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I probably shouldn't have, but I just bought this 2016 CAAD 8 second hand for cheap. I'm trying to work out if it's safe to ride.

There are cracks all over the carbon fork (and in the rest of the frame, but lots in the fork). The cracks mostly only affect the white paint, but there are blemishes to the black base layer in some areas.

I've sanded away two of the worst looking bits, the carbon seems smooth underneath.

Anyone have any insight? It all feels smooth, and doesn't obviously fail the coin tapping test.

Many thanks, Matt

im1 im2 im3 im4 im5

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  • Safe to ride is a pretty subjective thing. Would I ride it? probably not until I took it to a carbon specialist to check. Others might have a different view. The cracks do look pretty superficial to me but I'm not a specialist in anyway
    – Hursey
    Nov 24, 2022 at 0:52
  • Thanks for your response :) yeah, I guess that would be pretty expensive, probably more than the £50 I spent on this! Actually the cracking seems to look a lot like cyclechat.net/threads/…
    – Matt
    Nov 24, 2022 at 1:02
  • Except the dodgy looking bits which I sanded away smooth.
    – Matt
    Nov 24, 2022 at 1:05
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    From the photos, looks like mostly crazy cracking of the white with the odd scratch - what it the black like? Same as white or not as bad. I might ride it - tap test and all that,but would probably put new forks and bars (presuming carbon) on as failure of these is always going to be messy. Have a look at bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/76022/…
    – mattnz
    Nov 24, 2022 at 2:35
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    Looks like it’s just the decals, they can get brittle over time and crack.
    – Michael
    Nov 24, 2022 at 7:25

1 Answer 1

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Stop sanding - that's going to give you a fresh problem also needs to be resolved.

Instead, try peeling off one of the decals - I think this cracking is more like crazing in the white only. Noone's come up with a structural sticker (yet) so peel one off and see how it looks underneath. Some very gentle warm air may help soften the adhesive.

The black base layer cracks may also have a transparent sticker or anti-rub patch in place there.

If you want a wordy bike, then both reproduction water decals or vinyl-cut stickers are available all over, to apply after you clean and fix the paint layers.

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  • Thanks for the reply and detail! I'll try peeling off the the decal. Don't care about appearance given I've just sanded it :P
    – Matt
    Nov 24, 2022 at 13:59
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    I guess I'd need to add some epoxy resin to cover that back up.
    – Matt
    Nov 24, 2022 at 13:59
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    @Matt, to me sanding to check the carbon feels like "I might have a broken bone, let me cut through the flesh to check". If there isn't a problem, you are creating it.
    – L.Dutch
    Nov 24, 2022 at 17:37
  • I saw someone suggest that somewhere… :/ Still not convinced it matters as long as I cover it up again
    – Matt
    Nov 25, 2022 at 4:51
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    I'm not saying it's not the decals, but the cracks/crazing definitely run from the white into the black (e.g. 3rd pic coming out of the thick stripe, last pic in the "O"). Assuming one-piece decals that could still just mean they're cracking and nothing undreneath.
    – Chris H
    Dec 7, 2022 at 13:02

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