bretttt

Hi everyone-

I have a little ding in my carbon on my road bike and I was wondering if anyone has a good eye for telling whether something is structural or cosmetic. I can't post pictures apparently, so if I can PM someone it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

rubiksoval

Dings are cosmetic. I've got lots of dings in my carbon bikes. If you can push on the ding and the carbon deforms, then you may have some other issues, but that'd be a bit larger than a ding.

KLiNCK

Sometimes an audible confirmation is better than a visual one. Have you tried gently tapping around the area with a coin? It the tone of the "tapping" changes in pitch you probably have a structural issue vs. a cosmetic one. Confirmation by your LBS is always a good idea.

mrblue

What the previous replies state are spot on. However, if you are concerned I would forego the LBS and directly consult a carbon fiber repair specialist. I had the same concern and the LBS turned out to be useless since they don't handle carbon fiber repairs. Fortunately I live in an area where there are a couple/few carbon repair specialists within an hour drive. I made an appointment with one of the carbon repair shops and dropped off my bike. The specialist did a visual examination and then did an x-ray. He said, yes there was a ding in the frame and a small void, but nothing structural to be concerned about nor did he believe the damage would result in catastrophic failure. He offered to repair it but said, "Personally, it so small, if it were me, I wouldn't bother."