Cannondale Supersix Evo Seatstay Repair

This repair case is extraordinarily special to us, and also heartbreakingly tragic. We received a Cannondale Supersix Evo recently from a family who lost their father on a normal Tuesday evening ride. He was riding alone and the sun was high and behind him, and sadly, he was struck from behind by a distracted driver going 65mph. His name is Greg, and here’s a bit on who this incredible man was: “Dad loved everything. He was always happy and the most giving person I know, and he was always the same. He loved to tell jokes and would always use the same ones. One of his signatures was,’come back when you can’t stay as long.’ I can’t tell you how much it means to me to fix his bike. It’s almost like it keeps a part of him alive.” Why choose repair over a purchase? Simple: for memory’s sake. We keep good bikes and memories rolling for a long time.

It was eerie and sad opening the shipping box in which the frame arrived. The still-attached components were all smashed and the saddle rails also completely broken through. Needless to say, the Cannondale Supersix Evo was in pieces, indeed mirroring the hearts of Greg’s friends and family members. The non-driveside seatstay was shattered in two, as well as having a damaged top tube and seat cluster area. Essentially, we had to rebuild the entire rear end of the frame.

As always, we begin the repair process by removing all the damage from the accident. Like wood or glass, all signs of crack propagation must be completely removed or further damage can occur even after the repair has been completed. So for this frame, it required an immense amount of wet sanding to remove all the fragments from the three damaged areas.

After sanding we sent the frame through our structural repair process. We laid up several layers of unidirectional carbon, followed by select areas of twill for extra rigidity. After that, another round of immense sanding occurred, as we had to remove all the excess resin that we withdrew during our curing cycles, smoothing all the repair transition areas. It sounds simple, but that process was about a week’s worth of work!

We finally then began the paint process. One of Greg’s favorite sayings was “It’s another beautiful day in paradise”, and he loved Aloha shirts, so naturally, hibiscus flowers had to be the decor. After a few hours of decal masking, we set out to paint the frame. We’ll let the photos speak for themselves on how they turned out.

All said, it’s incredibly unfortunate that we had to repair this bike…and frankly, this shit has to stop. Cyclists are people, and we have a right to the road. EVERYONE JUST BE CAREFUL AND COURTEOUS OUT THERE, ALRIGHT?! Two extra seconds of safe passing or not answering that text may save someone’s life, and that’s not hyperbole. Our condolences to the family, our hearts are with you in the form of your repaired bike: may it bring you happy memories for a long, long time.