Not claiming carbon is as durable as steel--it's not--and it will never look "as good as new," but it turns out DIY carbon repair is pretty easy. It's only slightly more involved than fiberglass.
The carbon rear triangle on my Hei Hei Trail is surprisingly fragile; I've cracked and repaired it in 3 different places this summer. I'm getting pretty decent at it.
Most recently was Saturday, 2 days ago, at 6pm, before an 8am enduro in Mammoth bike park. I was dirtbagging in a minivan on Forest Service land near the resort. The cold-ish mountain weather meant I had to use quick-set epoxy, and I didn't have access to a heat gun (or vacuum equipment), but I fixed it in a couple of hours (3 layers/batches: epoxy, then epoxy+carbon fiber, then epoxy) inside the minivan, and it held up just fine for a very chunky enduro race.
Sept. 24, 2018, 6:20 p.m. - phile
Not claiming carbon is as durable as steel--it's not--and it will never look "as good as new," but it turns out DIY carbon repair is pretty easy. It's only slightly more involved than fiberglass. The carbon rear triangle on my Hei Hei Trail is surprisingly fragile; I've cracked and repaired it in 3 different places this summer. I'm getting pretty decent at it. Most recently was Saturday, 2 days ago, at 6pm, before an 8am enduro in Mammoth bike park. I was dirtbagging in a minivan on Forest Service land near the resort. The cold-ish mountain weather meant I had to use quick-set epoxy, and I didn't have access to a heat gun (or vacuum equipment), but I fixed it in a couple of hours (3 layers/batches: epoxy, then epoxy+carbon fiber, then epoxy) inside the minivan, and it held up just fine for a very chunky enduro race.