Catastrophic Carbon Fibre Frame Failures
#76
Newbie
Yes... I worked in a bike shop in the 90s and we'd get the occasional brake typically at a joint. It's why Vitus screw-and glue types of lugged carbon frames where discontinued. More recently (in this century), a friend just replaced his Boardman CF bike and given our being in the US, it was not covered for warranty replacement. So I talked him into Ti and he'll never need a new frame again.
#77
Newbie
I do
A member of My Bicycle Club died after a failure of his new carbon frame on a new bicycle. The top tube failed while riding. He fell over the handlebars and died. He was wearing a helmet also.
#78
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Truly. Litespeed warranty.
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Materials fail at a much lower rate than we make mistakes in bike maintenance, handling, etc. It would more useful to get a list of most common human errors that cause bike accidents rather than failing materials stories. For example pinching a tube when installing a clincher then having a blowout, etc
Last edited by Boerd; 07-06-20 at 09:02 PM.
#82
Senior Member
From an old friend and framebuilder. More here, not just carbon:
Broken Bikes & Parts
We worked at the same shop, I was in repair and retail, he was the head custom guy in the (steel and Ti) frameshop. We had several customers with early Kestrels who (it seemed, anyway) were sending them back once a year to repair a crack here or a split there. It didn't seem like it was ever the same place twice. No doubt, if they'd kept riding they'd probably have failed in some spectacular way.
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#84
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#85
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1994 or so, a group of us freshmen were jumping our bikes at a hump near the parking spot of a local MTB trail.
Tall lanky guy lands and I think it was the headtube failed on him. **** was eaten. I think he got a few stitches and maybe a concussion.
1990's Giant Cadex with a 180-200lb rider catching air.
I think those were bonded to aluminum lugs if I remember correctly. I can't imagine something like that happening on even the cheapest open mold modern carbon frame.
Tall lanky guy lands and I think it was the headtube failed on him. **** was eaten. I think he got a few stitches and maybe a concussion.
1990's Giant Cadex with a 180-200lb rider catching air.
I think those were bonded to aluminum lugs if I remember correctly. I can't imagine something like that happening on even the cheapest open mold modern carbon frame.
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base2, my husband's Trek Domane also has a hole in it. His water bottle holder lost a screw which wedged itself into the frame next to the chainrings. He unscrewed it to get it out. I convinced him the next day to use his Gunner instead on a hill ride. We'll see if Trek will replace the frame.
#87
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base2, my husband's Trek Domane also has a hole in it. His water bottle holder lost a screw which wedged itself into the frame next to the chainrings. He unscrewed it to get it out. I convinced him the next day to use his Gunner instead on a hill ride. We'll see if Trek will replace the frame.
Whether they warrenty the frame for dropping a bolt is anyone's guess, but I think you could make the case that a wedged bolt & a wedged chain really are different in that a bolt puts all the force in a single point, unlike a chain that would wedge with the same force over a large area.
"Freak thing happened while riding with this shop installed bolt." might have a different outcome than "I dropped it."
Good luck, I hope they can determine a suitable outcome for you.
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Since it wasn't mentioned in this post, Outside magazine wrote an article on carbon failures.
Perhaps the most disturbing part is bike companies like Giant routinely trying to dodge responsibility through subsidiaries that blame each other or have no presence in the US.
https://www.outsideonline.com/231181...the%20material.
There's also this from NPR. Of a Time bike, a high end French brand, "The results were that it was bad epoxy. That's what the expert said. It wasn't really made well."
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/18/63982...f-counterfeits
Worth remembering that carbon fiber is used in aviation which has an incredibly strong safety record, especially when you remove the human error and engine/software failures. So carbon failures are not an inherent property of the material.
Perhaps the most disturbing part is bike companies like Giant routinely trying to dodge responsibility through subsidiaries that blame each other or have no presence in the US.
https://www.outsideonline.com/231181...the%20material.
There's also this from NPR. Of a Time bike, a high end French brand, "The results were that it was bad epoxy. That's what the expert said. It wasn't really made well."
