How To Repair Carbon Fiber Bicycle Frame

It's a common misconception that once a carbon-fibre frame or part is damaged, it should be thrown away. But a carbon-fibre component, in most cases, is safely repairable.

Breaks, cracks, chips & deep scratches can be safely repaired, thereby restoring the bike to its original condition. The damaged section is prepared and then rebuilt with new material, reinforced over a larger section, cured, sanded, and then painted to match the original finish. The carbon repaired section will be stronger than the original and will be unnoticeable.

Carbon bicycle repairs should only be carried out by professionals. Bicycle frames are complex structures, bearing loads and stresses, induced by forces such as, sprinting and high-speed cornering. If your carbon-fibre frame/components are damaged, then CBR is your one stop repair shop.

Excellence and Professionalism

All repairs and finishing graphics are executed to highest industry standards. We endeavour to repair all bikes within ten to fifteen working days. All repairs are treated with the same level of care and attention to detail.

Our carbon repairs have and will pass the test of time. Although we endeavour to always improve our processes as technologies develop, we do have complete confidence in our current methods and stand by our lifetime guarantee. Our edge comes from understanding the forces put through bicycles at a professional racing level and using that as the benchmark for any repairs. This is drawn from James' experience of racing at the highest level and obsession with composites over the last two decades.

Worlds under 23 Bronze Medallist in 2001. James Perry (owner of CBR) on the right.

Carbon bicycle repair team in front of the shop

The CBR team in front of the shop.

CBR - The Company

James Perry – Carbon fibre repair and bicycle painting expert

Lifetime commitment to cycling
Competed as a Professional at the highest level (5 yrs internationally and 10 yrs locally)
National Road and Track Champion 23 times
World Under 23 Bronze Medallist 2001

Ever since his high school years, James has had a passion for bicycles, from riding them, to their mechanics, engineering and design. Fixing bikes and carbon repair, began merely as a hobby, in his early years. Through training, mentorship and experience, this has since developed into expertise in carbon fibre repair processes and refinishing.

Combined with his riding success and level of competitiveness, his standard for excellence has translated into the highest level of workmanship.

The other members of the team comprise the following individuals;

Justine Perry – 15 years graphic design and application experience.
Nicolas Perry – BSC Eng. Specialising in carbon repair.
Willem Basson- Client services, damage assessments and reports.
Guy Morrison – 30 years signage industry: air brush artist, masking and vinyl application.
Joe Fore – 20 years vehicle spray painting experience turned bicycle painter.
Justin – Preparation work.
Blessings – Preparation work and polishing.

Services

Carbon Repair

At Carbon Bicycle Repair, we use the highest quality carbon fibre materials available and aerospace grade resins. We also match the strength and layers of the carbon fibre originally used in the manufacturing of your frame and the finish, including the thickness of the carbon tubing will preserve the original characteristics of your bicycle. Your ride will not be altered in any way.

Repairs can be done on most carbon frames, components and some wheels.

Refurbish & Refinishing

We pride ourselves on our finishing work, in order to restore your bike to its original condition. We can match most existing paint finishes and styles for touch-up work and use high quality paints and clear coats, to help prevent fade and UV damage.

There are a range of finishes to choose from: matt, gloss, pearls, candies, metallics. If necessary, paints are professionally colour matched.

Custom Frame Respray

We are constantly pushing the limits of what can be done with paint in order to achieve factory finishes. We strive to keep up with industry trends and regularly update bicycle manufacturers graphics. These we recreate in our design studio along with custom decals for forks, rear shocks, wheels, name/flag stickers and most things bike related.

Our automotive paints and spray equipment is of a high quality, ensuring an excellent finish. Our graphics are air-brushed paintwork and we have the ability to recreate various fine and detailed logos.

At Carbon Bicycle Repairs, we don't take shortcuts with the preparation and customization of your frame and strive to make your bike look as good as new.

All types of bikes can be resprayed ie. carbon, alloy, steel, titanium etc.

Damage assessments and inspection reports for insurance

We offer damage assessments and provide a comprehensive inspection report, which includes photographs as well as endoscopic and microscopic images if necessary. Our findings distinguish between incident and wear and tear related damage.

If we do not recommend repairing the damage, we include a quotation for replacement of the same or similar.

Our repair work has a limited lifetime warranty and we offer a two-year warranty on our paint work.

