Cannondale Frame Failure

A in depth look at all the issues that affect the longevity of a carbon fibre bicycle frame including insight from engineers working within the industry.

Cannondale frame failure. People consistently subject their lefties to much more extreme abuse for years without crown failure. The ideal light caad frame for urban and real world trail use would go backwards to the caad4 frame which has beefy 27 5mm seat stays. You can t be mad at cannondale for you losing your receipt i can understand being a bit angry at the shop if you bought the bike from them i d think they would help you out a bit. Titanium is a very good frame material if you can get past the cost.

Cannondale principia and trek withstood the test without failure and the machine was turned off. The mechanism of failure is unknown. This fact alone makes the failure meaningless in terms of predicting lefty crown failure. Cannondale bicycle corporation of bethel conn.

The firm has received six reports of frames breaking. The frame can break while in use causing the rider to lose control and suffer injuries from a fall or collision. It can make for a long walk out of the trails. Cannondale 2008 model year scalpel mountain bikes.

Oh and to the poster with a specialized frame. Cannondale has been cranking out good frames for a long time now. Cannodale lefty the internal components failed during a ride. If you notice damage to the threaded insert please ask your cannondale dealer for help.

Building up a frameset before building up a frameset consult with your cannondale dealer and the component manufacturers and discuss your riding style ability weight and. The rigors of street use would ultimately max the useful lifecycle of the frame to failure. I was on a cannondale when a sudden catastrophic failure occured and would never recommend any aluminum frame to anyone. The crown failed on relatively mild terrain.

Replacement requires the use of a special tool. The frame is taking a while to get here but that s a customs issue getting the frame from the us into canada and in no way cannondale s fault. Which allows the handle bars to move without the wheel going along for the ride. A frame which withstands the complete test is therefore much more robust than one which breaks after 100 000 load cycles.

Clearly this crown failure was an anomaly of unknown origin. Cannondale dealers will inspect the bicycle opi stem and fork for any damage that may have occurred and fit the opi stem steerer system with a reinforcement part and install new lefty clamp bolts. All of the tested bicycles are durable compared with common recreational bicycles.