Friday, July 16, 2010

Specialized Parody Ad

TTTEParody posted a Specialized Parody Ad on YouTube with a reference to BustedCarbon.com at the end. I'm famous.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Barry Wicks' Carbon Bars


On Stage 4 of the BC Bike Race, Barry Wicks managed to crash hard 2km from the end of the stage, breaking his carbon bars, but still managed to win the stage and the race. Thanks to Normon fot the photo.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Cannondale Moto




From Sam:
I have a cannondale moto carbon bike, and I found suspected ‘CRACK’ or could be simple painting problems on both side of main pivot links.

Plz check photos…..
Hard to tell from the photos, but it definitely doesn't look right.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

More Broken Bars



From Luke:
I was puttering -- 8 KM/H if that -- down a 1 1/2 meter gravel embankment when my front wheel washed out and down I went. Basically I just toppled over. Having hopped clear before the bike became acquainted with gravel (visible inside the bar on some photos), there was no weight on the carbon bar other than the bike's at the time of the impact. Astonishing that such an innocuous spill could result in such a failure. Or perhaps not. I'm grateful that the bar's demise didn't come under more painful circumstances.

I've since reconsidered the merits of carbon components where recreational and utilitarian cycling is concerned. No wonder.
Carbon and downtube shifters is a pairing you don't see too often.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Another car bike rack casualty




From David:
My Specialized S-Works Tarmac didn't fair so well against Grandma's carport.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Cavendished Wheel


From Joe:
Attached is my effort at recreating the recent Mark Cavendish crash in our club crit last night (Ormeau park, Belfast, Northern Ireland). Actually, I didn't even get the chance at a of reckless sprint. Rather a case of some loose gravel on a tight corner and me sliding into a kerb. First lap too, ragin!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Look 585


From Humphr via Twitter:
@bustedcarbon here's some from last nights racing http://twitpic.com/1lbwxv Look 585 I think

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

HiFi 29er


Rafal sent me a photo of what I think is a Gary Fisher HiFi 29er.
I heard a pop in back of the bike but proceed to ride it for about another 10 seconds. Until Jeremy yelled at me to stop and check the wheel. I though it I have broken several spokes but no this was the end result.
Read the full story on his blog. My wife has the same bike, and she broke the rear triangle as well, but in a different location. Gary Fisher did warranty hers, and she even got him to sign it.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Before & After



From John of fastacraft.com:
I have a small business that specializes in carbon fibre processing. Lately we have begun doing repairs to bikes when possible. This one belongs to a friend Karl who for forgot it was on the roof of his car when he drove into an underground car park. Before and after repair.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Steerer Tube Failures: Trek Responds




After a rash of steerer tube failures, Trek has responded blaming incompatible stems and incorrect installation. Trek advises:
1) Always use a torque wrench, and never over-tighten stem clamp bolts.
2) Always use spacers above and below the stem. Although less obvious than correct torque, a minimum of 5mm and a maximum of 40mm spacers under the steerer, plus a 5mm spacer above the stem are required. Riders should factor in these spacers when sizing their bike.
3) Use only the stem brand and model that came with the bike, because not all stems will work with carbon steerers. Often the lighter the stem, the less chance it will be compatible with a carbon steerer. Weight-relieving cutouts on the stem clamp and steerer interface can create stress risers.
You can read the full article on VeloNews. I'd rather just have a slightly heavier bike and be able to change my stem without fear of crashing.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Credit Where Credit Is Due


This video has just started making the rounds. Impressive trials riding on a carbon road bike. While I'm impressed the bike survives all the abuse, I don't recommend it unless somebody else is paying for your bikes.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Huge Crash @ Tour of Switzerland


Big crash at the tour of Switzerland yesterday. Heinrich Haussler rides over Mark Cavendish's wheel and it folds, causing them and others to crash. Video and story.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Origin 8


From Chuck:
[Here is] a picture of my broken Origin 8 frame. It broke during this year's Lake Sunapee road race in NH. There was a huge crash in the Cat 4 race and I was in the middle of it. My friend, who was right next to me, ended up with 8 broken ribs! I was fine as I just landed on somebody else but my bike didn't do so well.
It sucks to break a bike, but breaking the body always sucks more.

Monday, June 14, 2010

JRA: Broken Raleigh Frame




A scary story from Brian:
I recently had an accident on my Raleigh in which my carbon frame broke, which caused my crash. I was going about 30mph down a hill and there was a sharp transition going uphill at the bottom. As soon as I started braking at the uphill my frame snapped and I went flying into the woods. I was fortunate I didn't hit the concrete, but still came out with several head injuries. There were no stress cracks, no dents, nothing wrong with the frame as I had just had it fully serviced and picked it up three hours prior to the accident.
These are the type of failures that made me start this blog. You can't tell me steel, aluminum or titanium fails like this.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Fork Fail


Here's one from Samuel:
Here's a picture of my late 90s carbon trek after the front fork snapped off. I was biking up Market Street in San Francisco when it happened. No train tracks, no pot holes... just catastrophic failure :-) Luckily, I was going pretty slow, so there were only minor scratches and bumps as I hit the pavement.

