Does Carbon corrode?

Limestone1

Noticed a bit of "bubbling" of the paintwork around the bottom of my forks. As I poked into it and peeled a bit of the paintwork, there is a white/yellow residue. Anybody know about this and if it is safe or is there a rick of the fork collapsing .
Pic to follow

Pa ElGrande

It sounds like an epoxy resin which tends to be yellow, whether that is cosmetic caused by poor application of gel coat laminate or a sign structural integrity is compromised cannot be determined from here.

If it is still under warranty then get the bike shop to look into it and see if it can be resealed if not damaged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7e004bfHyY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZbg5hCRyvs

Limestone1

Tks Pa,
Pic attached now.
Warranty long gone as almost 10 years old. It's something that has developed recently so not a manufacturing defect.

Mercian Pro

Very much looks as if it's the aluminium dropout that's corroding and not the carbon.

crosswords

Yes that looks like the aluminium.

Might be time for a new fork if its that old.

Mercian Pro

crosswords wrote: »

Might be time for a new fork if its that old.

Wouldn't necessarily agree.


If the bond between the carbon fork and aluminium dropout is okay and there is no movement or damage to the carbon, it is more than lightly just a cosmetic problem. Don't expect any bike shop to give you any kind of guarantee but I suspect if you look around, you'll see plenty of other carbon forks with paint damage and light corrosion at the dropout junction.

CramCycle

Alu Oxide possibly? I,d give it a light sand and then cover in aluminium primer, job done for another 10 years, I certainly wouldn't be concerned.Alu oxide tends to be tougher than aluminium so you could just leave it well enough alone for a few years

Limestone1

Cheers for all the responses - puts my mind at rest so no need to bin it ! I will peel back all the paint, sand it, tart it up and get back in the saddle.

Wishbone Ash

Limestone1 wrote: »

Noticed a bit of "bubbling" of the paintwork around the bottom of my forks...

One of my commuter bikes has lots of that sort of bubbling as has done since 2013. I'm still riding it regularly without incident.

magicbastarder

don't forget if it's bubbling, that means air and it means the bike weighs less. result!

Limestone1

magicbastarder wrote: »

don't forget if it's bubbling, that means air and it means the bike weighs less. result!

you are "glass half full" type eh ?