Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Snapped chainstay on Langster - Yikes!

"Just riding along" and heard clicking...thought it was time for a BB cleaning, but soon started to sound more serious...got home and found this. Drag.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cthulu_san/Side_Break1.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cthulu_san/CU_Break.jpg

Oh snap..

Seriously, thats nuts.

Specialized should warranty the frame. To the LBS you go!

[Edited to recant conjecture as to cause of snappage] Still, I didn't expect THAT!

they should still warranty it.

U R Beast. do warranties cover you being too awesome?!

thanks for replies. I'll give the warranty coverage a shot. Just posted to share the grisly pix.

You made me go check the stays on my langster. Did you just overtighten it or what'd you do?

You made me go check the stays on my langster. Did you just overtighten it or what'd you do?


he actually used a hacksaw! crazy!

Unsure exactly what caused it. [Edited to recant amateur metallurgic analysis]

The frame should be able to handle the chain wrap. And a properly drilled hole shouldn't make the frame any weaker at that point.

I'd stay mum about the chain and just give SpecialEd the "I was just riding along" sob story.

yeah... edit your replies!!! I'll delete this one

damn! What year is that frame, 2006?

Wow. I missed the deleted posts, but I would venture to guess it's a combination of too hot of a weld (or enlarged heat affected zone) evidenced by the "chunky" appearance of the fracture, combined with the vent hole that may or may not have acted as a stress riser.

Lukcily you have a lifetime warranty w/reciept. Who knows what paint you'll get though.

hey, forgive me if this is a dumb question: did you happen to be running a 130mm spaced rear wheel? that could have caused something like that on a 120mm langster.

If you didn't run a wider hub like ninjaman said or try out your new Sawzall on it, you should be in the clear w/Specialized. They'll warrantee that most certainly.

hey, forgive me if this is a dumb question: did you happen to be running a 130mm spaced rear wheel? that could have caused something like that on a 120mm langster.


Good theory, but I't's a 120mm Phil.

Thanks for the replies. I'll let you know what happens.

If you brought that into my Specialized dealer they wouldn't even ask you what happened. New frame there for sure. That is clearly a mfg defect and not abuse.

i worked at a shop where our main 'box bike' was specialized. thats definately a warranty item.
good thing is that you didn't get hurt.

I broke a Reynolds steel road frame in the same place in the early 90's. I don't see it as that big of a deal.

damn! What year is that frame, 2006?


Yeah, good eye. It's a 2006. About 6K miles on it.

Think Spec might want it for failure analysis? I heard tech companies do that with laptops that catch on fire and whatnot.

Specialized is pretty good with warranties. I wouldn't sweat it too much, except you'll be out of a bike for a little while. Pretty crazy it snapped like that. I'm on my second Langster frame myself, only I crashed on mine.

That's a common place for frame failure, I broke an old nishiki in the same spot.

Specialized is pretty good with warranties. I wouldn't sweat it too much, except you'll be out of a bike for a little while. Pretty crazy it snapped like that. I'm on my second Langster frame myself, only I crashed on mine.

Yeah, I remember you...attacked by a rogue bush, no? :)

That's a common place for frame failure, I broke an old nishiki in the same spot.

You're the 2nd responder with similar breakage...Aluminum frame?

I also snapped a Cannondale mountain bike chainstay right behind the BB (about 5 yrs ago).
I'm no clydesdale, but at 6'2" 195, I could be too much for aluminium.:rolleyes:

Think Spec might want it for failure analysis? I heard tech companies do that with laptops that catch on fire and whatnot.

Yeah, that's what the LBS said. I'm taking it in today. I'm kinda curious, myself, as to the cause. Never crashed...and it's a clean break. Weird.

Bah, I broke my Haro Group 1 BMX frame where the top of the rear triangle connected to the seat tube, that was impressive.

I guess bombing a BMX bike off 6' high walls onto asphalt several times a day wasn't a good idea?

I bet a big bike company like Specialized will cover it to keep the lawyers at bay, if for no other reason.

Glad you didn't crash!

I can tell from the photo's a saw didn't cut it.

Glad you didn't crash!


Thanks! The frame held together surprisingly well; The site of the break wasn't even obvious until I unbolted the wheel.
I rode it (gently and s-l-o-w-l-y, on the sidewalk :eek: ) 4 miles to get home.

Yeah, I remember you...attacked by a rogue bush, no? :)

Yep... that be me. Thing came out of nowhere! That was about 3 months ago and my imprint is still in the bush. It makes me chuckle every time I walk by it.

The frame should be able to handle the chain wrap. And a properly drilled hole shouldn't make the frame any weaker at that point.

I'd stay mum about the chain and just give SpecialEd the "I was just riding along" sob story. they probably read this thread already!

No doubt! But, like I said, I just posted to show the neat pix...wasn't really expecting a warranty replacement. However, I was expecting to hear from the "steel is real" crowd. :)
If they do replace it, it'll be nice. Otherwise, it was time for a new ride anyway.

