I broke my Ruby's seat stay! (repair advice please)

[Tokie]

Hi everyone! I got crashed out of my last race of the season :( - the good news is that I'm ok- but my poor Ruby has a broken seat stay. It is a crack that goes a bit over 1/2 the circumference of the tubing. My question - has anyone used "RRVelo" or "Calfee" for their carbon frame repair? RRVelo is at least 100$ less, probably $200 less, because they don't charge extra for painting. I don't care about the paint at all, I just want a good safe repair. Thanks for any input you can offer! Tokie

[Aggie_Ama]

I have heard Calfee mentioned, never the other one. I might be skeptical of why one is so much cheaper but I don't trust much. :p

[OakLeaf]

Doesn't Specialized have a crash replacement program? Have you looked into that?

[aicabsolut]

I'm going to send a bike to Calfee eventually. I cracked the downtube. I wound up having to just buy a new bike, because Specialized wouldn't get me a replacement by the time I needed it (they were out of stock, and they also couldn't really quote me a price at the time). Calfee said that with shipping time across the country, I'd be looking at 4-5 weeks for the repair.

I'd email Calfee about seatstay repair. I don't know if they do those. They don't do fork repair, and maybe seatstays are kind of iffy too, I don't know. It may change the ride a bit, because Calfee patches are generally said to be stronger than the original tube. The seat stays give you some vertical compliance (whatever that buzzword really means), so fiddling with one may change the ride, at least in theory. Also, depending on they type of fracture, plus shipping, it could cost you a lot. Specialized may be able to get you a good enough deal through the crash replacement program (you can get just a frame or a whole bike), and then you'd have a NEW bike or frame to ride and not a repaired one. Also, you can tell Calfee not to match colors or paint or whatever. They will do whatever finishing you want them to. They send it off to a place next door to be painted, so you'd need to give them specific instructions. They are very good about responding to emails. Attach close pictures of the carnage when you do email them for a price quote and information.

Then get your local dealer to talk to Specialized's warranty people and see what you want to do. They sometimes give you an upgrade. For example, I wrecked my Roubaix Comp, and (had they had them in stock) I would've been offered an Expert/Pro level replacement frame. It would've cost about 2x what Calfee will cost me (including shipping). But then I wound up going for the big upgrade to get a bike in time, and splurged on the S-works frame. Eventually that frame will get a components upgrade when I rebuild the other after it gets repaired. Or it may just sit in a box and I'll get a TT bike, I dunno.

[Tokie]

Aicabsolut - thanks for great ideas. I didn't think of a crash replacement program. I just e-mailed my friend that sold me my Ruby,(sadly, she recently closed her bike shop, but now works for another Specialized dealer). DH has been searching his bike forums re Calfee/RR Velo info - some fellow said that Calfee farms out some of their repairs to Joe's Bicycle Painting, ( I would guess the cosmetic ones) and some other guy said that RR Velo does most of the repairs for Joe's bicycle painting. The businesses are all in the same vicinity, so it sounds plausible. I don't know if I am so skilled that I would notice the difference in my repaired seat stay vs the original side. It may help that I only weigh 104 lbs, so it's not like my frame takes lots of stress from my weight. Calfee said they could repair the seat stay. I would love to have a spare repaired frame to turn into a dedicated TT bike! I'm getting the frame stripped of all parts tomorrow, and hoping my mechanic doesn't find any more damages I haven't noticed! Thanks for your input! I'll post what happens with my frame! Tokie

[Tokie]

PS Oakleaf, thanks to you too! And cost -wise, so far Calfee is talking about $300 - could be more :eek:, and that's without paint or shipping. At least I live in California, so the shipping should be less. Tokie

[aicabsolut]

Calfee has all of their painting done by Joe's. But it's painting (and paint prep, and clearcoat stuf) ONLY. Joe's is located in the same business/industrial complex as Calfee. Calfee does all of the structural repairs to the carbon weave. I believe Joe's is a company that does a fair amount of painting for manufacturers. They paint Calfee's own brand of bikes, IIRC.

