Cervelo R3 - would you purchase a repaired frame?

[Vandalay]

Thought I post this and see what people thought.

I have a 56cm Cervelo R3 in all white, I used it for about 6 months in 2009 and unfortunately crashed it and cracked the chainstay. At the time Cervelo was not offering a good deal on the crash replacement trade in, so I wound up just replacing the bike with something else.

I have read some good things lately about Calfee and RRvelo carbon frame repair, seems they are able to rewrap and resin the cracks and bake it and essentially make the frame as strong if not stronger then it was originally, they'll also paint it so that you can barely see the affected area. I have a current bike so the frame is just sitting and is of no use to me, here is my question. Do you think that someone would purchase this frame? I would think repaired and repainted it's gotta be worth about 1k or so. Seems that the repair places will even guarentee their work. If I had known about the repair service at the time I crashed I probably would have just had it repaired. Wondering what people think, would you purchase a repaired frame for about 1/3 of it's retail price?

 

[kdelong]

I would have to do more research before I actually said yes, but from the little bit of information that you supplied, I think I would give it a go. I don't think that I would buy the frame in broken condition and then try to get it repaired. It would have to be repaired before I purchased it just to protect myself in case it was beyond repair. The seller would also need to provide to me a statement from a reputable LBS stating that the bike has been inspected and that there is no more damage other than what was repaired, and that the repairs were sufficient and correct for the damage incurred. It may seem that I am being over cautious but I have seen the results of frame failures and it ain't pretty.

 

[alfeng]

Originally Posted by Vandalay .

Thought I post this and see what people thought.

I have a 56cm Cervelo R3 in all white, I used it for about 6 months in 2009 and unfortunately crashed it and cracked the chainstay. At the time Cervelo was not offering a good deal on the crash replacement trade in, so I wound up just replacing the bike with something else.

I have read some good things lately about Calfee and RRvelo carbon frame repair, seems they are able to rewrap and resin the cracks and bake it and essentially make the frame as strong if not stronger then it was originally, they'll also paint it so that you can barely see the affected area. I have a current bike so the frame is just sitting and is of no use to me, here is my question. Do you think that someone would purchase this frame? I would think repaired and repainted it's gotta be worth about 1k or so. Seems that the repair places will even guarentee their work. If I had known about the repair service at the time I crashed I probably would have just had it repaired. Wondering what people think, would you purchase a repaired frame for about 1/3 of it's retail price?

I think that a two-year old bike which has been ridden would normally have 40%-to-50% of its MSRP -- super high depreciation, to say the least ...

1/3rd of the MSRP for the repaired frame sounds reasonable ...

BUT, I don't know if I were looking for a CF frame that I wouldn't be looking at one of the unlabeled Chinese CF frames which will only cost about $500US (or, less if on eschews the CF handlebars/etc.).

BTW. If you have Calfee repair the frame [[COLOR= #808080]I am NOT a potential buyer for your frame, but if I were I would prefer to know that the repair had been done by Calfee-or-someone-in-his-shop because I don't recall [/COLOR][COLOR= #808080]hearing anything one-way-or-the-other about the other shop you mentioned; but, my parochial-knowledge shouldn't be the basis for who you choose to have do the repair[/COLOR]], have you considered selling your newer frame and then riding the repaired frame youreself?

 

[Vandalay]

Thanks for the replies.

I wound up getting a super six hi-mod and it is actually a 54cm and I love it, the cervelo was 56cm which I think was a hair on the big side for me, so don't want to switch back to the Cervelo at this point.

BTW - from what I have heard RRVelo is run by former Calfee employees who started their own shop about 15 minutes away, I only hear good things about them, but Calfee does have the brand name that people seem to feel more comfortable with.

I suppose my first step would be to just get an estimate for repair.

Also I guess another option would be to sell the frame for a few hundred bucks and let someone else trade it in to Cervelo as a crash replacement, I think my shop kind of bungled it when trying to work the deal for me, but I imagine you could get at least 40% off MSRP for a brand new frame by trading it in.

 

[ToffoIsMe]

Depending on what they quoted you for a crash replacement it may be worth it to have it replaced and then sell the new one still with its original box and papers. You'd then be able to get close to retail for it since it would be a current model/paint scheme and would be unused.