crack in malvern star oppy c7 frame

[DJENANS]

Hi all
i have a 6 month old Malvern star oppy C7 which has a hairline crack i just noticed when cleaning , near the rear dropout. See photo attached, my camera couldnt focus at such close rang properly but you get the jist. Just wondering if this something that warrants the frame being replaced as Ive only done 500 kms on the frame? The shop umd and ahhd about it and told me to come back on monday and they will take photos.
Ive marked with a red arrow the start and finish of the crack

link to photo:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/542/phototx.png/

[im_no_pro]

Welcome to bna. New members are unable to post pics, pm me the link to the img and i will put it up for you.

[DJENANS]

ah ok thanks, here is the link
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/542/phototx.png/

[Baalzamon]

[macca33]

I would say that it is definitely a warranty replacement for the frame, if it is indeed a crack through the weld. How certain are you that it isn't just the paint?

[Ozkaban]

That may just be where the two piece alloy dropout is bolted together. I've got no idea if the Oppy has carbon or alloy dropouts though.

If it is alloy, I wouldn't worry at all. If the dropouts are carbon, I'd be more concerned.

[DJENANS]

Thanks for the replies
It looks like the paint is cracked and iam pretty sure the crack would be where the alloy dropout meets the carbon seat stay joint, which would be a main stress joint I would imagine
I will take it in Monday to where i bought it and hopefully Malvern Star replace it as iam too scared to ride it after discovering the crack

[DJENANS]

ok so went to shop again and was told the full dropout is carbon, no alloy at all. The guy in the shop told me its nothing to be worried about because its carbon its normal for the paint to crack on the joint and would be more worried if the dropout was alloy that had a crack in the paint.
This contradicts what everyone else says???.
Anyways i was insistent i wanted a warranty claim so he said i would have to pay to have the frame stripped to be sent back and that may be a waste of time because he doubted they would find it faulty.
I thought that was ridiculous and asked for the rep to view it next time he is in the store.
He will find out when the MS rep is coming next and have him view it. I also emailed Malvern star direct but no repsonse......
Lets hope the MS rep is going to be better about this as iam starting to wish i went with another brand. I know friends have had warranty claims with an avanti cadent and a Trek Madone and was told they generally dont bat an eyelid to help

[outnabike]

It looks as though they have inserted the drop-out as a separate part into the chainstay, and that would be normal even with an aluminium fitting. The connection to the seatstay though looks less substantial, and the joint is then painted. There is obvious movement there to cause the paint to crack, and it could just be a bad production idea to paint over the whole joint and treat it as one part.
It almost looks as though the drop-out and the seatstay have been pinned and glued, or fused.
Mind you I have no experience in this type of construction.
I would put it all into writing and that will prove any later warranty claim, after all nothing is broken at this stage. It would be nice to see other bikes and find out how general this cracking is.

Having to pay to send the thing away seems a bit strange, if bought locally. I would have thought your warranty is with the agent and not with the manufacturer. I reckon it is only obligatry to return the article to the point of sale. In my experiance, it is more exceptional to get direct feed back from manufacturers than the alternative.

[jacks1071]

The cracked bit looks like filler ie. bog. If thats the case you've not nothing to worry about. Its not a very neat finish but the cracked bit most likely is doing nothing anyway...

[ldrcycles]

I have a 2010 Oppy frame with the same dropout arrangement, you can see on the inside of the seatstays what looks like an allen screw head, and then perhaps they have slapped some kind of/bog/epoxy/whatever on the outside? In any case my bike is making a bit of a racket IMO (not having had a carbon bike before i'm unsure if it's normal noise or not) and i looked over it this morning and noticed a TINY hairline crack in the same spot as the left arrow indicates in that photo.
I'm not particularly concerned but will get the shop to have a look/listen anyway just to be sure.

[R12RT]

This a picture of the same joint on my 2010 Oppy frame.

This frame has no filler around the joint. This frame has covered 24000km with no issues.

The crack does appear to be in the filler. If this is the case I wouldn't be concerned about the crack as the filler appears to be optional.

[sogood]

It looks as though they have inserted the drop-out as a separate part into the chainstay, and that would be normal even with an aluminium fitting. The connection to the seatstay though looks less substantial, and the joint is then painted. There is obvious movement there to cause the paint to crack, and it could just be a bad production idea to paint over the whole joint and treat it as one part.

I agree. It looks to be a joint of some form underneath with paint over it. No surprise the paint has cracked along the joint line. This is not typical of CF frame damage but does not exclude an issue in the joint. I think a MS rep review is an appropriate request. Wouldn't spend money to send it away. May also be worth checking out in another store with MS bikes.

