I noticed what looks like a chip or damage on the frame near the bottom bracket/chainstay area behind the chainring on my Trek Domane SL7.
I am honestly disappointed to see this. The bike is only about 15 months old, has been well cared for, and has never been crashed. I am not entirely sure whether this happened from a dropped chain, road debris, or something else.
I have attached photos. Based on the photos, does this look like:
chipped paint only,
cosmetic damage that I should seal,
or something that needs a professional carbon/frame inspection?
If it is only a paint chip, what is a reasonable cost to have it repaired or touched up? If it needs a carbon repair, what would you expect that to cost?
The bike rides normally, and I do not see any obvious cracks, but the location makes me a bit nervous.
Would you keep riding it, or take it to a Trek shop first?
Any advice is appreciated.
by Dry_Rip8393
8 Comments
Send it. Paint damage but carbon looks fine. At some point a chain dropped and damaged paint.
This is very common damage. Its from dropping a chain. Usually nothing much to worry about.
Just a paint chip. Trek might have touch up paint available in this color. Otherwise nail polish in the closest color you can find.
I have this same chip on my domane. I used Honda touch up paint because I had it on hand and the color was almost the same. Pearl white.
The bikes are overbuilt in that region and it seems this is a very minor scratch. Put some nail polish and keep on riding
If you’re running 12 speed Shimano. This will keep happening.
A paint chip is common on carbon bikes; you can fix it, leave it as character, or repair the chip and then apply PPF. However, I recommend cleaning and fixing the bike’s paint chip before applying PPF.
I had this plus actual minor carbon damage on a used bike I bought. Trek advised it was fine, even with the carbon damage as it was only the top layer or two of carbon and they are overbuilt in that spot for this exact reason.
I now have a piece of flexible carbon fiber applied over the area with adhesive to prevent further damage, including water ingress, should the chain ever slip again.