2008 Felt F2 problem

[Johnny Ragwort]

I've got a Felt F2 carbon frame in the shed. The aluminium shim which pokes out of the top of the seat tube for the seatpost clamp to fit on has broken and I'm struggling to find anyone to fix it ... my local bike shops recoiled in horror when I showed them it and the carbon repair specialist I tried wouldn't have anything to do with it. Even Felt, who built the bloody thing in the first place, didn't want to know!

The frame tube internal diameter is 28.6mm, shimmed down to fit a 27.2mm seatpost. WHat I'm thinking now is that I'll get hold of a 28.6 / 25.4mm shim, remove the remains of the old shim and glue the new one in with a bit poking out of the top for the seatpost clamp. Has anyone done anything like this before? The difficult bit will be removing the old shim ... it's pretty well glued in. Any tips gratefully received; it seems a shame to condemn what i basically a nice frame just for the sake of a bit of aluminium!

 

[Joe_Rides]

Re:

What I'm thinking now is that I'll get hold of a 28.6 / 25.4mm shim, remove the remains of the old shim and glue the new one in with a bit poking out of the top for the seatpost clamp. Has anyone done anything like this before? The difficult bit will be removing the old shim ... it's pretty well glued in

That seems a logical solution if you can get the old shim out. I'm not even sure you would need to glue the new one in? Once a seatpost is inserted into a shim and the clamp tightened, they don't tend to move, although I have only ever owned metal frames, so not sure about carbon.

I think you might struggle getting the old shim out though if it's properly bonded in. I guess it's a bit of a pikey solution but could you get a 27.2 shim and slot it straight in 'over' the defective one? (sand any sharp edges flat first perhaps). But you'd need to run a pretty narrow seatpost!

 

[tintin40]

Which carbon repairer wouldn't touch it? I'd look for a different company. Shouldn't be that hard to repair for a specialist? I tried to DIY a carbon. Best left to the specialists in my case.

 

[MRGRUMPY]

Re:

HQ Fibre products near Norwich would probably sort that for you.

 

[Johnny Ragwort]

Re: Re:

HQ Fibre products near Norwich would probably sort that for you.

I'll give them a go, cheers. I'd have a go at fixing it myself as a last resort, but I don't think I'd ever be entirely happy with it!