I noticed today that my Bike Friday has developed two gouges on the mainframe. I don't know if they're just nicks in the paint or if they're actually cracks. God forbid these are cracks, but if they are, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a replacement frame since this one is pretty old. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with these issues?

Oh yeah, I also don't know what model this is; NWT perhaps?

Call Bike Friday. Are you the original owner? If so, the frame "may" be covered under warranty, if not, they can repair it at a very reasonable price. Steel is real =). they will probably ask you to send pictures. Don't freak out, it is not fatal but it does look like cracks.

Bike Friday has powdercoated all of their frames, I think from the very beginning.

Powdercoat is thick and soft.

Your questionable "cracks" are in the middle of the tube near the water bottle cage which should be a reasonably low stress area.

Looking at the mark on top, it looks like it has folded over edges like most of the other scratches nearby, and I'm pretty sure it is just paint deep.

The scratch on the side is a little more ambiguous, but it also appears to just be through the powdercoat.

You could use an electric wire brush to clean a few inches of powdercoat off, but that would be excessive.

If you wish, for peace of mind, take a sharpee, or some kind of paint, and mark the ends of the scratches, then take a high res photo of them....

Then ride the bike for a few months and see if anything has changed.

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. I'm not the original owner, so this frame probably isn't covered under a warranty. The good news is that I took it to a local bike shop, and the owner happened to be an ex-Bike Friday employee. Took a look at the scratches and said that it was most probably scratched paint, which was good to hear. Still, I think I'll air on the side of caution and send photos to them for evaluation.

Measure the "crack". Ride gently, gradually build confidence, and measure after use. Steel usually fails slowly while aluminum can be fast. That is what I would do.

use a sandpaper to sand the paint of to see if its a crack or just a frame scrap.

I think that's the smart move. While you're at it, ask them how much it would cost to get a repaint. You're close by (I had to send mine) and as I recall the cost was extremely reasonable. Plus, they'd get a good look at the frame after they blast it clean.