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/18/63982...f-counterfeits
Worth remembering that carbon fiber is used in aviation which has an incredibly strong safety record, especially when you remove the human error and engine/software failures. So carbon failures are not an inherent property of the material.
#89
Senior Member
In my personal experience, no catastrophic failures. My avatar bike became mine after it developed a crack near the front of the seat. It was patched by the owner and ridden the rest of the summer until the warranty replacement was available. After acquiring the frame, I repaired several subsequent cracks that developed at the back of the seat/headrest area. At no time was the bike unrideable.
#90
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Since it wasn't mentioned in this post, Outside magazine wrote an article on carbon failures.
Perhaps the most disturbing part is bike companies like Giant routinely trying to dodge responsibility through subsidiaries that blame each other or have no presence in the US.
https://www.outsideonline.com/231181...the%20material.
Perhaps the most disturbing part is bike companies like Giant routinely trying to dodge responsibility through subsidiaries that blame each other or have no presence in the US.
https://www.outsideonline.com/231181...the%20material.
#92
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I had a verified genuine carbon fiber seat post assplode on my MTB. It was also verified to not be due to crush forces. It just plain sheared off.
I have also had an aluminum handlebar fail due to metal fatigue.
And, the chain stays on a steel frame fail due to metal fatigue.
Oh, and a head tube get bashed out of round on a steel frame HT MTB.
Is it maybe being 240 pounds?
I have also had an aluminum handlebar fail due to metal fatigue.
And, the chain stays on a steel frame fail due to metal fatigue.
Oh, and a head tube get bashed out of round on a steel frame HT MTB.
Is it maybe being 240 pounds?
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#93
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I've got a "new to me" carbon fiber bike. It's a specialized Epic. Vintage 1993. I believe that it's one of the first mass-produced carbon bikes made. A very interesting bike. The carbon fiber "tubes" are joined by some kind of alloy lugs. The tubes are straight gauge stuff. Sort of like fishing poles. Specialized guaranteed these frames to last a lifetime. It's a beautiful bike and, it rides like a dream. Very quiet. Doesn't creak or wiggle around like my steels & aluminum bikes.
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I saw a video fairly recently of a pro rider stopping to change bikes (Ridley) after his seat tube snapped halfway up - he didn't crash by the way, just stopped at the roadside. It looked like an odd place for the frame to break, until someone in the comments showed a photo of their team car with the spare bikes on the roof. They were clamped by the bike carrier at the exact point on the frame where this one had failed. So just be careful when carrying carbon bikes with frame clamped carriers. Carbon tubes are particularly sensitive to being compressed or loaded in a way they are not designed for.
As for my personal experience of carbon frames, it's all been good. My first carbon frame was a mid 90s Cadex with bonded lugged joints very similar to the Specialized above. I rode that frame for about a decade without any issues before selling it on. I've had several since, both mtb and road. All fine.
As for my personal experience of carbon frames, it's all been good. My first carbon frame was a mid 90s Cadex with bonded lugged joints very similar to the Specialized above. I rode that frame for about a decade without any issues before selling it on. I've had several since, both mtb and road. All fine.
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#95
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Been riding with a friend for 30+ years, he's heavy but not obese with powerful legs and tends to crunch big gears, he's hard on bikes. He's broken several frames over the years but the only broken CF frame was the result of hitting a tree though he was able to ride it out of the woods. He once broke an aluminum rear triangle of a mtn bike with a CF main frame.
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I've got a "new to me" carbon fiber bike. It's a specialized Epic. Vintage 1993. I believe that it's one of the first mass-produced carbon bikes made. A very interesting bike. The carbon fiber "tubes" are joined by some kind of alloy lugs. The tubes are straight gauge stuff. Sort of like fishing poles. Specialized guaranteed these frames to last a lifetime. It's a beautiful bike and, it rides like a dream. Very quiet. Doesn't creak or wiggle around like my steels & aluminum bikes.