I have carbon gravel bike that was transported recently with a bunch of other bikes on a group bike shuttle.
Well a pedal from another bike and frame banged up against my frame during the 30 minute transport. Now, there are chips down to the carbon, as well as potential chips in the carbon, from making contact with the metal frame parts of other bikes.
Yes the transport company is at fault, yes this could have been done better, but I’m still very annoyed with how fragile carbon bikes are.
Is this something I need to prepare myself for if I own carbon bikes? Be prepared to wrap the frame in silk pillows so the little baby won’t get bumped once and destroyed? How do we use carbon bikes and also not expose them to daily use like say a rock or any hard surface ever?
by TeachingJaded1546
20 Comments
truly something you need to prepare yourself on any bike tour. metal will still scratch as well. i have an old aluminum frame that was worn pretty badly from grinding on a cheap strap bike rack.
Get stainless steel or Ti.
Dont buy cardboard bikes.
Carbon bikes are sports devices, and there are some rules for them. Rocks are mostly fine at least for mtb.
It’s impossible to tell from the photos whether the carbon is actually structurally damaged. It could be purely cosmetic, or it could have compromised the structural integrity of the tube. Only a professional with the proper equipment can say for sure.
Carbon tubes are engineered to handle impact in specific directions—and not in others. For example, clamping force (such as from a work stand) can easily damage or destroy a carbon frame. That’s why it’s always recommended to secure a carbon frame bike by the seat post when using a work stand.
Judging by the direction of the impact, it’s possible the frame was damaged if enough force was involved. However, based on your description of the situation, I think that’s unlikely.
That said, the same kind of impact on a metal frame would likely result in cosmetic damage only.
If I were you, I’d probably keep riding it with a sticker over the spot—at least until the moving company makes things right. Just make sure to have it inspected and cleared by a professional first.
Not just carbon . Any bike would be wrecked by that neglect.
Hopefully they are getting you a new frame for there negligence .
Carbon bikes are fragile but if you say that on reddit they will come after you. I tried to warn people and got buried. I have a carbon bike in my stable and love it but Make no mistake, they do not hold up as well as metal.
People saying that a steel bike would get just as scuffed up are ignoring the fact that a steel bike would not have its frame integrity compromised like a carbon bike can.
Simple fact is, and I’ve seen it, a 4-year-old swinging a 6-in socket extension can destroy a carbon bike in short order.
Carbon is good for a lot of things but it doesn’t take impacts very well.
I hope they make good on that
These are just scratches. Go get the paint repaired if it bothers you and bill the moving company. I ride exclusively carbon, MTB included, scratches, dings, and crashes happen, I just keep riding. If things like this have you scared, carbon isn’t for you.
fully bikespecific (99% coverage) protection film + having the professionals put it on = 200€
May i interest you in a Titanium bike?
It doesn’t even need paint as it is extremely corrosion resistant on its own and scratches can be polished away with a scotchbrite in a matter of seconds upon which the bare ti will turn back to its neutral grey by the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere. it is easily as strong as cromoly steel, but much more flexible so it springs back instead of getting dented and weighs little more than aluminium.
I can see if you’re frequently loading your bike on a group shuttle it’s something you want to be aware of to avoid this situation.
But, in general, I don’t have big concerns with rocks or hard surfaces with my carbon bikes. I have some 3m helicopter tape on the underside of the downtube to avoid some cosmetic damage.
Exactly why I won’t put any of my bikes on a hanging bike rack. What you experienced is inevitable. I have steel bikes too, but I greatly prefer carbon. My steel bikes hang in my garage. Just keep it off hanging bike racks and away from thoughtless people who don’t know how to transport bikes.
The shuttle company should absolutely make it right, and I wouldn’t use them again until they fixed their racks or their loading process or whatever led to that. But it looks cosmetic to me – I would take that to a frame repair dude before declaring that carbon is generally fragile and can’t take abuse.
What is a bike shuttle? Something for commuters? Why would you put a carbon fibre sport bike in a heap with other bikes? It’s not that kind of bike.
Why are you transporting bikes together with the pedals on? Best practice is to remove pedals when transporting bikes, shift in to the lowest gear to protect the derailluer. I would also add padding between both bikes. I understand if you expected to hand off the bikes to the sbipper and expected the bikes to be undamaged when they arrived, but I would always prep the bikes for transport. Don’t mean to come off as “shoulda woulda coulda”, I’m sorry this happened to you it really sucks, but this is a general PSA for transporting bikes.
* bike mechanic for a few years, packed many bikes in to boxes *
The “carbon is fragile crowd” have no idea what they’re talking about. PinkBike did this testing with Santa Cruz over a decade ago. More people need to see this because even now people don’t know what they’re talking about with regard to cardbon.
[https://youtu.be/w5eMMf11uhM](https://youtu.be/w5eMMf11uhM)
What bike is that?
Paint protection film. ~50 dollars worth will cover 2 bikes
This would have damaged an alloy frame too, TBH.