At the close of 2016 I had time to reflect on some of the more challenging ‘repairs’ we undertake on dropouts and to highlight some of the myths surrounding why, in most cases, it is not possible to repair long term without an industrial solution.
Here is why – Carbon Fibre drop-outs are injection moulded components unlike the rest of the bike. This material is super dense. It is designed not to flex or break under skewer pressure. This cannot be replicated by laminate fabrication we see so much of in failed repairs.
Another example was recently brought into CBR to re-repair correctly. Image 2 (close up) shows a botched repair with a metal insert which should never be found in carbon dropouts! You will also note the poor alignment, which, under skewer pressure will change shape and gear indexing will be out.
Image 4 is the correct method. Do not be tempted by a cost saving solution for this issue. We only replace with the original carbon parts.