Inspection procedure:

We use a variety of ways to accurately determine whether there is carbon damage and the extent of the damage:

An initial visual inspection marking all points of obvious carbon, cosmetic and mechanical damage.
Closer inspection with loupe (magnification glasses) to identify less obvious damage.
Digital microscope camera used for suspected damage not obvious in the first stages of inspection. We also add stress to the area to check for movement over a suspected fracture. Our Endoscope camera is used for examining the inside of the tubes.
Remove paint in the suspected area and assess the structure of the fibres. In our experience, this is the most conclusive method.

Options

The severity of the damage differs on each bike, which means that we must first assess your damage to determine whether it can be repaired, and if so, what it will cost.
Repair / refinishing & respray costs will be assessed as follows:

Paint damage only

Basic:
Basic scratch repair and decal touchups.

Matte to Gloss, or Gloss to Matte:
Change the look & finish of your bike and keep existing colours and graphics, touch up some chips and scratches.

Rejuvenate your bike:
Fix up scratches, small marks and dull or worn paint. Give it a gloss or matt clear coat.

Complete respray:
Change the colours and update the design of your bike or go for something completely custom.

Carbon repair, paint, finish and detailing

No Paint - Just Carbon Repair:
Our cheapest/quickest "No Paint" option repairs the broken carbon fibre.

Basic Finish - Single Colour over the repaired section only:
Repair and single colour paint touch ups over the repair with a gloss or matt clearcoat.

Detailed finish - Replicate existing paint / graphics over repair:
Repair and replicate existing paint and graphics.

Repair and refurbish current graphics:
Repair the section/s and fix up chips, scratches and marks on the frame so that it looks new.

Repair and complete respray with graphics:
Repair the section/s and give the bike a complete respray with colours and finish of your choice.

Workshop

Fully equipped workshop powered by BESPOKE CYCLEWORX.

The bicycle needs to be stripped in order to repair or paint the frame, which we offer in our workshop.

Full servicing capabilities with expert wheel building in house.

FAQ

Almost any part of a carbon frame.
Carbon brake levers.
Some carbon handlebars.
Some Carbon tubular wheels.
Road Forks (minor repairs).

Full carbon clincher wheels with broken braking surfaces.
Severely heat damaged wheels.
Mangled wheels.
Destroyed front forks.
Carbon crank sets.
Carbon pedals.
Cracks in alloy frames & parts.

Kindly note, we first need to assess the damage in person before agreeing to repair a carbon fibre frame or part. This is because we consider your safety first and may deem it better to rather replace. In some cases it will also be cheaper to replace than to repair.

We offer local (Cape Town) & national collection & delivery services at reasonable rates.
We offer a local door to door collection / delivery service in and around the Cape Town area.

NOTES ON SENDING BY COURIER
Bubble wrap well & package in a frame or bike box. Remember that the smaller the package, the more affordable it is to send.

Does CBR remove the paint from the frame?
Yes, in most cases the frame will be stripped of all paint.

How long does it take to remove the paint?
It takes approx. 6-8 hours of hand sanding.

How long does it take to complete a frame respray?
It takes about 10 days (50 - 100 hours).

Do we use decals or stickers?
No, we paint all the logos with air brushes directly onto the frame.

What is the weight of an CBR paintjob?
Between 10-75g

Does CBR do custom graphics free of charge?
We charge a graphic design hourly charge for custom graphics. You can provide editable PDF or vector format workable designs.

Can you spray on top of an already painted bicycle?
We prefer to do the preparation ourselves. We don't work on top of other spray work as this has paint reactions with our clearcoat.

Do I have to dismantle the bicycle?
You can send the frame alone or we can provide a strip/rebuild service in-house at a reasonalbe rate.

Does CBR paint seperate frame parts?
Yes we do.

Does CBR refurbish damaged paintjobs?
Yes, but each case must be checked individually as there is a lot involved in refurbishing a frame. In many cases this can take more time than a full respray.

How durable is the paint?
Your paint job should be good for many years when well taken care of. We use high quality primers, basecoats and clearcoats. We offer a 2 year guarantee on our paintwork.

How do I specify the desired colour?
You can send a clour code of a car, which you can obtain with a dealer. We have Pantone and colour swatches available in our paint shop for you to choose from.

When do I have to pay?
You pay 50% of the total amount as orde confirmation when booking the bicycle in. The balance will be paid prior to/or upon collection of the frame from our shop.

Do I have to book an appointment?
We work on a first come serve basis. You can pop into our shop to get a quotation during working hours, and look at colour samples and discuss ideas.

Payment via EFT / Cash.
We have card facilities.
We request a 50% deposit upfront & the balance payable upon collection.

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