[aicabsolut]

PS Oakleaf, thanks to you too! And cost -wise, so far Calfee is talking about $300 - could be more :eek:, and that's without paint or shipping. At least I live in California, so the shipping should be less. Tokie

For a bad (level 3?) fracture to my downtube plus painting (including re-stenciling factory decals) and shipping from the east coast, Calfee said I'd be looking at about $500 total. The bulk of the cost comes from the degree of damage to the tube, and not really the size of tube. It's slight cracks versus complete cracks versus a severed tube that makes the difference in the type of patching they have to do.

I really wouldn't skimp on the repairs, because bad carbon repair can be catastrophic.

I would look into Specialized's crash replacement, though, because this could be a good time to get a nice upgrade for cheap, especially if all your components are still good.

[Tokie]

Well, I've decided to go with Calfee for the repairs. If DH ever wants to do a cheaper repair on his bike, he can. I want a solid frame I can trust! I called a Specialized shop in town - the manager was less than enthusiastic about working on an exchange with specialized, particularly since I didn't buy my bike there. I'll call the shop tomorrow where my former bike store owner friend now works, she said they could help me - I guess I need them to see the damage before they can do anything. My bike is at my mechanics getting stripped now. I would love to get a discount upgrade, especially the way bike prices are set to rise in 09! Tokie

[aicabsolut]

That's lame. When I was shopping around for a crash replacement frame, I went through 3 shops on the east coast who were all willing to try to locate me a frame. They work through different warranty reps, and they were trying to find some new old stock out in a shop somewhere, and so they were going through their different regional reps too. Any Specialized dealer ought to help you out with warranty issues (and although it's not a "warranty" exchange but a "crash replacement", they still deal with Specialized's warranty department). That's because Specialized won't let you do it yourself. I mean, what if you bought the bike in a different state? Hopefully your friend will be able to help you check out those options.

[Aggie_Ama]

That is lame. My husband had a frame crack and the bike shop he had bought it from was no longer a dealer for that brand. Another bike shop gladly helped us. I hope I never have issues with my Cannondale, the shop I got it from closed in April 2007 but there are three Cannondale dealers left in town.

[ehirsch83]

I know multiple people who have sent frames to Calfee and they have all come back looking great!(my boyfriend is one, so I saw the frame every day after it came back, it looked great). You won't be dissapointed with the work Calfee does a great job!

[Tokie]

Latest update - local dealer made a few more calls, and this is the deal. There are Ruby frames available in my size (48) and model (Comp/Pro frame) and there is a crash replacement deal - 15% discount, or about $1000 for the frame. the catch? (besides it not being a very great discount) Specialized will only cut you this deal if you surrender your damaged frame. :(- so the dream of fixing the broken one to rebuild as a TT bike concept is no longer sounding viable. Darn. Calfee is sounding better. This was the second crash on my Ruby - the first last year (same scenario, person in front of me went down fast and I cashed into /onto them) In the first crash, my carbon bars and rear derraileur hanger needed replacement, with just tiny cosmetic damage to the frame. But is it bad to ride a carbon bike that has been crashed twice?( BTW, I replaced my bars with the Dolce aluminum bars with the "Zertz" inserts, and I like them just as much as the carbon ones.) Well, back to the phones to see what I can find out! Tokie

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

What a frustrating thing to have to go through! :(

[Blueberry]

That just sucks:( I think I wouldn't use their crash replacement policy. I do see why they want the frame back (liability), but the certainly could offer a better deal - that's still more than wholesale, I'd guess.

CA

[aicabsolut]

Well, I would never try to sell a repaired carbon frame, just because I wouldn't want to make anyone take that risk. Any bike shop or manufacturer will advise you against repairing carbon, but at the same time, I've seen Calfee repairs and have heard plenty of good reviews from others about them. Some say that the place where Calfee does the patch will be stronger than the original (but who can tell, really). So it is up to you what you want to do.

