FAQ

SWAMP GHOST FRAME WORKS LLC

Tom 908-279-5342

Nick 973-722-4290

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1. What do carbon repairs typically cost?

Repairs run from $350 to $450 for a single break. Most customers bring in bikes for significant repairs. They’ve crashed, and frames have serious damage. Components might be damaged as well. Many repairs involve wrapping multiple layers of carbon. But we deal with a lot of “flesh wounds” as well.

2. Will there be any extra costs?

There are almost never any unexpected charges. All costs are known up front at the time of the original estimate. Additional costs can result from the following:

bottle mounts or cable guides located in the repair area

damage located close to joints

shipping and handling to return frame

3. How long does it take to get a frame repaired?

Currently, it's taking about four weeks from the time a bike arrives at our shop to the time that it leaves. When expedited, racers in the NYC area might race and crash one weekend and have their bike back to race the following weekend. Sometimes, we get a little backed up. Recently, a customer showed up with six frames in his trunk along with a carbon wheel. It took us a little longer to work our way through that job.

4. How do I know if my bike can be repaired?

Ninety-nine percent of the frames that we see are repairable. It’s not uncommon to receive frames with multiple breaks. One customer was driving his car with two bikes on his bumper rack and got rear-ended in traffic! Another customer was in a race and crashed in a tangle of twenty other racers. His bike was a mess, and he was so upset that he threw his bike into the woods. That didn’t do his bike any good, but we guess it made him feel better. Anyway, a friend retrieved the bike for him, and after a few repairs to the frame, he was “back in the saddle again.”

5. What if I’m in a hurry? What if I need my frame fixed NOW?

If you’re in a jam, we can expedite your work for an additional charge. We normally repair bikes on a first-in-first-out basis, and an expedited repair means working extra hours to get it out faster.

6. Do I have to remove all my gear from the frame?

No, but if you send “just the frame and nothing but the frame”, it’s easier to ship and easier to repair. Normally, customers simply remove the wheels and pedals and sometimes remove the handlebars from the stem and leave them attached to the cables and tuck them into the box for shipment. If components are damaged, be sure to ship them with the bike so that we can identify replacement parts.

7. How do I get my bike to you?

Step One is to find a suitable box, one that’s just big enough to fit your frame. You might try checking with a local bike shop to see if they can give you a bike box.

Step Two is to pack the frame by surrounding it with lots of paper, bubble wrap, or plastic air bags. We normally return your frame using the same materials that you send it with.

Step Three, take your package to UPS, FedEx, or the US Postal Service for shipment. It typically costs $30 to $60 to ship within the Continental U.S. Much more if you’re shipping overseas. And that it! It’s all very easy!

8. What will my bike look like after the repair?

The repair will not be invisible. Depending on whether or not you have us paint the repair, it will not be all that obvious either. The frame will be slightly thicker where we wrap the break with new carbon fiber. For bad breaks, we wrap the damaged area with two or three layers, with each layer adding a thickness of about .50 mm. We clamp the repaired area to squeeze out excess epoxy resin, and then we sand the area to achieve a smooth finish.

We offer three kinds of finish: a). uncoated carbon fiber, b). clear coated carbon fiber, and c). painted carbon fiber. We pick finishes that most closely match the original paint job. Carbon fiber under six layers of high gloss clear coat really pops. For paint, we search for an automotive paint, such as Dupli-Color, that most closely matches your frame. A single color usually looks good.

Swamp Ghost Frame Works, LLC