Thoughts on a used CF Frame w/ 6k miles?

teamgomez said:

Got a question for y'all who know a thing or two about carbon fiber framesets. I'm looking at a '99 Trek 5500 OCLV w/ dura ace components (ultegra crank...). ...would like some thoughts on a CF wear and tear and how any symptoms might manifest themselves.

Thanks!

So how could anyone here know.It it looks like trah, it probably is. Crash damage ought to be apparent. It could have been a garage ornament or raced hard and put away wet. CF has no shelf life as long as it hasn't been dinged otherwise abused.

I don't know how anybody here could tell which is why I asked. I only fly CF based machines (FA-18), I never designed them. Fatigue limits, life limits, objective criteria identifying same, are the lifeblood of structural design as I (very basically) understand them.

Goes back to original question- how does fatigue life on a CF frame manifest itself? Anybody have one go south and have anything I can look for?

look for milky colored areas - could indicate delamination. look for corrosion on the aluminum pieces that contact the cf - corrosion could bond al+cf and ruin the frame (imagine not being able to replace your headset or bottom bracket or seatpost ever). I've seen both on the earlier gen carbon frames (90's).

stay away from gouges in the chainstay area and on the headtube (where cables might hit). if the notes, warnings, and protective decals I got with my frame are any indication, these are the areas that might fail.

ride the bike and listen for unusual creaks. creaks might indicate cracks.

finally do a gut check with the owner. if he's a multi national champion or ex-pro or 300 lbs 'roid monster then the frame may be hiding something as opposed to the desk jockey that did 1k miles a year (that's five 200 mile weeks a year!). find out how much s/he trained - if they say 2k miles/year, then the 6k miles on the frame might be suspect. people overestimate what they train and underestimate what miles they put on their bikes.

This is a loaded topic for me.

On one hand, I owned a Trek CF frame for 12 years and had nothing but excellent luck with it. Same for my hardtail Trek CF mtn bike.

But finally a bond on the road bike started to fail, so Trek replaced the frame. The new frame broke with no warning after 98 miles of riding. It was a lemon.

So we have one frame that is nicked and scratched to hell and back, and it's going fine, and one frame that's perfect to the eye, but fails. There's really no way to tell, even looking at it.

IMO the way to go about a CF frame is to pick up a new one, and if anything happens, you're under warranty. If you buy a used one and it breaks, you're SOL.

teamgomez said:

Got a question for y'all who know a thing or two about carbon fiber framesets. I'm looking at a '99 Trek 5500 OCLV w/ dura ace components (ultegra crank...). It is in great shape- but I don't know about wear/tear on CF framesets from TREK circa '99.

Were there any gotchas from these 'early model' CF framesets to look out for? I know anything would be better than my Huffy (I mean, Nashbar) steelie I'm currently riding.

Dreaming of a dura ace gruppo....would like some thoughts on a CF wear and tear and how any symptoms might manifest themselves.

Thanks!

According to my analysis, September starts off with one truly outstanding day. On September 1, Venus, your guardian planet, will meet up with lucky Jupiter, in your house of work assignments. Don't assume that this is a fairly common aspect because it's not. So if you bought the bike this month you'll probably be alright.

Venus only meets with Jupiter once a year and always in a different sign. This is the first time Venus and Jupiter have met in Libra. The fact that Venus is a prominent player in this aspect is crucial for you - Venus is your guardian planet.

Since Jupiter is the planet in charge of all kinds of blissful events, including financial ones, and Venus governs pleasure, this is sure to bring at least one outstanding financial, career, or social opportunity your way. This is also very good sign for carbon fiber life expectancy. I don't see how you can go wrong.

I'd provide some more advice but my Tarot cards are at the cleaners and my crystal ball is out being buffed.

carpediemracing said:

look for milky colored areas - could indicate delamination. look for corrosion on the aluminum pieces that contact the cf - corrosion could bond al+cf and ruin the frame (imagine not being able to replace your headset or bottom bracket or seatpost ever). I've seen both on the earlier gen carbon frames (90's)....ride the bike and listen for unusual creaks. creaks might indicate cracks.

Carpediemracing- thanks! Just what I was looking for 🙂

Dr Morbius- Does it matter what hemisphere I live in? I'm concerned that the coreolis amplification of the polarity magnifier will have a detrimental effect to my success. Oh, and thanks for not referring to Uranus or its 21 'moons'... :eek:

carpediemracing said:

look for milky colored areas - could indicate delamination. look for corrosion on the aluminum pieces that contact the cf - corrosion could bond al+cf and ruin the frame (imagine not being able to replace your headset or bottom bracket or seatpost ever). I've seen both on the earlier gen carbon frames (90's).

stay away from gouges in the chainstay area and on the headtube (where cables might hit). if the notes, warnings, and protective decals I got with my frame are any indication, these are the areas that might fail.

ride the bike and listen for unusual creaks. creaks might indicate cracks.

finally do a gut check with the owner. if he's a multi national champion or ex-pro or 300 lbs 'roid monster then the frame may be hiding something as opposed to the desk jockey that did 1k miles a year (that's five 200 mile weeks a year!). find out how much s/he trained - if they say 2k miles/year, then the 6k miles on the frame might be suspect. people overestimate what they train and underestimate what miles they put on their bikes.

Take a look at the following thread, which I started asking what I thought was a simple question. Stick with it to the end, because the thread ends up being very informative:

26inches.comdisplay topic threads.aspOpen ↗

Balderick- Wow....I'm going to submit for college credit after that one. The most informative post/thread I've probably ever run across. Thank you for sending that one my way.