[DJENANS]

Ok rep looked at it and shop told me its normal and they will not be replacing the frame , which is disappointing . I also explained it made a crackling noise sometimes when tightening rear skewer but nope , told me "if it gets worse to bring it back". he doesnt obviuosly didnt realise when a carbon frame fails, it all happens quite quickly and im not prepared to take that risk.
I guess you get what you pay for and a lesson learnt for me.
Now I have to search for a new frame , but looks like I will have to buy a whole bike as frames are almost the same price as a whole bike

I did take the bike to other shops that don't sell malvern star and it was more of a biased opinion as they just bagged the bike before i even got it out the car and then proceeded to point out only poor frames are riveted together these days. Then tried to sell me a new bike so who knows..

[sogood]

Don't get so paranoid! I think it all makes sense and the "crack" is hardly visible and relevant. I wouldn't have an issue riding that frame given what has been said. As for a crackling noise, are you sure you used the rear wheel skewer correctly? The noise probably came from the skewer/hub combo than the frame.

[R12RT]

Ok rep looked at it and shop told me its normal and they will not be replacing the frame , which is disappointing . I also explained it made a crackling noise sometimes when tightening rear skewer but nope , told me "if it gets worse to bring it back". he doesnt obviuosly didnt realise when a carbon frame fails, it all happens quite quickly and im not prepared to take that risk.
I guess you get what you pay for and a lesson learnt for me.
Now I have to search for a new frame , but looks like I will have to buy a whole bike as frames are almost the same price as a whole bike

I did take the bike to other shops that don't sell malvern star and it was more of a biased opinion as they just bagged the bike before i even got it out the car and then proceeded to point out only poor frames are riveted together these days. Then tried to sell me a new bike so who knows..

Raoul Luescher was involved in the design of the Oppy frames.

I would be interested to hear his thoughts on the Oppy frames being of poor design because of they have riveted joints.

Personally I would have no problems riding that frame. Based on my experience there is very little wrong with the frames and their design.

[outnabike]

Ok rep looked at it and shop told me its normal and they will not be replacing the frame , which is disappointing . I also explained it made a crackling noise sometimes when tightening rear skewer but nope , told me "if it gets worse to bring it back". he doesnt obviuosly didnt realise when a carbon frame fails, it all happens quite quickly and im not prepared to take that risk.
I guess you get what you pay for and a lesson learnt for me.
Now I have to search for a new frame , but looks like I will have to buy a whole bike as frames are almost the same price as a whole bike

I did take the bike to other shops that don't sell malvern star and it was more of a biased opinion as they just bagged the bike before i even got it out the car and then proceeded to point out only poor frames are riveted together these days. Then tried to sell me a new bike so who knows..

Hi DJENANS,
I was in no way casting a negative over your bike and I don't see any one else getting rid of their bikes.
I suggest you just note the issue and enjoy the bike. I am sure any bike will have some sort of a problem, and we just have to live with these things. When you have done a few thousand kays you will have enough info to make an informed decision.
I would say the paint has not enough flexibility to allow for joint movement. That is not to say there is a problem with the joint.

[jacks1071]

Ok rep looked at it and shop told me its normal and they will not be replacing the frame , which is disappointing . I also explained it made a crackling noise sometimes when tightening rear skewer but nope , told me "if it gets worse to bring it back". he doesnt obviuosly didnt realise when a carbon frame fails, it all happens quite quickly and im not prepared to take that risk.
I guess you get what you pay for and a lesson learnt for me.
Now I have to search for a new frame , but looks like I will have to buy a whole bike as frames are almost the same price as a whole bike

I did take the bike to other shops that don't sell malvern star and it was more of a biased opinion as they just bagged the bike before i even got it out the car and then proceeded to point out only poor frames are riveted together these days. Then tried to sell me a new bike so who knows..

If marks in paint are going to worry you, when you do replace it don't by a CF frame because they all get marks in the paint. Carbon flexes, paint doesn't.

[im_no_pro]

Ok rep looked at it and shop told me its normal and they will not be replacing the frame , which is disappointing . I also explained it made a crackling noise sometimes when tightening rear skewer but nope , told me "if it gets worse to bring it back". he doesnt obviuosly didnt realise when a carbon frame fails, it all happens quite quickly and im not prepared to take that risk.
I guess you get what you pay for and a lesson learnt for me.
Now I have to search for a new frame , but looks like I will have to buy a whole bike as frames are almost the same price as a whole bike

I did take the bike to other shops that don't sell malvern star and it was more of a biased opinion as they just bagged the bike before i even got it out the car and then proceeded to point out only poor frames are riveted together these days. Then tried to sell me a new bike so who knows..

If marks in paint are going to worry you, when you do replace it don't by a CF frame because they all get marks in the paint. Carbon flexes, paint doesn't.

Agree with this 100%. Thinking there is something wrong with it and something actually being wrong with it are two very different things. Like others, I would have no issues riding this frame. Hell, if I went home and checked over my carbon roadie tonight chances are I would find some level of paint cracking somewhere. If you are that concerned, get it x-rayed or fork over the cash for a warranty assessment (in the unlikely event it was a warranty claim you shouldnt have to fork anything over anyway).