My trusty old Scott has taken a bit of a battering over the years but my meticulous maintenance regime has kept it working.

I walked into the garden the other day and the rain had washed off some of the mud off and I spotted the latest battle scars.

I thought the scratches looked a bit more severe than most others so took it into the garage, wiped it off and looked a bit closer. There are two pictures because it is hard to see the crack in the first one. I have traced it our in a thin red line on the second.

From memory it is a month or so since my last proper crash on the Scott so it has held up so far. This included a stag weekend around Afan trail centre.

So the BIG QUESTION.

Do I need to worry about hair line cracks in a 12 year old carbon frame?

Only if you worry about the integrity of your face / nuts / wrists

I have been told my bike will explode/implode/shatter for years. Some bloke told me to get it x-rayed before I ride it!

Seriously?!?

There are lots of impact stars on the frame that have occurred over the years. These look like the ‘eye brow’ above the chip in the first picture and like the little white marks to the left of the possible crack.

If I x-rayed the bike every time I found one of those the bike would have developed cancer.

Does anyone have real world experience of cracks in carbon. I ma thinking it is more likely to be a crack in the cosmetic coating on the frame.

WorldClassAccident – Member
Does anyone have real world experience of cracks in carbon

from what I read on these threads, unlikely.

Got a better pic?

If you hit it with a hammer and it sounds like a bell its all good

(make sure its a big hammer)

Better Picture – Unfortunately not. If I shine a light at it the camera just sees reflections. The originals are here : https://picasaweb.google.com/115660383436295169415/BikeCrack#

In this one you can sort of see the top of the crack starting by the scratch in the silver sticker travelling at about 4 o’clock. You can also see the other end starting at the chip on the left of the picture and travelling right.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115660383436295169415/BikeCrack#5750639431230228210

is it actually a crack in the carbon?
or the resin?
or a hairline in the laquer?
if it was just the laquer i wouldnt be worried.
if it was the resin i might be worried.
if it was the actual carbon i would be worried.
id trust 12 yr okd carbon before id trust 12 yr old alu tbh.

basstronic – I hit it with a tree. It went Clac

Martymac – I am hoping it is just a crack in the lacquer.

Are you sure it went clack, what you need to hear is a clear diiiiiing!

laquer can go like that after a long time, i think its caused by uv exposure.

Well if unfortunately it ever does fail catastrophically you certainly have the right user name. 🙂

Basstronic – I got a Dingggggg from the crash I had on my alu jump bike crash last Sunday. The Ti Carver makes a different but still distinct Dinggg!. I can assure you that the plastic fantastic Scott goes Clac

Notice the lack of a K on clac. That is becase of the short resonance period of the noise.

RESULT : On Marty’s say so I deem the bike safe and shall continue to ride it. A bit of lacquer damage is purely cosmetic

If that is a crack what are you going to ride on thursday?, there aren’t any bike’s left.

I can take a Wheel from the Scott, a brake from the Kona, the frame and bits from the Carver and use my magic to make a complete fekin shambles. What’s the worst that could happen?

Apart from going down stairs to open the last of the ten Duva,ls,

If its like your bridge building it will be perfect.

Never failed while I have ridden them…

they look more like gel coat cracks to me (if they used gelcoat which I suspect they may on a frame that old).

Normally a quick way to check cracks is UV dye penetration. I wonder if you could DIY it with tonic water and a UV lamp at home? Might need something with lower surface tension so maybe try a vodka & tonic mix!

edit: or you can get little dye strips that doctors/vets use to detect damage to eyes. Cost about 6p.

It’s called Fluorescein – you can also get bottles for plumbing leak detection etc.

Maybe mix a drop bit (you can get it in dropper bottles) with some ethanol or IPA to make it nice and thin and then use a UV lamp to really make it stand out.

I can take a Wheel from the Scott, a brake from the Kona, the frame and bits from the Carver and use my magic to make a complete fekin shambles. What’s the worst that could happen?

In no way at all am i slightly dubious about our proposed bike swap this Thursday evening now 😕

let me know if you need me to bring any bits up with me ………

I thought you weren’t worried about that crack!