Carbon wheel damage @ DCCX

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Permalink Reply by David Hutton on October 27, 2008 at 7:20am

haha... I too had a carbon rim blow up in the Ohio UCI weekend. Rim detached from the actual aero part... not fun. Your going to be hard pressed to get that repaired. Not to mention Cane Creek is not doing road wheels any more (exclusively track) and the rim MAY be hard to get ahold of if it's older. Call cane creek. I have met a few of their guys at races and they are super nice! May get lucky. Unlike me and american classic. No fixing it (well actually fixing it for $500+ in store rebuild)

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Permalink Reply by Echappe Equipment on October 28, 2008 at 5:43am

That seems really high for the AC rebuild. Why didn't you send it back to AC directly. It would have saved you a few hundred bucks.

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Permalink Reply by Kyle on October 27, 2008 at 8:21am

Try Calfee Designs. I know they do carbon frame repair but am not sure about wheels. Our shop has worked with them on customer's bikes and they do an awesome job.

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Permalink Reply by Travis McMaster on October 27, 2008 at 5:02pm

They may have a crash replacment policy, probably a couple hundred dollars..Check their website. I know Calfee repairs carbon bikes, and VERY WELL at that. They may do rims...

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Permalink Reply by Travis McMaster on October 27, 2008 at 5:03pm

I didn't see the reply above mine. I second the Calfee repairs!

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Permalink Reply by Monkeybusiness on October 27, 2008 at 6:01pm

Carbon repairs just like fiberglass. You should be able to buy the materials online and do it yourself.

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Permalink Reply by Echappe Equipment on October 28, 2008 at 5:43am

The rim is toast. If it used a Zipp rim then you can get it rebuilt, but everyone is seeing delays on the orders of rims.

Using an Epoxy on the braking surface is going to give you terrible braking feel. You'll "jolt" through the wheel when you apply pressure. Furthermore, all this does is put a bandaid on an open wound, so to speak. The crack will spread and if you might start to see separation between the braking surface and the fairing.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Schlitzer on October 29, 2008 at 7:34am

Thanks for the advice. Apparently I did a real number on them. My bike shop guy asked my wife "Is he alright?" The shop says they're toast and is sending them back to Cane Creek. Hopefully they can help.

Which leads to another question / observation. I was running lower tire pressure on the rear than on the front and there were several sections of roots, then long sections on gravel. I was running a little lower in the back because the grass was pretty wet and the soil was loose, but not too muddy and I wanted to have good traction. I suppose that I learned an important lesson about picking the right tire pressure and positioning myself on the bike when approaching sharp things in the ground.

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Permalink Reply by Darren on October 29, 2008 at 12:16pm

Yeah when were setting up the course I was going down that hill before the pavement I broke two nipples on the front wheel and a spoke in the back after hitting one of the stump/roots which I made sure were marked for the race.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Schlitzer on October 29, 2008 at 1:51pm

Darren,

They were marked with orange paint. I saw them - it's my own fault. There were other lines through that section, but on that quick run up I was hoping to salvage my really crappy start and I gunned it hard on the up hill and passed a guy on that downhill ramp. He had the line I wanted, and I should have unweighted the rear or done a little hop (not like I was pedaling). I think that might have saved it, but...

For me this year, it's all a learning experience. My wife says an EXPENSIVE learning process, but what are you going to do? I'm too happy to be racing again to let a couple of hundred dollars ruin the party.

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