Here at Ruckus, we think all carbon fiber bikes are worthy of repair, however, the truth of this is sometimes self-evident. Some bikes are absolutely always worthy of repair, especially when they are limited edition. This Colnago C60 limited edition arrived with a broken toptube…of course we were gonna save this one.
The damaged toptube area was pretty obvious, but we gave the bike a quick ultrasound scan anyway because we’d rather be exactly sure where the damage occured and how far it propogated rather than just make an educated guess. We found a localized crack and delaminated plys, so we first sent the bike to have the damage machined from that area.
Ultrasound information helps us gather information on the exact amount of layers used and their orentation, so we are then able to mimic the original layup of the frame. These photos depict the structural layup using unidirectional prepreg carbon fiber, trimmed and oriented, ready for layup.
The unidirectional carbon fiber structural layup would certainly be strong and safe enough to withstand years of riding, but we always go above and beyond what is just necessary for our customers. The above photos show our repair tech trimming and applying twill carbon fiber in order to recreate the aesthetics of the frame. This way it will leave our shop looking exactly as it arrived. For us, good enough just never is.
Here’s a shot of the final aesthetic weave before it gets cast and cured in the oven. We heat and use vacuum to remove all the epoxy from the layup, so the frame is left beautifully and evenly compacted.
We then sent the frame to our master painter who touched up a few areas of black on it. We think it turned out just perfectly. We love restoring frames back to their original luster!
This is not the first limited edition frame that we’ve saved and it will certainly not be the last.