I purchased my first road bike a few months ago. It is a 2006 Giant TCR, compact frame. Anyway, the chain had fallen off the sprocket, and apparently rubbed through the bottom tube. There are a few fibers sticking out, but mainly it has rubbed through the gel coat.
My local bike shop wont touch it and said i might try putting nail coat on it, and I was wondering if I can just cover it with some carbon fiber resin. A good friend of mine builds carbon fiber prosthetics, and can do it, but I wanted to check with the forum first.
I purchased my first road bike a few months ago. It is a 2006 Giant TCR, compact frame. Anyway, the chain had fallen off the sprocket, and apparently rubbed through the bottom tube. There are a few fibers sticking out, but mainly it has rubbed through the gel coat.
My local bike shop wont touch it and said i might try putting nail coat on it, and I was wondering if I can just cover it with some carbon fiber resin. A good friend of mine builds carbon fiber prosthetics, and can do it, but I wanted to check with the forum first.
Any suggestions?
I believe your friend will confirm that the exposed weave on a carbon fiber bicycle frame is usually a cosmetic covering over the structural portion of the carbon fiber material ...
And, since you know the source of the damage -- abrasion rather than impact -- it probably isn't anything to worry about as long as you have it attended to. If you choose to do it yourself, then you need to clean the area very well to ensure that there are no oils/grease left that can continue to contaminate the resin before you re-seal it with a fresh layer of resin.
BTW. I would either put a "regular" chainstay guard on AFTER the repair OR wrap the chainstay with an old inner tube the way MTBers often do.
