Deda carbon bars crushed?

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

whodesigns
in the industry
Posts: 162
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:16 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia
Contact:

by whodesigns

We do Ultrasound scans as part of our assessment service, most of the time after a front end crash the bar has some delamination in it, often the fork steerer does too. As this area is safety critical, it is just not worth the risk.

I recommend having it professionally assessed or just replace it, opinions from a photo just don't cut it. The cost of a scan or a new bar is peanuts compared to the potential medical bills if it fails.

Aluminium bars also fail in this region, often catastrophically.
Specialist Sports Technology
http://www.luescherteknik.com.au
Carbon Bike Repairs
http://www.carbonbikerepair.com.au

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



latman
Posts: 123
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:44 pm

by latman

The cost of everything pales compared to potential medical bills , but they are only potential , what do you actually charge for your high tech" Ultrasound scans as part of our assessment service" whodesigns ?

whodesigns
in the industry
Posts: 162
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:16 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia
Contact:

by whodesigns

latman wrote:The cost of everything pales compared to potential medical bills , but they are only potential , what do you actually charge for your high tech" Ultrasound scans as part of our assessment service" whodesigns ?


The level of risk (or potential of risk) is calculated by magnitude of the consequence, for example carbon aircraft components are typically 100% ultrasound scanned because nobody wants a plane with 400 people in it falling out of the sky, more critical components on the aircraft are inspected to higher level specification. In the sporting goods industry the level of risk is less, if a tennis racket fails, nobody usually dies, if a bike fails usually only the rider gets hurt, although you still don't want to be that rider.

The point is every person has their own perception of risk, that is why not everyone has the same insurance cover. This acceptance of risk changes as the individuals circumstances change, e.g. family, etc.

So to my way of thinking if I see some potential damage to a critical part which, if it were to fail catastrophically would exceed my perception of risk, I would evaluate it thoroughly to be sure I know what I am dealing with, if it were suitable for repair I could repair it, or just replace it. Ultrasound scans can find damage that does not present itself visually but are very common in composites, such as delamination, voids, porosity, etc, all which can have a significant impact on the components performance. For an item to be evaluated or repaired, the full extent of the damage needs to be known, not just the visual indication on the surface, many times there isn't any visual indication on the surface.

This is the same service I offer my customers to give them peace of mind, the service fee schedule is posted on the website. To scan a bar like this one would cost $75, each individual can decide for themselves if this cost is worth the risk.
Specialist Sports Technology
http://www.luescherteknik.com.au
Carbon Bike Repairs
http://www.carbonbikerepair.com.au

Post Reply