Carbon swingarm vs alloy
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Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:10 pm
Was about 50 kms from home which wasn’t ideal but gave me time to ponder why this had happened. Couple of reasons:
-Boost hubs (frame really wide coming off the hubs and easily clipped especially if your riding style is slightly duck footed)
-Frame Design (noticed on my Kona hardtail that the rear triangle actually had some curves on the diagonal which are in exactly the position your foot could get caught. Apparently they are also to allow some flex in the frame)
After this unfortunate incident on a high end bike (RRP $9199) I was told by LBS would not be covered under warranty and that it would be $3000 to repair or $1700 to replace. Large amount of money to spend so soon after spending a large amount of money.
Would like to know if anybody else has had a similar issue with a carbon swingarm and whether I might be better off with an alloy swingarm? Or maybe alloy mainframe as well because I have no faith in carbon anymore.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby cooperplace » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:24 pm
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby eeksll » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:01 pm
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby mikgit » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:06 pm
Another friend broke an aluminium GT Zaskar...and apparently they are unbreakable
My aluminium FS frame was so full of cracks there were more cracks than frame...
On the other hand another mate has a carbon Trek HT, bought it 2nd hand in like 2000, rode/raced it hard for years and it's still going strong, similar for his carbon Scott FS bike
Carbon, aluminium, doesn't matter you can still break them in the stupidest ways
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Duck! » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:20 pm
Contact Paint My Bike, Luescher Teknik or a similar carbon repair firm for a proper estimate of repair cost.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:57 am
Thanks Duck! I have started chasing this up off my own bat. Scott have come back and said they would supply new swingarm at a “goodwill” price of $850. (Inclusive of freight charges) Paint my bike came back with a quote of $795 for the repair. Six of one...Duck! wrote:That repair price sounds excessive. While it's true that carbon repairs are not particularly cheap, due to the high manual work component, unless it's a major break a repair should compare favourably against replacement. Additionally, I'm tipping the damage is moderate at worst.... The forces necessary to cause a major fracture from sticking your foot in it would cause a similar degree of damage to said foot.
Contact Paint My Bike, Luescher Teknik or a similar carbon repair firm for a proper estimate of repair cost.
I was hoping for some goodwill from the bike shop where the bike was purchased. Seeing that this happened 3 weeks after purchasing the bike. Is it unreasonable to expect them not to charge for labour involved removing and refitting the swing arm?
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Duck! » Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:09 am
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby MichaelB » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:24 pm
Agree with that.Duck! wrote:Given crash damage is not covered by warranty, it is a little unreasonable to expect the shop to supply free labour.
And I'd go with a new part for $50 extra and have the other one as a spare that can be repaired. Quicker turn around too probably.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby ValleyForge » Wed Jul 18, 2018 7:59 pm
Certainly no issues with cracking - some have taken a pounding. And some are poodled about.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:46 pm
I am not at all impressed. By definition this bike is not fit for purpose. I bought the bike to compete in a multiple day stage race at the end of the year in the southern alps of NZ. It’s clearly not going to be able to do that. It’s not like I’m doing backflips either.
Is this the bit where I demand a full refund?!
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:19 pm
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby chriso_29er » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:10 pm
Do you have photos of the two breaks you can show us?
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Comedian » Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:53 am
Shhhh! You'll be branded a heretic like me if you aren't careful.cooperplace wrote:I think everyone I know with a carbon frame has had a crack, they're all on their 2nd/3rd/4th frames. I share your lack of faith.
On topic I've noted a number of brands used alloy rears on CF frame bikes. Clearly- this is another less than stellar application for CF.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Duck! » Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:08 am
As alluded to in another post above, it's more to do with the manufacturer than the material; truckloads of aluminium bits have broken over the years too.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:50 pm
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby find_bruce » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:31 pm
Here you go: How to post images on the Australian Cycling ForumsSpoonman wrote:I would like to post some photos to hear some opinions out there. How do I do that?
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby trailgumby » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:40 pm
Cannondale had a similar reputation, and their distributor here was changed by Cannondale as bike shops were dropping the brand as a result of their treatment. Monza seem to be much more professional.
On the upside I have a 5 year old carbon Cannondale Scalpel 29er. It's taken some massive hits from babyhead rocks flying up off the front wheel, and a few stacks in races. I made sure I took copies of all their web pages saying their flex stay technology had a near-infinite life. I haven't needed them yet.
Giant, and anything imported by Paul Rowney would be on my white list. Great customer support from what I hear.
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:46 pm
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby find_bruce » Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:18 pm
Not quite - go to the first url you posted, right click on the image, copy the image url, gives youSpoonman wrote:Not sure if this will work. Fingers crossed!
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Comedian » Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:26 pm
Cripes.. that will buff right out.find_bruce wrote:Not quite - go to the first url you posted, right click on the image, copy the image url, gives youSpoonman wrote:Not sure if this will work. Fingers crossed!
A friend just had her carbon bike crack in the same spot on a roadbike (after only 2k) and they just replaced it. If you are going to make bikes out of a material that is prone to this type of failure you've got to be prepared to pony up with replacements. Or you don't have to - but then people will stop buying 5k bikes than only cost you a tenth of that to make in Asia...
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby Spoonman » Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:06 pm
Images 2,3 and five show the initial break on the seat stay and near the rear axle. The other ones show the more recent crack on the chain stay. I have no idea how this one happened but i can tell you it is annoying. I spent $7850 less than three months ago, and don't have a bike to ride!
sulfate aluminium
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Re: Carbon swingarm vs alloy
Postby ValleyForge » Tue Aug 21, 2018 2:22 pm
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