Did you have it thoroughly inspected by your mechanic for stress fractures elsewhere? Have you been over it with a quarter (the tap test) and a flashlight?

I don't know if I'll do any mass start races on my Roubaix frame when I get it fixed. It may not be worth it as a TT bike either, because I'd probably want a lighter, aero frame. So I think it could just be a spare. I'm leaning towards putting better climbing gears on it. Even though it's heavier and not as stiff, it'd still be good to practice on for some climbing.

That's weird about the sending in the frame. I know they do that for warranty, but I didn't think they cared about crash replacement. When I asked about mine, they recommended against repair, but I thought I could do that and get a replacement. The problem wound up being I could do neither w/in a month, and I needed a bike in 2 weeks tops, so I just said F* it and bought an S-works frame for a good deal from the local Concept Store.

[Tokie]

As others have said, Specialized is probably just covering their A**** by getting a broken frame off the road. My bike is with an experienced mechanic getting stripped. He said one repair option would be to heat the frame and remove and replace the entire rear triangle. Now that sounds pretty pricey. Calfee does have a good reputation, but this is my everything bike - I tour on it, do crits, road races and TT's on it. I'm leaning more towards the replacement option tonight. Looking at the bright side - if it's something I can fix with money, I've been very lucky. I'll let you all know what the final decision is! Thanks everyone for your 2 cents and personal experiences, and taking the time to help me out! You guys are the best! Tokie

[Aggie_Ama]

I also wonder if it isn't a r&D thing? I would think it would help a company to see how the bike broke under a crash but most likely it is liability.

[Tokie]

I bet they do learn alot from looking at how their frames do break under real life conditions...Once I started asking around here at home, it's surprising how many people have cracked up a frame or two. (Or maybe not so surprising!) The thousands of comfortable miles I rode on my Ruby make it an easy decision to stay with carbon though - so comfortable! tokie

[aicabsolut]

Looking at the bright side - if it's something I can fix with money, I've been very lucky. Tokie

So true.

Let us know what you decide to do. And post pictures! (of the new ride or the repair)

[Tokie]

I will! I hope to get answers from 2 bike stores tomorrow about what they can do for me, then get things in motion. Thanks again for bringing up the crash replacement option! tokie

[Tokie]

Well after a weeks worth of consideration, I have a plan: 1. send Ruby to Calfee for repair seat stay, so far no other damage has been noted, sell Rolf SL wheelset that was on the Ruby( I get high-speed shimmy with them)2. strip wheels and combination of shimano and campy off of my ill-fitting Colnago ( it was "turning Japanese" because the Campy shifters killed my thumbs). Sell colnago frame, give campy group to DH, have mechanic put in campy hub part that lets campy wheel accept Shimano 3.Buy Trek Madone 4.7 - put shimano ultegra group on repaired Ruby, put shimano dura-ace group from Ruby on Trek Madone 4.7, put shimano compatible campy wheelset on Trek Madone,put bontager wheelset on Ruby. Kind of confusing, but it makes perfect sense to me. I love my Ruby, but when I got on the Madone I was amazed - the frame was much stiffer, the stand over is lower, and in a slow speed turn, it is incredibly stable. The stiff frame will be great for racing. And the Ruby will probably be my favorite for touring and some of our pot holey mountain climbs we have here. And it will be good to have a "back up" bike(Ruby) that I love. My friends convinced me that economically, it was a better deal to buy the Trek with everything on it(my dealer was willing to sell me only the frame) I will get the Trek on Thurs and give it to my mechanic to do the group transplant and get the Ruby mailed off. I'll send in photos when it's all done! The Trek is pretty nice looking, kind of pearly white with silver and aqua accents (I think!). I'm lucky I don't have any children to send to college! Tokie