Carbon fiber bike Inspection
If you ride a carbon fiber bike you know that damage can happen. Carbon is surprisingly resilient or heartbreakingly fragile depending on the type and direction of impact. Is that mark on your frame just chipped paint or is there underlying damage? A crack may be obvious but delaminating carbon layers below the surface aren’t as easy to see with your eyes.
So, you may be wondering whether your frame is still safe to ride - or perhaps you’re considering selling your bike or you’re in the process of buying a second hand frame. In any case, we can help. Our carbon inspection and assessment services will give you peace of mind, leaving you knowing that your bike is in good riding condition or that there are areas of concern that need addressing.
Carbon fibre is a true wonder material, and bike companies have mastered using complex layups to optimize stiffness, power transfer, and overall ride feel. And although carbon fibre is inherently strong and safe, it carries the risk of cracks, delaminations (layers separating) or joint pulling apart not all of which might be visible. Our carbon inspection services can go beyond the visual to review the full structural integrity of your bike frame and highlight any areas of concern. If anything turns out to be wrong, we offer a full service carbon repair process in-house to get you back on the road again.
Depending on your budget, your specific situation, and the amount of detail you’d like, we offer three inspection levels for you to choose from. From as little as $150, we use a range of investigative techniques - from visual and acoustic checks to ultrasound and borescopic inspection - to give your bike a health check.
Spot Check - one area inspected for damage
$150 (excluding tax)
We’ll do a 6-8 inch (15-20 cm) inspection around a single spot of concern to identify whether there is damage and the extent. A variety of methods may be used - from visual and acoustic to internal borescopic and ultrasound - depending on the nature of the concern and at our professional discretion.
This is ideal for when you know where a potential impact happened, like a dropped chain or a handlebar strike against the top tube.
The spot check doesn’t include a formal report, but we’ll put our findings into writing via email once we’ve finished our inspection.
If your bike has more than one area of concern or you’re not sure what might’ve been damaged we’d recommend opting for a Health Check instead.
Depending on the inspection location, some component removal may be required at an additional cost - for more information, check out our Mechanical Services.
Health Check - multiple key areas inspected for damage
$275 (excluding tax)
We’ll do an multi-area spot inspection as well as a 6-8 inch (15-20 cm) inspection around any obvious spots of concern, using a variety of methods from visual and acoustic to internal borescopic and ultrasound - depending on the nature of the concern and at our professional discretion.
This is ideal if you’re unsure whether there is damage or if you’d like a larger area of the bike examined than a single spot inspection would cover.
The health check doesn’t include a formal report, but we’ll put our findings into writing via email once we’ve finished our inspection.
If you want the most thorough inspection, including a formal report that’d be good for insurance purposes, we’d recommend our Full Inspection option.
Depending on the inspection location, some component removal may be required at an additional cost - for more information, check out our Mechanical Services.
Full Inspection - all areas inspected for damage plus report
$425 (excluding tax)
We’ll do a detailed inspection of the entire frame and fork, as well as a 6-8 inch (15-20 cm) inspection around any obvious spots of concern using the full range of techniques to check for damage.
This is the most thorough inspection we offer. This level of inspection may require full frame and fork access and related parts may have to be removed accordingly including: the full drivetrain and internally routed handlebars and headsets. Parts removal and rebuild can by done by VéloColour at an additional cost if it hasn’t been done prior to drop-off - for more information, check out our Mechanical Services.
The full inspection price includes a formal written PDF report and related images. This is beneficial when the findings of a carbon inspection are required for insurance purposes or as an aid in sales within the secondary retail market.
The Fine Print
Inspection lead times range from 2-5 working days from drop-off.
Mechanical services may be required. This can be done prior to drop-off at VéloColour or VéloColour can do the required additional work at our standard hourly rate. For more information, check out our Mechanical Services.
Official reports for insurance purposes can be applied to inspection levels one and two for and additional $75.
Properly packing and shipping your frame takes time. We charge $75 on top of listed prices for this service. Shipping within North America typically ranges between CDN $120-$300.
Drop-off, pick-up and/or delivery are the responsibility of the customer.