Carbon frame... "Crack or Scratch?"

[garusso]

I have ridden aluminum for fifteen years and finally broke down and decided to buy a carbon bike. As I do not make the most money in the world, I decided to buy a used frame. It has two scatches/cracks in the frame. They seem superficial, and purely cosmetic, but I can't help but think that they may be more than just that. And I don't know much about care of carbon frames, nor do any of my friends. I was the first to venture into carbon country.

Is there a way to tell if these are scratches or cracks? Am I being stupid? Would I know if these are cracks? Would it be obvious?

Any and all advice welcome.

 

[boudreaux]

I have ridden aluminum for fifteen years and finally broke down and decided to buy a carbon bike. As I do not make the most money in the world, I decided to buy a used frame. It has two scatches/cracks in the frame. They seem superficial, and purely cosmetic, but I can't help but think that they may be more than just that. And I don't know much about care of carbon frames, nor do any of my friends. I was the first to venture into carbon country.

Is there a way to tell if these are scratches or cracks? Am I being stupid? Would I know if these are cracks? Would it be obvious?

Any and all advice welcome.

Why not have some one other than a nose picker actually look at it?

 

[cmoore992002]

Garusso, I would take the frame down to the LBS and have them take a look before building the bike. Good luck.

 

[artmichalek]

Is there a way to tell if these are scratches or cracks? Am I being stupid? Would I know if these are cracks? Would it be obvious?

Just take a look at them with a magnifying glass. If they look white they're scratches. If they're cracks, don't worry about them unless you can see broken fibers.

 

[cydewaze]

If it makes you feel any better, my carbon mtn bike frame has around 50,000 scratches, gouges, and even a few chunks missing, and it's still going strong. The missing chunks always make me a bit wary, but so far it still survives.