Crank Arm Damage: Would You Ride These?
07-26-20, 06:26 PM
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Crank Arm Damage: Would You Ride These?
At some point in time the pedal washer on my S-Works carbon crank arm had broken in half, and the sharp edge worked its way partially around the eyelet, chewing up the carbon and wedging itself underneath, causing a noticeable bubble. I spoke with a carbon-fiber repair shop who said there are a lot of layers of carbon in that area of the arms and that one damaged layer should be okay, but thought I'd get a general consensus from other riders. It's not cracked, per se, but you can see at least one layer is toast. Would you ride these? Has anyone had crank arm damage like this repaired?
07-26-20, 06:40 PM
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My uneducated guess is that it's OK. Just make sure the new washer sits flat and flush with the metal surface.
Maybe sand the rough edge to prevent any additional damage.
Maybe sand the rough edge to prevent any additional damage.
07-26-20, 06:50 PM
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I would bet that the entire end of the crank arm is solid CF, though it's probably hollow/lightweight core between the two ends. I personally wouldn't be worried about it and I'd be even less worried about it if a carbon repair specialist told me not to worry about it.
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07-26-20, 07:10 PM
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Yeah, that doesn't look like anything more than aesthetic issue from those pics.
I think I'd ride them.
I think I'd ride them.
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07-27-20, 08:40 AM
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You'll be fine.
My wife had those Specialized cranks on her bike. She crashed several years ago, and when she went down, she ground down a huge chunk off her crank arm - so much so that it also gouged her pedal spindle to the point that we could not get a wrench on there to remove the pedal. She rode them for another 3 or 4 years before we replaced the arms - largely because we needed to replace the pedals.
My wife had those Specialized cranks on her bike. She crashed several years ago, and when she went down, she ground down a huge chunk off her crank arm - so much so that it also gouged her pedal spindle to the point that we could not get a wrench on there to remove the pedal. She rode them for another 3 or 4 years before we replaced the arms - largely because we needed to replace the pedals.
07-27-20, 10:02 AM
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Like most any other damage you might live with, just keep and eye on it.
I wouldn't think that an issue though, unless you don't figure out why it happened and how to keep from doing that.
I'd just assume maybe you had a pedal washer that fit too loose around the spindle and hung a little low while the pedal was tightened. But just as likely something else.
I wouldn't think that an issue though, unless you don't figure out why it happened and how to keep from doing that.
I'd just assume maybe you had a pedal washer that fit too loose around the spindle and hung a little low while the pedal was tightened. But just as likely something else.
07-27-20, 11:10 AM
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I wouldn't, but I'm clearly the odd man out here. I'm more prone to anxiety than most people, and that would never leave the back of my mind.
The fact that a carbon fiber repair shop told you it's "probably" good, and the fact that if it breaks it's not very likely to cause a bad crash, mean it's probably fine. (No repair shop is going to say more than probably in a consultation.) I still wouldn't personally.
The fact that a carbon fiber repair shop told you it's "probably" good, and the fact that if it breaks it's not very likely to cause a bad crash, mean it's probably fine. (No repair shop is going to say more than probably in a consultation.) I still wouldn't personally.
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07-27-20, 12:55 PM
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I would ride them with a watchful eye for a little bit. But unless its got any structure fatigue I think they are good to go. Ride on!
07-27-20, 01:47 PM
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Yes, but I sometimes defrost food outside the fridge.
