I have created this blog since I believe many other cyclists either are impacted by this, or will be impacted by this. The cautionary tale is that you could be impacted and not even know it.
So, here is the ongoing story of my Giant TCR Advanced.
Last year, I changed out my 'BB86' cranks and installed a Rotor 'BB30' 2INPower crankset. Along with the crankset, I had to also remove the stock BB86 press-fit bearings and replace with Rotor's 4130 press fit bearings. The reason was so I could run a BB30 crank in a BB86 frame. Before installing the new bearings, I cleaned out the Bottom Bracket (BB) completely. The inside of the BB shell was smooth, no cracks, no pits, a nice smooth even layer of resin covering the carbon.
For the past year and 10,000 miles (16,000 km) later, I used this bike exclusively. Rain, shine, fog, heat, cold, etc. The BB started clicking about 2 weeks ago and I knew it was only a matter of days until I had to remove and replace the bearings.
Three-weeks later, the bearings are shot. Time to replace.
Now, going to the second Giant dealer, they were much more professional. The head mechanic took a look at it and said "it could go either way [meaning it's nothing or something critical] so the best thing is for me to send an inquiry into Giant to get their analysis." He took a photo and a photo of the serial number and said he would ask Giant.
But, I still have another solution. A friend of mine owns a carbon repair business in Santa Ana, Calif called ELEMENT 6. (https://www.element6.us). He does carbon fiber repair as well as painting. If you need carbon repair, I recommend Element 6.
So, here is the ongoing story of my Giant TCR Advanced.
Last year, I changed out my 'BB86' cranks and installed a Rotor 'BB30' 2INPower crankset. Along with the crankset, I had to also remove the stock BB86 press-fit bearings and replace with Rotor's 4130 press fit bearings. The reason was so I could run a BB30 crank in a BB86 frame. Before installing the new bearings, I cleaned out the Bottom Bracket (BB) completely. The inside of the BB shell was smooth, no cracks, no pits, a nice smooth even layer of resin covering the carbon.
For the past year and 10,000 miles (16,000 km) later, I used this bike exclusively. Rain, shine, fog, heat, cold, etc. The BB started clicking about 2 weeks ago and I knew it was only a matter of days until I had to remove and replace the bearings.
Three-weeks later, the bearings are shot. Time to replace.
Last year, I installed a ROTOR 2INPower power meter crank set in my Giant TCR Advanced. A BB30 crank installed into a BB86 BB shell. To get this to work, I used ROTOR 4130 bearings and plenty of grease.
After removing the left crank arm, I took a rubber mallet and tapped the end of the crank spindle. No movement. I hit the end of the spindle a little harder and then a little harder, nothing. I then took the frame into my LBS who has a master mechanic … this guy can and does fix anything and everything bicycle related. The best mechanic I have ever met. He took a look at it and picked up his his mini-pick and started digging out the non-drive side bearing. Little-by-little, the pieces started coming out, seal, ball retainer, balls and finally the outer race. Crank removed!
But, this was only half of the problem. The bearings’ inner-race was completely rusted onto the crank spindle. He tried several solvents, but nothing worked. We finally had to 'Dremel' part way through the inner-race and then pry it off with a screwdriver. Wow, the amount of rust was unbelievable. For the next 10 minutes, I wet-sanded the spindle so there was no sign if any residual rust.
I asked him what caused this extreme situation? He said dissimilar metals and galvanic corrosion. The problem is that the Rotor crank spindle is Aluminum and the bearings’ races are steel. Why we don't see this on, for example, Shimano cranksets is that their crank spindles are steel and the bearings’ races are steel.
- for further reading on galvanic corrosion, see
https://www.corrosionpedia.com/why-do-two-dissimilar-metals-cause-corrosion/2/6678
I then asked, “what is the fix?” 
He said 2 fixes, (1) full ceramic bearings (i.e., ceramic races) but these probably won’t last too long, or (2a) use anti-seize instead if grease, then (2b) remove crank and reapply anti-seize every couple of months.
As I was putting the bike back together, I found another and potentially more serious problem … the photo to the right is the inside of the BB shell.
I first posted this picture on my Facebook page and immediately received 20 comments. About half (10) were from independent carbon repair shops and half of those said "it should be OK to ride as long as there isn't any cracking on the outside," the other half said "DON'T RIDE IT!"
I did a quick tap-test myself and found a thud sound in the center of the largest area right near the derailleur cable guide screw. Several people responded that this could be a resin-rich area and another carbon expert questioned why Giant built it this way and used that type of carbon implying that Giant's process was bad as well as choosing the wrong carbon. So, I reluctantly decided to take it to my local Giant dealer knowing what response I would get. And, I wasn't disappointed by the reply of the first Giant dealer I took it to.
We have 2 Giant authorized dealers in our vicinity. The closest one is about 3.6 miles (5.8km) away and the other is about 14 miles (22.5km) away. The closest one is not very good but close. They specialize in beach cruisers and touring bikes. If you walk through their shop, there isn't even a medium grade road bike anywhere to be seen. The shop that is further is a much better shop, much more professional, with higher-skilled mechanics and they specialize in high-end road and MTB bikes. I went to the closest one first. Their head mechanic took a look at it and said "it doesn’t look like anything is delaminating or cracking so it should be OK to ride." "If you start finding cracks on the outside of the frame, then bring it back in." Basically the answer I expected. He then said "it's a big hassle to put a claim to Giant." An answer I wasn't expecting.
I did a quick tap-test myself and found a thud sound in the center of the largest area right near the derailleur cable guide screw. Several people responded that this could be a resin-rich area and another carbon expert questioned why Giant built it this way and used that type of carbon implying that Giant's process was bad as well as choosing the wrong carbon. So, I reluctantly decided to take it to my local Giant dealer knowing what response I would get. And, I wasn't disappointed by the reply of the first Giant dealer I took it to.
We have 2 Giant authorized dealers in our vicinity. The closest one is about 3.6 miles (5.8km) away and the other is about 14 miles (22.5km) away. The closest one is not very good but close. They specialize in beach cruisers and touring bikes. If you walk through their shop, there isn't even a medium grade road bike anywhere to be seen. The shop that is further is a much better shop, much more professional, with higher-skilled mechanics and they specialize in high-end road and MTB bikes. I went to the closest one first. Their head mechanic took a look at it and said "it doesn’t look like anything is delaminating or cracking so it should be OK to ride." "If you start finding cracks on the outside of the frame, then bring it back in." Basically the answer I expected. He then said "it's a big hassle to put a claim to Giant." An answer I wasn't expecting.
Going one step further, I went to eBay and picked up an inexpensive bore-scope which I hooked up to my tablet and looked inside the fork. The only area I had access to was the front brake bolt hole. Looking inside revealed the same "pitting/delamination/or whatever you want to call it" exactly like the photo above.
Poor /sloppy quality manufacturing? More than likely.
Now, going to the second Giant dealer, they were much more professional. The head mechanic took a look at it and said "it could go either way [meaning it's nothing or something critical] so the best thing is for me to send an inquiry into Giant to get their analysis." He took a photo and a photo of the serial number and said he would ask Giant.
But, I still have another solution. A friend of mine owns a carbon repair business in Santa Ana, Calif called ELEMENT 6. (https://www.element6.us). He does carbon fiber repair as well as painting. If you need carbon repair, I recommend Element 6.
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