For what it's worth...Quick warranty followup on "cracked" chainstay at the drop out.
View attachment 126137
First off, after a a few weeks of convincing, SZZS did agree to warranty the CEF50 chainstay with a replacement for just shipping $24 USD.
So, the Quality Control person asked me to shave off a few layers of paint and carbon to probe the crack depth. After, it looked superficial. They suspected that it might have been a thin air pocket in carbon layup.
Maybe...
But since then (4 weeks) of riding it (XC trails) with the new paint, it has NOT started cracking again. So, it could indeed be just a minor manufacturing flaw.
View attachment 126136
Either way, it's cheaper to replace it rather than speculate that the old chainstay might hold under future, greater distress.
View attachment 126135
Hopefully, the warranty replacement is only a few more weeks away. Because I'd like to finally paint the stays to pair it with my warranty front triangle...finally the weather is cool enough to DIY spray the clear paint and clear coat.