This is what happens when bikes fall down and then other bikes fall on top of them. It is sad. The crack in this seatstay actually goes half way around the stay and all the way through the laminate. When I flexed the stay, i could look inside it. (there was not much to see)
FUJI has a pretty decent crash replacement policy but it still means paying roughly cost on a new frame (just south of a thousand bones) so it ended up being more cost effective for me to repair the damage.
After sanding all the paint off around the repair I did a structural repair with 4 layers of Uni. This is compression wrapping to make sure all the new layers bind properly to each other and the remaining carbon on either side of the break.
it looked like this once it was cured, each layer got longer than the one below it, to transfer the load past the break. Thats why a crack ends up being a 4 inch patch. It will also help in the finish work so that the repair is smoother and easier to blend.
Here is the final, "cosmetic" layer. it also adds strength and has better impact resistance than the uni. I had planned to paint clear over the repair and wanted the cloth look, but ended up going for red since i couldnt get a clean paint break on the complex profile of the stay. You can see the fairing compound i used to smooth the stay before priming it.
And hear is the final repair. Its the middle of racing season so I did not spend the extra time to mix and spray high end paint. So there it is obvious that something was done to the bike. But beyond the paint break the repair blended into the stay really nicely. I was even able to clean up around the dropouts where the impact cracked some paint and bondo off the AL parts.
HOORAY FOR FIXING BIKES!
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