Buyer Beware
 

This thread is just a quick lesson in you get what you pay for.

While cleaning my "Z Works" as I like to call it today in preparation for another glorious weekend in the mud and has only seen 3 weekends of serious mtb use, I found it is broken :( As you can see in the picture it's the seat stay but at least it it wasn't the steerer tube which I did think about while riding landing jumps and it didn't explode as people think carbon frames do.

It looks like something hit the stay and can only think the bike fell on something while stationary, I've not had a crash yet "amazingly" and not been aware of the bike falling on anything except flat ground. So it looks like I'm up for a new frame, in another thread I said if I broke it I would just buy another but if china carbon frames only last 3 weekends it's an expensive way to go. I think I'll get an alloy FS frame next.:thumb:

http://i.imgur.com/ha257f6.png

I like aluminium.

Bummer dude.

Whatever cracked your knockoff carbon frame would have also done a number on a new carbon frame or an aluminum frame. I'm sorry you took a risk and got burned by it.

Ummmmm.



Steel is Real. :)

Unless it is an economic issue, why not repair it? Repair Broken Carbon Bike Frames | Bicycling Magazine

You can bet carbon airplanes are not discarded. Repairing composite canoes is common place. Heck, that area of both stays could be a little thicker, with nice tapers and look like it was mfg that way. Creative paint would be even more fun.

Crunch, Crack, Crash...

There's a carbon skinning kit on ebay for $69 with everything needed for a repair job and a few other carbon fiber sites more expensive. I'm still deciding on that but I've also become smitten with a Reynolds 853 Pipedreams 29er frame, I was actually concidering buying that at the same time I bought the china frame. I think I would have been better off buying the Pipedream in the first place :rolleyes:

I'm only holding back from doing anything because I think a repaired frame will play on my mind riding it. But we'll see ?

I've decided not to bother with this frame and retire it. It would always play on my mind with the repaired break and it breaking else where. None of these china frames have the research and testing like name brand frames and don't want to end up with an injury risking another break.

As the title says "BUYER BEWARE"

Just showing the replacement frame from the crap above. Being my second china frame I can say the quality of no name china frames are not the same, can't speak for the bearing yet but there easy to replace but the rest looks top quality like big name brands just without paint, it was packed well and cant wait to swap everything from the old frame. Just need a shock :thumb:

http://i.imgur.com/HMHmk9H.png

I've actually removed a lot of packing before this shot.
http://i.imgur.com/YTK8LL0.png

http://i.imgur.com/wjhZnQm.png

http://i.imgur.com/yBMNFsd.png

Hope that FS survives!

Murdered out.

I'll enjoy trying to kill this one. A tough job I think.

That seatstay is mighty thin, Jbchybridrider. Mine is nearly 1.5x thicker, and it takes a beating EVERY ride:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psc561f326.jpg

About the same I think. Yours are thick vertically mine are thick horizontally and my chain stays are huge but I guess that would mean more on a hardtail. The seat stays feel thicker carbon too or much thicker that my old hardtail at least.