Hey guys,

Sad news for me again, my 9 months old Parlee Z5SL frame cracked on the top tube as you can see below:







Coming from a Dogma, the Z5 was more nimble but as stiff; the Dogma used to climb with more momentum and power transfer was more direct. The Z5 is comfortable, weighs less and feels lighter when ridden.

I believe Parlee will warranty the frame but I was thinking to eventually try the Z1 instead and customize it for more overall rigidity. Or I could just take a new Z5SL frame again.

Looking forward to your input, especially on the Z1 VS. Z5 frame qualities.

Thanks!

_________________
My Parlee Z1

Looks more like a scratch from the photo. Hope you get it sorted it out quickly.
Good luck

The photos are not clear enough. I'll post better ones soon.

_________________
My Parlee Z1

Here goes:

_________________
My Parlee Z1

What's your weight?

_________________
Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

I'm 76Kg, 179 CM.

_________________
My Parlee Z1

179 and you fit in that frame? I seriously doubt...

_________________
Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

Short torso, long legs. It's a medium with tall headtube. I fit perfectly.

_________________
My Parlee Z1

How did the crack occur? Pic not clear but looks like it is just clear coat from the pic.
Has your LBS looked at it?
A Z1 can be customized with whatever characteristics you request within reason. What is your weit and what type of power do you put put, I weigh 95kg and ride an XL Z5 and don't have flex or rigidity issues.
My Bottechiai frame is really stiff and rigid but unforgiving on longer rides.

The Z5 SL rides much the same as the Z5, is just slightly lighter and uses the Enve 1.0 fork instead of the 2.0 on the SL.

The Z1 will probably build up slightly heavier than the Z5SL but if you have the money to go custom, you can get the sizing, geometry and tubing stiffness etc dialed in to your exact needs.

Good luck and post the results

_________________
Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

The damaged spot on the top tube looks like the bar touched it (but easy to see if this was the case)

Really looks like you have just scratched the surface. It Looks like the silver of the decals have been scratched, Have you squeezed the tube ?, can you see a crack for sure? Get a very very thin bit of sandpaper ,wet and dry , lightly sand , you will come to the carbon and be able to see if its a crack. It could be fine .

its such a short reach of top tube and stem that im skeptical, but thats not the issue here.

_________________
α

That's a weird place to get a crack, right in the center of the top tube. Not really a stress point. Can you explain how it happened, so people don't get the assumption that Z5's just randomly crack the the center of tubes? Seems like either a bar strike, or some other type of impact or clamping on the top tube happened.

A Z1 can be built just as light and with custom geometry and tubing to better fit you.

Looks like a repair stand clamp accident...

_________________
Slammed. Campy. Tubulars.

Being slightly on the side you would guess handlebar impact, but this crack seems a bit far back.

At this place, I would also think workstand clamp or even a dropped tool that grazed the tube.

Then again, it's not like this tube is without stresses. Could simply be an imperfection with the raw tube and a subsequent failure.