Bought this basically for the prices of the Ultegra DI2 and barely used carbon wheels. Original owner never crashed it, maintained it and never over torqued the seat post. Have taken pictures under flash which highlights the hairline cracks in the Matte black finish. I have inspected within the down tube and see no cracks, bit baffled as to what can cause this. Any ideas?
by Dapper_Cicada_9804
25 Comments
Have you used any solvents of cleaning products on the frame? Def looks like paint crackle, either from Uv or chemicals
I have genuinely never seen such a large concentration of cracks on a single frame before, this is crazy
Looks like it could be a paint failure. Not saying the frame is ok but it could be paint.
Well, either those are paint cracks, or the frame is toast. Either way, I’d gently sand it to see if it’s the paint or not (or take it to a paint specialist and get them to do it). I wouldn’t feel comfortable riding it without verifying that’s just the paint.Â
Looks to be on the clearcoat and or paint. I’ve not known carbon fiber to crack in that manner. Search images of “stress cracks in carbon fiber” and stress cracks don’t look like that.
Looks like thermal shock cracks from being exposed to a rapidly changing temperature. Same thing that happens with wood finishes and such. Just my guess. Maybe it was stored inside and then quickly brought outside into the cold in the middle of the winter?
I don’t do a ton of composites design but i’ve done a bit in my career. Never seen carbon fail like this before. It certainly doesn’t seem aligned with any stress you’d expect to see from deflection or impact. Very good chance this is just paint failure and the frame is fine (but I’d definitely try to strip the paint to double check).
If it is carbon failure, it’s DEFINITELY a manufacturer’s defect. I’d reach out to Merida.
I would contact Merida and see if this is a problem they have heard of. Looks like bad paint.
tap test
Just wanted to say I’m interested to see after it’s sanded down. Thanks for posting!
Merida Aus website states that I’ll have to go through the original dealer where it was purchased from. I called them this morning and they are of no help. It’s a 2018 bike.
Fuck it, get the bike ultrasound ‘d
Looks like a paint issue
My thought is that a large stress to that junction caused the paint to crack – which could be an indicator of internal damage. Really a tough (and weird) one!
That’s a feature, not a bug …
Should be inspected inside, but:99% chance it’s just paint/clearcoat this is VERY common. Â
Amazing! You definitely have the scrape off some of the paint to see how deep they go.
Did you buy this from Murphy labs?
Paint / coating issue, not carbon issue. I’ve had similar issues with gel-coated carbon fiber tanks that looked just like this.
It’s paint and a common issues on the Merida 8000e
If you can push on it and feel weak spots it’s done.
Sand a few layers of paint off if you want to be sure.
99.99% sure that that’s not cracked carbon. Looks like a paint failure of some sort. There’s a .01% probability that the frame rotted away under the paint but then the area would be soft to the touch.
I would either fill the cracks with some contrast color and clear coat to give the bike a more unique look or get it properly painted.
Achieving a nice crackle paint finish is hard to achieve. Congratz.
Maybe you could rub some black oxide into it for accentuation.
Just the shitty paint. Ride that sucker