This was an aftermarket fork, which was on the bike when I bought it. I've been riding this bike hard through SF and Oakland for 3+ years, so I am not surprised it failed. Looks like an old design where the carbon was glued to an aluminum bracket. The carbon popped off at this junction.
Even if a fork is old, I'd rather the legs didn't pop off. I've seen modern forks fail in the same way, so I'm not sure this is a solved problem.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Bike Toss



From Scott:
TBAG (Tempe Bike Action Group) has an annual picnic with games and events. In this previous year, there was tallbike jousting, kid's bike derby, and a bike toss featuring heavy bikes and various lighter bikes including an old carbon frame. After being tossed, the carbon bike was smashed in two on a light pole.
More photos. I don't understand "bike culture".

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Scott CR1




From Ian:
It's been a while since this actually happened, but here are some photos from me going into the back of a car at ~50km/h.

I was head down hurting at the start of morning peak hour and didn't see the parked car in a clearway/towaway zone until the last second. I had enough time to throw myself to the right and the bike went square into the back of the car. I took off the right hand side external mirror as I went past, and tucked and rolled as I landed about 2 metres in front of the car.. Didn't even crack my helmet on landing. Effectively got up and walked away but was taken to hospital emergency for a few hours to go over me. Just a couple of small scars which are not all that visible now 2 or so years ago.

I never 'suffer' while training or racing with my head down now. Something I try to teach everyone else to do.
Good advice. Check out the rest of the photos.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Bontrager XXX


From Aaron:
This picture taken of my rear Bontrager XXX carbon MTB wheel off the Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL.

The bike has been ridden for about 6 weeks with about 25-30hours on these wheels. Rim showed this crack/split that occurred during normal riding. I’m not aware of any major hit or crash that would have caused it.

Coming from using metal based Bontrager Race X lites that after a half dozen years of abuse don’t even need to be trued -- this happening was a bit of a shock. (In addition to this rear wheel problem my front XXX wheel went out of true within 2 weeks of use).

Waiting on the warranty determination from Trek, the shop assumes they will go good on it. ($900 for a single wheel with 30hrs of use, a person would be inclined to think so, right?).
Ouch. I hope Trek helps you out.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Another broken seat post



B.N. sent me a photo of his Pinarello Paris with a seat post that lasted less than 500 miles.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Crash Corner @ Bastion Square





Both Kurt of Everti Bikes and Jamie sent me photos of Jessica Hannah from last weekends Bastion Square Grand Prix. She clipped a pedal, highsided and landed on her front wheel. She got back in the race and finished 15th.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

No Carbon Wednesday: Garmin Edge 305



I haven't done a No Carbon Wednesday in a while so I thought I'd finally cover the saga of my Garmin Edge 305. My first one fell off of the mount while crossing a trestle. My second one fell off during a cyclocross race. I complained to Garmin about the quality of the mount and amazingly they sent me a replacement for free with an upgraded mount. Unfortunately I smashed the LCD screen in my next 'cross race. I have to give Garmin credit for great support, but I can't recommend the Edge 305 for somebody that crashes as much as I do.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Pinarello Prince


Another photo with no details, this time a Pinarello Prince.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Carbon Mountain Bike


A photo from Henrik with no details. I don't recognize the brand of bike.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Scott Scale Limited


From Jeff:
Here is a Scott Scale Limited with this fracture, the frame simple broke in normal use. Sent to the store to evaluation, they refuse warranty just saying that the case was a "chain suck" and the rear derailleur shocked with the stay... no drop out broken, the owner just can not believe with the answer by the Scott!!
What happened to bike companies standing behind their product?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Busted Trek


Cyclosity posted this photo on Flickr:
A rider in the Cat 5 race at Kelly Cup/Bike Jam in Baltimore, crashed near the finish line, unfortunately don't know any more of the story.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Crash During FBD Insurance Rás



Davie alerted me about a crash during the FBD Insurance Rás.
The race was stopped today and neutralised to the finish. A jeep pulled out on the race course and several riders heading the main bunch hit it head on, incurring injuries that put them out of the race.

Three competitors from the Spanish Burgos 2016-Castilla y Leon team plus an Italian rider with the Japan – Nippo squad were badly hurt and were taken to hospital after the dramatic incident, which happened on the descent after Bellavalley Gap and approximately 30 kilometres from the finish in Carrick on Shannon.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Busted Steerer Tube



From Colin:
I recently bought a frame that came with a full carbon fork (my first fork with a carbon steer tube!) Just got done building it up, and on the test ride the handlebars felt wiggly, so I took out the fork and removed the warning sticker to find this nasty crack. The seller and I missed it because it was under the sticker but it was obvious while riding. Anyone have a fork with a steel steer tube?
Hmm... the seller missed it because it was under a sticker? You are more trusting than I.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper


A 3rd hand story from Chris:
Via a friend of a friend, he was riding behind this rider when he heard a loud crack, the rider was OK, no further info at this point.
This bike has an MSRP of $7700, we are in a recession, who can afford this type of money for a disposable bike?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Guru Photon


I received this submission with no details. Your guess is as good as mine.

Monday, May 17, 2010

BMC Tear Machine



From Kevin:
The aftermath of a collision with a car in NYC, Spring '09. My BMC Team Machine became a BMC Tear Machine.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Calfee Tandem



From Wayne:
Thanks US Air couldn't make the trip from Dallas to Bakersfield without destroying a tandem.
Oh my, that was an expensive bike.