I’m contemplating gluing my seatpost into my Giant Advanced carbon frameset. Bear with me on this.
The top part of the seatpost has not cracked but is flexing, like a carbon fishing rod, hence the paint crack and no carbon crack. (I’ve removed paint from this area to verify this). The lower, assumed paint crack, is a result from the bottom of the Thompson seatpost. The frame does not have any noticeable flex or creak even with my 16.5 stone bulk.
I’ve changed the seatpost today, from a Thompson 410mm, to a Gusset XXL – 450mm long. That’s 180mm in the frame / 270mm sticking out. However with both this and the Thompson post you can pivot the post in the frame, before clamping, indicating a slightly larger diameter to the seat tube below the “clamping zone”. Hence the corresponding paint crack lower down on the tube. I want to eliminate this to gain full benefit of having more seatpost in the frame . I was thinking of a low viscosity epoxy adhesive, maybe too thick, or alternative a carbon assembly paste. I’ve also got to get it past the “clamping” zone which will act like a wiper.
That’s not just cracked!
That frame is no more!
It has ceased to be!
It’s expired and gone to meet it’s maker!
It’s a stiff! :irony:
THAT IS AN EX-FRAME!!
The nature of the damage has been progressive for over a year and was viewed in Sept 2011 by an LBS as cosmetic.
Giant’s warranty is not worth the paper it written on. As I’ve changed a component (the seatpost) the frame is not covered under warranty. It also only covers manufacturer defect, ie cracking in straight lines.
Trust me. If the frame rode any different to what it did from day one then it would be straight in the skip.