I have a FSA Carbon crank where the thread/bolt for my pedal has become lose and wobbles.
In all fairness the crank has has 20,000KM on it. Can it be repaired, can I replace just the crank, or do I need to replace the entire crankset?
Bicycles Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people who build and repair bicycles, people who train cycling, or commute on bicycles. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this communityI have a FSA Carbon crank where the thread/bolt for my pedal has become lose and wobbles.
In all fairness the crank has has 20,000KM on it. Can it be repaired, can I replace just the crank, or do I need to replace the entire crankset?
The FSA Warranty is 2 years on cranksets.
I would still contact them to see what they recommend.They might be able to repair, recommend a company who can repair or offer you a lower-cost replacement. You didn't say which crank arm it is but they may also be able to provide a replacement for just that crank arm.
I would also stop using the crank for now for two different reasons:
I would try the warranty route first as @Carel suggested. It is possible that the movement has done enough damage that repair is not possible. I would consult a shop that specializes in Carbon Frame repair. They may be able to reaffix the threaded insert into the arm. As carbon parts are becoming more common repair of what used to unrepairable parts is also becoming more common.
While the recommendation to consult a carbon frame repair shop is sound, I suspect the answer would have been no. My reasoning is as follows.
There's a metal insert that's bonded to the carbon structure for the pedals. "Bonded" means glued, but remember that we aren't talking about the glue you'd use in arts and crafts. It's an adhesive like the one that holds the carbon fiber sheets in the structure themselves together.
If that insert came loose, it could potentially be re-bonded to the cranks. However, it could also have been fretting (NB: not 100% sure this is the correct engineering term) against the rest of the carbon structure, so it could have enlarged the hole it was bonded in and maybe damaged some fibers. That would have compromised the structure. If that were something that was repairable, it may have rendered it uneconomical.
20,000 km isn't actually very long for a crankset. FSA would not have been obliged to warranty the item, but it's still possible they might have. Shimano has been more generous with the warranty terms on it's 6800, 9000, 8000, and 9100 cranksets, where there have been some issues with the halves de-bonding (NB: aluminum crankset, so different engineering problem, but maybe similar business principle).