atomship47

i've posted about my new full carbon bike before. chain jumped off the small ring and got sucked up and wedged against the downtube and chainstay. 2 big gouges.

a few days ago, i was wiping the bike down after a ride and noticed a 1.5" crack on the seat stay just behind the seat post.

took it to my lbs yesterday....whole other drama there. i really liked the shop when i bought the bike. then, the tech that set me up on my bike became part owner. he got into it with a buddy who bought a bike at the same time i did. well, the new part owner got pissy with me. he really copped an attitude when i told him i wanted to bring the bike in to be inspected.

when i brought the bike in yesterday, he was gone. also, there was a sign on the door of the shop that said, "anyone attempting to change the locks will be prosecuted....." i get the feeling there was some sort of falling out amongst the owners. that sucks. then again, the original owner was there to help me and he was great! they are concerned about the crack behind the seat post. they told me to ride the bike the rest of the season...then, we'll send it to felt to have it xray'd.

meanwhile, i'm looking for a steel or ti bike for next year.

666

What brand is the frame?

maddyfish

If it is cracked then I wouldn't ride it. Maybe take it to a different shop just for an opinion.
Any chance of a pic of the crack?

atomship47

its a felt z35


my first thought was, "no way am i riding this bike."

2 shops have checked out the gouges from the chain suck. one even called felt. everyone said, "no big deal...keep riding."

you can really feel the other crack. however, i don't know how well it will show up in a picture. i'll see if i can get a decent pic and post it.

its a compact frame and i weigh 220 when i'm geared up. i thought a compact frame might hold my weight better. however, i wonder if having so much seatpost showing is somehow creating stress on the seatstays.

acathi_cyclist

Yes.

acathi_cyclist

see

waterrockets 

I wouldn't let this scare you from carbon. Chainsuck and too little seatpost overlap will hose any frame material. Granted, chainsuck on steel is more of a cosmetic issue than anything else unless you really try to push the chain through.

steaktaco

+1

Carbon scares the shihit outta me.

atomship47

the pic makes the mark on the seat stay look like a surface scratch. its not. you can feel that its cracked.

kleng

The vertical crack on the seat stay, if thats what your referring to is the tube join between the seat stay and the seat lug. If you can see it opening and closing when you flex the frame the its a bonding problem and definitely a warranty issue. The BB gouges if there not too deep can be repaired by the using automotive clear coat (its thicker) to build it up a bit at a time then polish it, looks like you need to add a layer of black first.
The chainstay looks like aluminium, so the gouge is more difficult to repair.

bac

If it's really cracked, I would advise against riding it.

/just my $.02

... Brad

Psycho Linguist

Just got rid of my Felt F3C because of the fast-accumulating hairline splinters and dings from road debris. I'm 198 pounds and have heard two sharply opposing views about the continued integrity of this material given the relative damage. Some have suggested getting rid of the frame (given the great stress on it from my excessive weight) and some have suggested the CF will, nevertheless, hold true.

I've opted for Ti instead.

atomship47

yes. the tube between the lug and stays has the crack. i don't know if it opens/closes when riding. don't think i'm flexible enough to check.

the chainstays are cf. the color is a little off because i doctored the pic so you could see the gouge better. it actually is white-ish. i want to repair the gouges because i'm anal and also because i can't help but think it will prevent further chipping, etc. around them. i've asked 3 techs at 2 different lbs and all assured me that it won't be a problem and i'm better off not trying to repair or coat them with a clear-coat.

the owner at the lbs wants me to wait til the end of the season before sending it to felt. while it would totally SUCK to be without my roadie for any length of time, i'm ready to send it now. i'm too paranoid when i ride now. i'll just have to pimp my trek 7300 until i get the felt back.







yep! shopping for steel or ti. the serotta fierte looks sweet. or maybe the cx serotta.

biker128pedal

Is there any seat post past the seat stays? Man that is long. Even though it is a compact frame it looks tooooo small.

atomship47

i was thinking the same thing. after i uploaded the pic to my pc, i thought "holy crap!" i went straight upstairs to make sure the seatpost wasn't extended too far out of the seat tube. i think it has something to do with the picture. it doesn't look as awkward irl.

also, fwiw, i adjusted the seatpost up about 3/4" the other day. after my ride today, i've decided it's at least 1/4" - 1/2" too high.

zencadance

That's why I bought TI.

kleng

If its definitely a crack on the seat stay, then I'd send it in straight away, actually I'd contact FELT directly and explain the situation.

With the gouges, covering them with clear coat after a bit of black arcylic model paint, will actually stop contaminants (eg. oil,water, road grime) from getting under the surrounding clear coat and cause it to lift even more.

Sasquatchula

Envision the worst possible time for that crack to become an absolute failure. Then envision the worst bodily damage that can happen to you in that situation. If you're ok with that, then keep on on riding, by all means. If it were my frame, I'd be on the phone talking directly to Felt ASAP.

Maybe I'm being a bit alarmist, or even unrealistic, as I have no experience with CF. But why on earth would you take the chance?

I'm also curious as to why they would suggest you wait till later in the year to pursue it. Given the (possibly) tenuous situation at the LBS, I'd get it done now, while they're all still around.

urodacus

Felt have been pretty good about frame warranties, at least in Australia with my brother in law's cracked frame, an F3C.

clear coat your chip marks and scratches. it stops them spreading and delaminating further. what dork told you not to?

i have more seat post showing on my TCR, but then I'm a lot lighter than you (60 kg). you must make sure your post is long enough, so that 1/3 is still inserted. i don't understand why some people cut the end of their carbon posts off to save 20 grams.

atomship47

i left a voicemail for the person in felt's warranty/cust. svc. department this morning. hopefully, i'll get a call back soon.

the z series is brand new for 07. i hope this is an anomoly and not a design issue.

GABA

Dude, that sucks. Steel or Ti is sounding better all the time. Keep us posted. Hopefully Felt will come thru for ya.

The problem was you probably broke the 400w barrier. All hell breaks loose after that!!! rofl

atomship47

maybe i'll start wearing a helmet! you know,,,just in case.

DocRay

oh, titanium bikes don't crack? right.

You can get this frame fixed to 100% strength or better by Calfee.

DocRay

Clear coat will not stop crack propagation. Clear coat is not strong enough, it has to be fixed with epoxy resins mixed with carbon fibers, or an overlay of new CF.

atomship47

well, so far i give a thumbs up to felt. the warranty person called me back in a very reasonable amount of time. he agreed, if there is any doubt in my mind, send it in. i asked if there have been problems with the z series. he said, absolutely none. of course that's what i'd expect a manufacturer to say. however, so far i'm pleased with felt's response and i'll definitely give them the benefit of the doubt.

i'm on my way to the shop right now!