Get your bike ready for cooler days and bigger rides
Here in Fayetteville, Arkansas it has been hot. Very HOT. Cooler weather is just a few weeks away and now is the time to inspect your bike to make sure it is in good working order before those prime riding days are upon us.
For some riders, that means ramping up the volume after a dangerously hot summer. For others, it’s getting a bike ready to take to college, commuting to work, or preparing for cooler-weather road and gravel rides or maybe a grand fondo.
Whatever your plans are, a few minutes of inspection now can help catch problems before they turn into expensive repairs—or leave you stranded on a ride.
This is especially important with carbon fiber bikes, where structural damage isn’t always obvious.
Start With the Frame
After a season of riding, traveling, and possibly a few crashes or close calls, carefully inspect your frame for signs of damage. Start by removing both wheels and wiping away any dust or grit.
Pay particular attention to:
Bottom bracket and chainstay areas
Seat tube and seatpost
Head tube and fork
Down tube
Rear derailleur hanger and dropout
Frame pivots
Bottle cage and accessory mounting points (we have been seeing quite a few frames that require frame patches and new riv-nuts due to loose mounts going unnoticed for several months)
Look for cracks, unusual paint lines, bubbling, or areas where the finish looks different from the surrounding frame.
No need to worry if you see a blemish. Not every mark on a carbon frame is structural damage. However, if you’re unsure if you are looking at a cosmetic scratch or a structural crack, it’s better to have it evaluated before putting more miles on the bike.
Had a Crash This Summer?
A bike doesn’t have to look destroyed to have suffered carbon damage. Impacts involving the derailleur, handlebar, seatpost, wheels, or frame can transfer significant force into the carbon structure. Sometimes the bike remains completely rideable afterward, making it tempting to simply keep riding. If your bike took a hard hit this summer, inspect it carefully—even if you’ve already put hundreds of miles on it since the crash.
Don’t Ignore New Creaks or Clunks
A new noise doesn’t automatically mean your carbon frame is damaged. Sometimes it can be a worn out part, grease that has been washed out, or dust between two surfaces.
Creaks can come from relatively simple sources such as:
Seatposts
Bottom brackets
Pedals
Headsets
Stem and handlebar interfaces
Frame pivots
But if a new noise appeared after a crash or impact, it’s worth investigating. Pay particular attention if the noise is accompanied by visible damage, movement, unusual flex, or a change in how the bike handles. If you are unsure what to look for, take it to your local bike shop and ask for them to diagnose the noise. Sometimes it just takes a professional eye to solve a minor issue
Check Your Seatpost and Seat Tube
Carbon seatposts and seat tubes deserve some extra attention. We suggest pulling out your seatpost, cleaning, and re-applying the proper compound at least once a year to keep things from seizing or slipping. While you have the post out, inspect for any cracks, or unusual wear. Go ahead and shine a light down the seattube and inspect the inside while the seatpost is out. Make sure the seatpost is installed at the correct height and torqued according to the manufacturer’s specifications. If your bike uses an integrated seat mast or proprietary seatpost, take extra care. These components can be expensive and difficult to replace. Manufacturers will have these torque specs as well as what compounds to use on a given surface on their website under the technical specifications tab.
Inspect Your Wheels, Tires, and Brakes
Fall riding often means getting back onto the bike after a busy summer, so don’t forget about the components that actually keep you moving and stopping.
Tires: Look for cuts, worn tread, sidewall damage, and embedded debris. Now is also a good time to check sealant if you are using a tubeless system.
Wheels: Spin each wheel and check for excessive movement or damaged spokes. Inspect the rims for any damage.
Brakes: Check pad wear, rotor condition, and braking performance.
Bearings: Check for play or roughness in the hubs, headset, and bottom bracket.
Handlebars: If you are using aluminum handlebars, unwrap the tape and check for corrosion. Sweat that has been trapped under bar tape can cause some horrific corrosion that becomes a safety issue quite quickly. For carbon bars, you don’t have to worry about corrosion but should still check the metal clamps that hold the levers to the bars as these can corrode depending on the material of the hardware.
Inspect Your Bike After Transportation
Late summer and early fall often involve a lot of bike transportation—trips to races, vacations, moving to school, or simply loading the bike onto a vehicle for a weekend ride. Pay particular attention to areas that contacted a rack, bike box, vehicle, or other equipment. A derailleur hanger, dropout, fork, or frame tube can take a surprising amount of abuse during transportation. If you have flown or shipped your bike, we suggest doing a full inspection as soon as it is unpacked as we have seen frame damage that went unnoticed for several weeks and was then denied an insurance claim as they cannot prove that the bike was damaged in shipping vs after.
What About a Crack in a Carbon Frame?
This is what we are here for.
Whether a damaged carbon frame can be repaired effectively and economically depends on several factors, including:
Where the damage is located
How extensive the damage is
The construction of the frame
Whether the damage is structural
Access to the damaged area
The overall condition and value of the frame
In many cases, professional carbon fiber repair can restore a damaged frame for considerably less than replacing an expensive frame or complete bike. We specialize in getting riders back on the road or trail by repairing carbon fiber bike frames and backing those repairs by our lifetime warranty. Quotes are easy and free, so it’s always worth getting an opinion before deciding to write off your damaged carbon bike.
Don’t Wait Until the Problem Gets Worse
Fall is one of the best times of year to ride in many parts of the country. Cooler temperatures make long road, gravel, and mountain bike rides much more enjoyable, and many riders are getting back into regular riding after the heat of summer. It’s also a bad time to discover that your bike has a problem you’ve been ignoring. If you find a crack, damaged hardware, or other questionable area on your carbon frame, stop riding it until you know what you’re dealing with. A small repair can sometimes be much simpler than dealing with damage that has continued to grow.
Get Your Carbon Bike Ready for Fall
Whether you’re heading back to school, getting ready for fall gravel rides, commuting more regularly, or simply looking forward to cooler weather, now is a good time to make sure your bike is ready.
At Natural State Carbon Repair, we repair damaged carbon bicycle frames and components for riders and bike shops across the country.
If you’re not sure whether the damage on your bike is repairable, send us some photos and request a quote. We’ll take a look and help you determine the best way forward.
Ride more. Spend less. Repair what you can.