# Carbon delamination



## davideng (Oct 19, 2008)

A riding buddy of mine has Super Record on his bike and today as I was admiring his components I noticed some clouding on his front derailleur, it appeared as the carbon was delaminating. Has anyone else experienced any carbon delamination on Campy components? I know that Testrider.com reported some on the front derailleur on their review of Super Record as well and I was just wondering if this is a common problem and something that my friend should worry about and take care of through the warranty. Also considering this, when I make my move to Campy should I look at Chorus instead of Record to avoid this type of problem on the derailleurs?

Thanks for any help.


----------



## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

I would definitely take it to an LBS to see about some warranty replacement. I have never heard of such a problem and would tell you to try and get the record.


----------



## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*info...*

It's actually a fairly common occurence to have a slight amount of damage along the lower edge of the FD, but it may have been caused by contact with the chainring teeth. In that case, it's not a warranty issue.

Carbon cages are mainly decorative. The part that contacts the chain is still aluminum. You can save some money buying Chorus and not gain but a few grams of weight.


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

It's so common that I remember recently seeing a close up image of some pro's SR front derailleur noticed it had that problem. I don't remember whose bike it was or on what site I found it.


----------



## thedog (Nov 6, 2005)

My SR 11 FR has the same carbon delaminating issue. It's never touched the chainring teeth.


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

thedog said:


> My SR 11 FR has the same carbon delaminating issue. It's never touched the chainring teeth.



I had a very tiny area of delamination that happen along the bottom edge on an older carbon Record front derailleur and the same on a SR 11 front derailleur. Neither touched the chain ring teeth and neither have become any worse.


----------



## Bobbin-Man (Oct 1, 2008)

I'm no specialist, but my understanding is that the milky effect is caused by water ingress into the carbon fibre structure perpetuated by UV light. Quite a common problem in many uses of CF. 
I understand that it can be reduced or stopped if during manufacture the the ratio of resin to fibre is in increased, or by using pre-preg CF. Apparently the milky effect does not reduce the structural properties of the CF but is purely aesthetic, and sometimes using a black coloured polish can mask the effect. 
There's loads on the net about it.

Stu.


----------



## volubilis (Jan 2, 2009)

Some of these occurrences may just be separation of some clear coat rather than carbon fiber de-lamination. I had a 15mm long (front/back), 5mm wide (up/down) milky area along the bottom free edge of my 2009 Record FD. Turned the bike over, resting on seat and hoods, and inspected the defect with very bright light and magnification. The problem appeared to be separation of a thin layer of transparent plastic (clear coat) from the underlying carbon. The carbon fiber and its bond to the metal inner plate appeared intact. I put a drop of super glue on the open edge between clear coat and carbon, and as hoped, it filled in the deadspace and restored the appearance. V.


----------



## cyclust (Sep 8, 2004)

I've noticed this on numerous Record FDs- not just the clouding, but some de-lamination of the carbon. It's just another example of using carbon fiber just for the sake of using carbon fiber. I would strongly recomend going with a Chorus FD due to this problem.


----------



## Metaluna (Aug 26, 2005)

volubilis said:


> Some of these occurrences may just be separation of some clear coat rather than carbon fiber de-lamination.


I think that's what happened to me on my carbon pre-QS Record FD. Due to having the upper limit screw and cable tension adjusted incorrectly, I threw the chain off the big ring during an upshift, causing it to jam between the outside of the ring and the outer (carbon) FD cage plate.

Later I noticed a small semi-circular cloudy spot extending down from the top of the cage, about 5mm in radius. After poking at it a bit, a piece of clear plasticky material (clear coat presumably) flaked off leaving the carbon weave exposed, but with no visible cracking or delamination.

So I think what must have happened is that the chain-jam caused the outer plate to bulge out, cracking the brittle clear coat.


----------

