I have noticed a scoring in my FSA K-Force seatpost. It has come from the seat-clamp, the slot of which sits at an angle against the seatpost rather than at 90 degrees so I think I have over-tightened and in doing so the seat-tube has cut in to the post. From the photos, can anybody advise if the seatpost is at risk of failure, the gouge can be felt with a fingernail but I can't tell if its purely cosmetic or has possibly compromised the carbon? (The last photo just shows the condition of the lower part of the post in case that writes it off too)

Thanks.


FSA 01 by matthew.brett, on Flickr


FSA 02 by matthew.brett, on Flickr


FSA 03 by matthew.brett, on Flickr


FSA 04 by matthew.brett, on Flickr


FSA 05 by matthew.brett, on Flickr

Difficult to be certain from a photo (and disclaimer blah blah blah) but that doesn't look like a problem to me. If it were mine, I'd ride it.

You should not use that. Carbon has been compromised it can just snap and it has happened to me .
I know it does not look like much but carbon can be deceptive and it's just not worth the risk.

That was my concern, have been using an old one instead for the meanwhile and as I was taking photos for something on eBay, thought I'd take photos and ask the question here whilst I was at it.

I completely DISAGREE....looks like a lot of clear coat scraping/scoring but no evidence that the carbon has been compromised. You will usually see clouding in the epoxy when damage has compromised the carbon fiber layers.

Ride it.

EM3

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My 2011 Cervelo R5

Last year I broke FSA K-Force seatpost that had the sema damages, on mtb race. Before that, I used the post for years on training. So, 50/50. I would not reccommend.

It's difficult to answer b/c obviously no one wants to see you suffer a failure and get injured.
But I agree that it looks like superficial damage.
If it were mine, I would continue to ride it, assuming this is on a road bike and you don't ride on a lot of rough roads.
If this is on an MTB, well, I would be a bit worried.

Unfortunately, there is no clear concensus among the experts here, so ultimately you'll have to decide for yourself what level of risk you're willing to take.

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The more you suffer, the closer you get to transcendence.
It's not the mountain you're climbing, it's yourself. If you don't want to know, stay at the bottom.

Here's how I'd look at it:

a few seasons of use + possible structural damage = good excuse to get yourself a new, lighter one.

I personally would not risk it, but I'm gettin' old...

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Fear is healthy, panic can be deadly

You could sand this section of clear coat down to see, whether it's paint only or CF as well. That will take you just few minutes, literally. If it's the first option, you can re-spray it or even better strip the whole post down. If the second, get the new one.

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Cervelo R5 VWD 5637g/12.43lb
Cannyon Ultimate slx 5592g/12.33lb
Pronghorn XC SW Race 8284g/18.26lb

I agree that it is a good reason to buy a new lighter post, but i would continue to use that. I kind it just looks like clearcoat damage, but no one can tell you for certain there is no underlying carbon damage. I had a crack in my top tube and kept riding it for 3 months - just kept an eye on it for expansion, whilst i dragged my feet going to my LBS and getting a warranty replacement. It was fine.

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Evo 5.63kg SL3 7.045kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As far as I can tell it looks fine. Cracked carbon tends to look a bit different from what is showing in the pictures.

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Ideally I'd rather not buy a new one or at least not a new fancy one as this is on my winter/commuter bike as it is too big for my Canyon.

Thanks for all the responses so far.

No problems, IMO.
I've ridden far worse.

I see a slight depression in the outer, cosmetic layer of the post but nothing that would prevent me from using it on my road or cross bike.

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Michael - The Anaerobic Threshold is neither...

God no.. if there was anything like that on my cross bike it would be pitched in a heartbeat. Road on the other hand doesn't have that risk of a snap. If a seatpost snapped on a remount it could cut your femoral artery and you could be dead in minutes.

NFW would I risk that. Road on the other hand..I imagine if it is more than cosmetic you would feel it gradually getting worse. That said.. anything that inexpensive I would just replace right away.