Small surface crack in ZIPP disc - what to do?

Triathlon Forum
1

Has anyone dealt with surface cracks? Is there a way to repair surface cracks on carbon? I noticed a small crack, about a half inch, about an inch below the brake surface. The crack is not deep, but there is some damage. I should use some 2 part epoxy, right?

2

I would call Zipp - I think that you may want to talk to Alex.

3

If I were you I would contact the engineering group at Zipp and ask them how to fix it. If you can’t get a hold of anybody try this stuff. Be aware that you may screw up the balance and trueness of the disc by “glueing” it.

3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesive DP-460NS. They use this stuff to glue heat tiles on satelites. It cost about $7.50 a tube and takes about an hour to set. It gets super tough after 24 hour though. Leave it in a warmish area and it will set quicker. It is for industrila use only so if you have an engineer friend or something you can have them order it for you. I used it to glue a fender on my friend’s car once after an accident (about 3 years ago) and it is still holding.

Good Luck

Rusty

4

if you are going to use this type of glue use dp420. they make it in black and it cures faster (the 460 only comes in off white). the dp460ns is the same family of glue but will be too thick to get a good result. the ns stands for no sag (it’s thick). we use dp460 standard off white for the rims. to be honest all of these glues are a bit of overkill for a simple crack. if it’s bad enough to use this stuff you might what zipp to take care of it.

frank

5

I smashed up both my front and rear Zipp 909 at Wildflower. I sent them to Alex @ Zipp. They examined the damage and (too bad for me) recommended a complete crash replacement. That set me back another $850 + the $100 it took to ship them there. Crash replacement for wheels is done at wholesale price. Anyway, as it relates to your problem: I had a crack in the disc that entered into the rim casing (ie. the strip the tire sits on). This is bad news. Once that’s comprimised, it’s pretty much like a car windshield. It will just keep getting worse and is potentially dangerous. If the damage is just to the honeycomb, Zipp may be able to repair it for you. Ask Zipp. If it’s really small and just on the honeycomb, you might be able to do a self repair (or nothing if you think it won’t impact performance or durability.)

Hope this helps.

6

I don’t feel so bad now. I got to speak w/ Jim at ZIPP earlier today. Very nice guy. I’m going to take a digital photo and then e-mail it to him. He’ll examine then make a recommendation. He also recommended using DP420 2 part epoxy if it is minor enough to self repair.

Thanks again everyone!