Let’s bust some myths about Carbon Fibre

There’s a lot of misconceptions about Carbon Fibre.

I’ve heard people say, once it cracks it needs to be fully replaced… Or you need to have it X-rayed to be sure it won’t suddenly snap on you.

Total rubbish! The bike shop wants to sell you a new bike so of course they say it needs to be replaced! Most of them have no understanding about Carbon Fibre.

Carbon fibre is very similar to fibreglass. It’s a cloth with liquid resin that soaks into it and when it hardens, it becomes one. This also means that it can be repaired and layered in a way that the skins can overlap which can even  make it stronger than it was before. Alloy cracks and is very hard to weld due to the magnesium in the metal. Magnesium helps make it lighter and stronger, but when it’s welded it fizzes and makes it difficult to get a good weld. Often big holes appear making the bike frame unusable.

Carbon fibre when repaired correctly becomes one with the structure and with marine grade epoxy resin, it’s extremely strong and easy to shape.

We all know that Carbon Fibre is strong and stiff and has been used on the Space Shuttle, Americas Cup sailing boats and many hi tech inventions. It’s not something you need to take to a science lab to repair. I do all of my repairs in my custom built workshop in my garage. It means I can take my time and do it properly. Makes checking in regularly when the resin is going hard to make sure it’s sitting tightly into the repaired area.

Get in touch today if you have a ding in your frame and worry about it when you’re flying down the hill – it needs to be looked at!