before the EMX5 frame that Quickstep rode in the Tour last year was released - more importantly if you can still get them offshore they are expensive and in any event a frame I really like and I wanted to get done given its pedigree etc - some other lower specc’d or prices frames you may not be inclined to do this given the point you make.
As an aside I’m in the process of testing one of those chinese manufacturers as I’ve just paid to have a set of 50mm carbon deep dish tub rims sent across that I’m having built up locally for racing. $300 for the set. The guy I dealt with is reliable thus far and sells a range of unbranded carbon frames which look ok.
If I already had the bike, for 300 more I would prefer getting a frame that you know is good quality, possibly better than before, with warranty from someone in Australia. Especially if the geometry is different to the OEM suppliers.
What kind of insurance did your mate have? Most bike insurers - velosure, cyclesafe, cyclecover, vero etc will cover that as accidental damage.
there is another guy in perth who does carbon repairs/paint/decals etc and he is very good
re your merckx it was obviously a good choice to repair it as the frame is worth money, if it was a cheap carbon giant or something youd just bin it though
one of the polo guys here in adelaide does work with carbon/fibreglass. he fixed up a cracked frame that he bought for a dollar for his wife. looks pretty good too, still light and you can’t tell that it has been fixed
It’s from eBay seller carbonzone. You will find the link by googling “carbonzone wheels” or similar.
Internet research indicated they are sound and the customer service thus far has been very good.
They’ve been doing carbon repairs in the states for years, so good to see it make its way over here!
Lots of ice hockey players over there were getting their sticks repaired as it’s cheaper than buying new ones. I’ve seen $300 sticks broken during a pre-game warm up! Even then, the reviews were saying that the repairs were stronger than the original.
In Brisbane the contact is paint my bike, good guys that do get work with warranty etc. I got my Chinrella full carbon Romin saddle knockoff fixed there and it’s going strong
Turns out the painter was a mate of a mate too, small world. Even smaller Brisbane.
