At Bike Pirates we have had a few c.f. frames donated to us, and our solution is to simply get them out of the shop. As there is really no way for us to ensure their safety - much like an old aluminum plugged (glued) Vitus or Alan frame that some shops might get on occasion - and no opportunity to build them up with *appropriate* parts, having frames like that in the shop just ends up drawing unnecessary attention.

We traded a carbon downhill frame for a nice Gary Fischer mtb that we could actually sell, with a friend of ours who mountain bikes, and he has built it up nicely. It was a win-win situation :) Ainsley.

On Sun, Aug 28, 2011 at 11:23 PM, Dustin @ NBW - Philadelphia PA < dustin@neighborhoodbikeworks.org> wrote:

Carbon fiber is definitely recyclable! Take a look:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/trek-embarks-on-ambitious-carbon-fiber-recyc...

Regards, D.

On Sun, Aug 28, 2011 at 11:07 PM, Mark Rehder mark@re-cycles.ca wrote:

...

At least that's what I call bikes of carbon-fiber construction...

We just got our first one donated due to irreparable frame damage. Sure,

we

...

pull the parts from it, but the frame will have to go to landfill. I am

wary

...

of the future of bike repair / recycling as c-f becomes more common. Hopefully they'll find ways to recycle this stuff, because I don't know

if

...

there'll ever be a safe way of checking these frames for hidden damage.

Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca

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Out here is California, Calfee Bikes has been repairing reportedly over 1000 carbon fiber frames per year. If someone wants a frame repaired, you can send it to them.

Hobbyist who know what they are doing can likely have success with repairs. I pesonally have a phobia of all the solvents and vapors.

josh

On Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 6:49 AM, david swanson jdavidswanson@gmail.comwrote:

*A warning about working with damaged carbon fiber frames:* I heard a discussion on NPR a year or two back, apparently carbon fibers are very similar to asbestos fibers and likely pose some of the same health risks. There are several articles online, here is one I found on Google: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13946-nanotubes-toxic-effects-similar-...

Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend ever trying to fix a damaged carbon frame. The fibers are safe when sealed in plastic but once the frame is cracked, broken or maybe even just chipped it probably shouldn't even be handled except with a pair of gloves (and maybe a dust mask or respirator) and only then to dispose of it or possibly to take it to a proper recycling facility. (you can't just drop it in your curbside recycling bin, and I couldn't tell from the article but Trek may not even be able to recycle frames from other manufacturers, and at this point it doesn't even look like they are even recycling anything besides waste from their own production/testing facilities.)

Will anyone ever really improve on the classic steel frame? Seems doubtful sometimes..., but there is bamboo.

On Sun, Aug 28, 2011 at 9:23 PM, Dustin @ NBW - Philadelphia PA < dustin@neighborhoodbikeworks.org> wrote:

...

Carbon fiber is definitely recyclable! Take a look:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/trek-embarks-on-ambitious-carbon-fiber-recyc...

Regards, D.

On Sun, Aug 28, 2011 at 11:07 PM, Mark Rehder mark@re-cycles.ca wrote:

...

At least that's what I call bikes of carbon-fiber construction...

We just got our first one donated due to irreparable frame damage. Sure,

we

...

pull the parts from it, but the frame will have to go to landfill. I am

wary

...

of the future of bike repair / recycling as c-f becomes more common. Hopefully they'll find ways to recycle this stuff, because I don't know

if

...

there'll ever be a safe way of checking these frames for hidden damage.

Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca

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