PeanutDance

attached some pictures.

it is a bit hard to see the outside, but i don't think the crack went all the way through from inside to outside.

the crack is may be .5"-.75" long, the tube does not deform when pressed with a pen. it looks like the clear coat on the outside got nicked, a little paint was peeled back to see if the crack appeared on the back side.

if this was your bike, would you ride it? send to calfee/crash replacement?

thanks all.

edit: it looks like there is a crack in the back from the 2nd photo but in person it really looks like it's just the clear coat. doesn't look nearly as bad, think it's just the angle/light/crappy iphone camera.

LarDasse74

Because of where the crack is I'd say it is unlikely that crack propagation is going to cause a serious incident - I had a number of mtb frames break off just above the top tube while riding and I was able to keep riding for a short time.

But the frame is failing. If you are the original owner and this was not a result of a crash then see if you can ge a warranty replacement frame.

If warranty is not available then you might want to drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop the crack from growing.

good luck!

spinerguy

I'd ride as is.
Seatpost works as a plug absorbing all the shearing forces but I'd keep my eye on it.

nitropowered

I would see if you can get a warranty frame.

If not, drill a small hole at the end of the crack so it doesn't spread any more. I think there is little calfee can do to repair that, but I could be wrong.

StanSeven

Specialized might say the seatpost clamp was overly tightened. It's hard to tell. +1 on drilling a hole so the crack doesn't spread.

Chris_W

After following the above suggestions, I would certainly still ride it because the seatpost is providing extra strength in that area.

DannoXYZ 

Not overtightened, but someone used a too-small seatpost in that frame.

Wordbiker

Or perhaps ran the clamp slot backwards.

DannoXYZ 

Hmm, maybe, but that still wouldn't cause any problems if the seatpost fits snugly. There wouldn't be any room for the seat-tube to flex and crack.

If you look at the 1st & 2nd photo (especially the 2nd), you can see that the parallel open slot on the seattube had been pinched closer together at the top due to clamping down on a too-small seatpost.

PeanutDance

i hope this is true.

i'm an engineer at my day job and the lbs is telling me that this is due to over torquing. the rated torque on these things is extremely high and i'm very careful when i tighten it. they told me this isn't a warranty issue and all i can do is get a crash replacement. the seat post that came with the frame is the stock specialized post, the seat post fits pretty snug.

could this happen due to too little torque on the seat tube, allowing the post to move a little too much?

for those suggesting drilling a hole, what size of a drill bit would we be talking?

thanks for the responses guys. two guys at the lbs said it probably wasn't a big deal but a third mechanic who was looking at it said he has ridden cracked carbon frames before and he wouldn't ride this himself and pressed me on getting a crash replacement.

JTGraphics

If you don't intend on getting it replaced under warranty you may also think about taking it to a good welder and have them throw a bead on it.
Slightly V the inside weld it and grind and ream it to size do the sam for the out side but leave the small bead for strength if you can. Or as other have said just ride it.

DannoXYZ 

Overtorquing the clamp would result in stripping the threads on the clamp-bolt or breaking the clamp before any damage would occur to the seattube. The seat-tube material would be under compression while the clamp is under tension. Usually there's also a stress-riser just beyond the thick flat area that holds the bolt and nut.

As long as the post fits snuggly inside the seat-tube, there's no movement of the seat-tube and all that clamping pressure just compresses the seat-tube onto the post, which is the way it's supposed to work. At some point in the past, someone stuck in a too-small seatpost for whatever reason. The seatpost then slid down into the seat-tube when riding, and they tried to fix it by tightening down the clamp even more. This would bend the seat-tube inward into the gap between the seatpost and seat-tube. That's more flex than the material would allow.

The problem isn't the actual clamping pressure, it's the displacement and movement you get from using too small of a post.

As for drilling a hole, I'd say 1mm would be fine.

noglider 

I'd say the hole diameter should be twice the width of the crack or 1mm, whichever is smaller.

Booger1

Drill a small hole to stop the crack.You can make it look like the back slot if you want to.I'd ride it.

hbsyncro

ahh....the old liberty bell trick.

AndrewP

Make sure the hole is right at the end of the crack or just beyond the end of the crack, because if it isnt at the end it will do nothing to stop the crack spreading. The stopped doing this repair to cracks on aircraft skins in the 1950s because some crashes were caused by cracks spreading when the hole hadnt been made at the end of the crack.

nitropowered

Let me know when you figure out how to weld carbon

operator

lawl

greyghost_6

Its called pixie dust, not to be confused with pixie stix