Carbon fork - thru axle ripped out on brand new bike?
05-10-20, 11:46 PM
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Carbon fork - thru axle ripped out on brand new bike?
Just took delivery of a new Diamondback Century Sport. There are a couple of defects (bent front large chainring, warped front brake rotor) but the most serious appears to be the cracks around the axle nut in the front fork.
(this fork is listed as 'Full Monocoque Carbon "CFT",')
Requesting opinions. Can anyone confirm this looks dangerous and should not be ridden? Or is it a paint issue?
The box had no shipping damage but it looks like this bike has some problems....
Will be contacting the seller (bikes direct) in the morning, but wanted any info possible.
Thank you!
I'm new and can't post links or attach pics
. I uploaded the pic here:
i.imgur.com/ tV62uJg.jpg (remove the space)
(this fork is listed as 'Full Monocoque Carbon "CFT",')
Requesting opinions. Can anyone confirm this looks dangerous and should not be ridden? Or is it a paint issue?
The box had no shipping damage but it looks like this bike has some problems....
Will be contacting the seller (bikes direct) in the morning, but wanted any info possible.
Thank you!
I'm new and can't post links or attach pics
. I uploaded the pic here:i.imgur.com/ tV62uJg.jpg (remove the space)
05-11-20, 12:15 AM
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Last edited by adamhenry; 05-11-20 at 12:29 AM.
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05-11-20, 01:31 AM
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I can't tell from a photo online if that's safe to ride or just the paint, I sure wouldn't risk it though.
05-11-20, 04:37 AM
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I think you are right to be concerned. That area of the fork should be solid but it does not seem to be.
05-11-20, 05:20 AM
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Darn, I was expecting to see a pic of a ripped out thru axle....
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05-11-20, 06:15 AM
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Just took delivery of a new Diamondback Century Sport. There are a couple of defects (bent front large chainring, warped front brake rotor) but the most serious appears to be the cracks around the axle nut in the front fork.
(this fork is listed as 'Full Monocoque Carbon "CFT",')
Requesting opinions. Can anyone confirm this looks dangerous and should not be ridden? Or is it a paint issue?
The box had no shipping damage but it looks like this bike has some problems....
Will be contacting the seller (bikes direct) in the morning, but wanted any info possible.
Thank you!
I'm new and can't post links or attach pics. I uploaded the pic here:
i.imgur.com/ tV62uJg.jpg (remove the space)
(this fork is listed as 'Full Monocoque Carbon "CFT",')
Requesting opinions. Can anyone confirm this looks dangerous and should not be ridden? Or is it a paint issue?
The box had no shipping damage but it looks like this bike has some problems....
Will be contacting the seller (bikes direct) in the morning, but wanted any info possible.
Thank you!
I'm new and can't post links or attach pics
. I uploaded the pic here:i.imgur.com/ tV62uJg.jpg (remove the space)
Was the shipping box you received the original bike's box? I don't know how Bike Directs operate, but It is possible that it was removed from its original box, handled & shipped in another box.
Last edited by eduskator; 05-11-20 at 06:25 AM.
05-11-20, 06:33 AM
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Normally I'd say that's just crappy paint but have you tried to find a dentist recently?
05-11-20, 06:46 AM
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05-11-20, 07:19 AM
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05-11-20, 07:30 AM
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It's hard for me to say. Keeping in mind that there's some extreme magnification going on here, this could just be a case of sloppy finishing between the carbon of the fork and the threaded insert. I would see if I could thread the TA through the other way, from the outside of the fork, and see if there's any wiggle.
05-11-20, 07:42 AM
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I would definitely return it. Even if you could somehow definitively determine that it's just a paint issue, this (along with the other issues) seems unacceptable on a brand new bike.
Out of curiosity how would they be addressing the other issues?
Out of curiosity how would they be addressing the other issues?
05-11-20, 07:47 AM
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Rotors bend pretty easily. So that is not a surprise to hear.
Would have been quite a beating to bend a chainring.
What's on the fork could be cosmetic or it could be structural. As others have said, it's hard to tell. If you take the wheel out and reinsert just the TA, can you pull on the TA and feel or see it move?
Would have been quite a beating to bend a chainring.
What's on the fork could be cosmetic or it could be structural. As others have said, it's hard to tell. If you take the wheel out and reinsert just the TA, can you pull on the TA and feel or see it move?
05-11-20, 10:23 AM
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It looks to me like it was damaged and that is the result of a botched touch up. I would ride it if I had to but
if I had the option to return it I would especially with the other stuff going on. A chainring does not bend easily.
if I had the option to return it I would especially with the other stuff going on. A chainring does not bend easily.