You should mount it next to a can of EPO and a picture of yourself and sell it on eBay.

!!--SPECIAL EDITION FLOATING CHAINSTAY SPECIALIZED FIXED GEAR TRACK PISTA HIPSTER FUN---!!

should be the title

Here are a few points:

1. Congratulations, you just invented the chain quick release! You can remove or swap chains without needing a chain cutter.

2. You have something in common with Lance Armstrong: youy both finished a ride with a broken chainstay. In his case he broke it in a crash, then really cranked on it, and won a Tour mountain stage. I wonder if a bike could be designed with only one chainstay.

3. It must have been an aluminum fatigue fracture. This has never happened on any of my steel bikes.

3. It must have been an aluminum fatigue fracture. This has never happened on any of my steel bikes.



Oh god.

3. It must have been an aluminum fatigue fracture. This has never happened on any of my steel bikes.

refer to post by brooklynmachine. realize that the weakest point on any welded item (with the exception of a few alloys) is the area right next to a weld, called the heat affected zone. Add to this the fact that aluminum is a much less forgiving metal, since it is an excellent conductor, it's much easier to overheat than steel.

so what are you saying ?
the break is within millimeters of the weld and the joint is still sound.. how much smaller can a heat affected zone get ?
what went wrong ?

maybe it's just that aluminum isn't such a great material for this application


refer to post by brooklynmachine. realize that the weakest point on any welded item (with the exception of a few alloys) is the area right next to a weld, called the heat affected zone. Add to this the fact that aluminum is a much less forgiving metal, since it is an excellent conductor, it's much easier to overheat than steel.

maybe it's just that aluminum isn't such a great material for this application
Maybe you missed my post about a steel bike breaking in the exact same place

Here is an interesting article. You may not agree with it. It compares steel, titanium, aluminum, and carbon fiber as frame materials and concludes that aluminum is the worst due to low fatigue endurance and its being subject to catastrophic failure.

http://talu.com/materials.php

From the article:
"Aluminum has the worst fatigue endurance of the different metals commonly used in bicycle tubing. Therefore, aluminum bicycle frames are sometimes designed to be jarringly stiff in order to avoid fatigue failures and to give the aluminum frame an acceptable service life. So much material must be used that aluminum frames may not weigh less than steel ones. Aluminum is also subject to catastrophic failure, so extra material must be added to provide an adequate safety factor."

Aluminum is also subject to catastrophic failure, so extra material must be added to provide an adequate safety factor."

The holy war over frame materials ignores the fact that Aluminium frames tend to be performance oriented, whereas mass production steel frames are invariably tourer, or burly mountain bike frames.

Steel frames still fatigue and snap. Ritchey made steel mountain bikes intended to last a single season of racing, back in the day. CroMo and the non air hardening Reynolds are pretty notorious for failure just next to the welds.

For a given weight of frame, you get more physical material to use if you build an alloy frame. So you can add heavier butting, or gussets without as much penalty.

But having said all that, I just like the ride of steel. It is much easier for boutique builders to work in, so all the interesting frames are steel.

so what are you saying ?
the break is within millimeters of the weld and the joint is still sound.. how much smaller can a heat affected zone get ?
what went wrong ?

maybe it's just that aluminum isn't such a great material for this application


the heat affected zone is always there, and generally going to extend for a few millimeters on either side of the weld. if the weld is too hot though, the HAF zone will also be hotter, so you want to have a small and relatively cool HAF zone. There is always also the possibility of materials defects as well.

Real common spot to break a frame (and right behind the BB on the drive side)

...Luckily you have a lifetime warranty w/receipt. Who knows what paint you'll get though.

Indeed. Just heard from the shop today. My color choices were rust, rust, and, oh yeah, rust. :(

But, hey, free new bike! :)

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

So much material must be used that aluminum frames may not weigh less than steel ones. Aluminum is also subject to catastrophic failure, so extra material must be added to provide an adequate safety factor."
That is so clearly bull**** that we don't even need to discuss it. Half the world rides Al bikes because they're a lot lighter than anything else in the same price range and they obviously don't just fall apart out of the blue.

Cheers for the replacement frame. It was only fair from Spec...

My buddies steel mtn bike broke in the exact same location. We were biking and his rear end felt soft, so he checked it and the frame was cracked exactly like yours. I'd even bet that there were some burrs acting as stress raisers that helped initiate the cracking process on your frame. Your frame without a doubt should be warrantied, just like my buddies mtn bike was warrantied.

Powering up a hill, heard the now all-too-familiar *snap* of aluminum yielding to stress.

This time, above the TT. (I had 6" of seatpost in the tube)

Hopefully, the next warranty frame will not be RUST with cute li'l skulls.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cthulu_san/top.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cthulu_san/topclose.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cthulu_san/port.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cthulu_san/starboard.jpg