05-11-20, 10:31 AM
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It's hard for me to say. Keeping in mind that there's some extreme magnification going on here, this could just be a case of sloppy finishing between the carbon of the fork and the threaded insert. I would see if I could thread the TA through the other way, from the outside of the fork, and see if there's any wiggle.
05-11-20, 10:56 AM
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With a bent chain ring, I could only imagine in what condition could the RD be.I wasted a few minutes of my life on Bikes Direct's website and it seems like they have a satisfaction / money back guarantee. I would be curious to actually know how good (or bad) this company is with such claims.
Last edited by eduskator; 05-11-20 at 11:00 AM.
05-11-20, 11:01 AM
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Yeah, if not for the other issues, I wouldn't have noticed this myself. Taken as a whole and considering that this is the out-of-the-box condition, I'd probably request a return (or a significant discount if I could inspect it well enough to be comfortable that it's cosmetic).
05-11-20, 11:12 AM
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I think this is the bike.
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rance-road.htm
At $650, you're really already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
For the chainring and rotor, it really depends on the design, quality, and how bad it is.
In years past, it was considered routine for bike builders to true up parts like the cranksets, and I presume low-end rotors now.\\
That fork does bother me, as well as questions on whether it in fact has a robust enough design for hard long-term use. Does it crack like that simply by tightening down the axle?
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rance-road.htm
At $650, you're really already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
For the chainring and rotor, it really depends on the design, quality, and how bad it is.
In years past, it was considered routine for bike builders to true up parts like the cranksets, and I presume low-end rotors now.\\
That fork does bother me, as well as questions on whether it in fact has a robust enough design for hard long-term use. Does it crack like that simply by tightening down the axle?
05-11-20, 11:14 AM
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You know, what I'd do is to find a bolt that I could thread into the fork and see how stable the dropout feels without putting on so much force to break it. Perhaps thread the axle in from the outside.
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05-11-20, 12:29 PM
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I think this is the bike.
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rance-road.htm
At $650, you're really already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
For the chainring and rotor, it really depends on the design, quality, and how bad it is.
In years past, it was considered routine for bike builders to true up parts like the cranksets, and I presume low-end rotors now.\\
That fork does bother me, as well as questions on whether it in fact has a robust enough design for hard long-term use. Does it crack like that simply by tightening down the axle?
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rance-road.htm
At $650, you're really already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
For the chainring and rotor, it really depends on the design, quality, and how bad it is.
In years past, it was considered routine for bike builders to true up parts like the cranksets, and I presume low-end rotors now.\\
That fork does bother me, as well as questions on whether it in fact has a robust enough design for hard long-term use. Does it crack like that simply by tightening down the axle?
05-11-20, 12:42 PM
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carbon is too light
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I would stay far away from bikes direct. Their frames are garbage. I bought one years ago that had full dura-ace, and all high end parts, etc, but the rear drop out was not aligned properly with the frame and the rear wheel would sit in the frame crooked and rubbed on the left chain stay if I got out of the saddle. They wouldn't replace it either because "it was within tolerance". I ended up throwing the frameset in the dumpster and built another frame up with the parts.
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05-11-20, 01:09 PM
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I think this is the bike.
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rance-road.htm
At $650, you're really already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
For the chainring and rotor, it really depends on the design, quality, and how bad it is.
In years past, it was considered routine for bike builders to true up parts like the cranksets, and I presume low-end rotors now.\\
That fork does bother me, as well as questions on whether it in fact has a robust enough design for hard long-term use. Does it crack like that simply by tightening down the axle?
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rance-road.htm
At $650, you're really already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
For the chainring and rotor, it really depends on the design, quality, and how bad it is.
In years past, it was considered routine for bike builders to true up parts like the cranksets, and I presume low-end rotors now.\\
That fork does bother me, as well as questions on whether it in fact has a robust enough design for hard long-term use. Does it crack like that simply by tightening down the axle?
05-11-20, 01:17 PM
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What did the customer support of the site you bought it from say?
05-11-20, 01:28 PM
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To the OP, it's too hard for most of us to tell from the picture if this is just cosmetic or structural, but enough red flags going up that you may want to reconsider your options.
05-11-20, 03:41 PM
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If it’s the Tektro Novelas that came on my bikesdirect bike? Not very powerful at all. I was never able to lock up my front wheel... ever. You don’t stop. You request a reduction of speed.