Framebuilders - Cracked 7005 Aluminum Frame

Hi all--

I have a crack in my 7005 aluminum frame and am seeking opinions. The crack is in an area that is reinforced around the seat tube. Since it is 7005, it probably should not be welded. But, I'm thinking that a pipe clamp or a seat post clamp should keep it from failing catastrophically.

I'm getting another bike, but would like to use this for touring because it is the only thing that fits in an airline legal suitcase, carries a lot of weight, and is comfy. It has 20,000 miles on it.

So the question:
Would you ride this with a decent clamp around the crack?
Any other thoughts?

Here is the whole bike so that you can get a sense of where the crack is.
http://www.pceo.org/Wholebike.JPG

Here is the crack. Just around the QR lever on the seat tube.

http://www.pceo.org/Crack.JPG

Personally I would strip the parts, hang the frame on the wall, and add to my parts bin.
Beautiful bike, but I would not trust it any longer.

Thanks! So, even though the seatpost runs behind the crack, you would ditch it?

Thanks! So, even though the seatpost runs behind the crack, you would ditch it?

You might wish to wait for some of the experienced metal workers to chime in, but yeah I would. Given the metal fatigue properties of Al, I would not want to risk an up close and personal encounter with the pavement. Especially since you wish to use this as a touring bike, the added weight of your gear just adds to the risk.

Better safe than impaled.

don't trust a crack it will spread at the wrong time

Thanks! I'll ditch it.

pm124,

Have you contacted Birdy about a possible frame replacement under warranty?

Yup. Contacted Birdy. They forwarded my email to the American distributor, who refused.

Is it more than 5 years old?

That's an expensive bike. I'd be prone to taking it apart and having a go at getting it welded up. Make sure everything is as clean as possible and strip that portion of the frame to bare AL. Take it to a _good_ fabrication shop and have their best guy weld it up. You might even come up with some sort of saddle piece to strengthen that area and then have that welded on also.

Let's face it, there was a weld there in the first place and it held for years. Another weld should be able to last just as long.

As far as the Birdy customer service goes, a big thumbs down. You would not get the same treatment from Bike Friday, of that, I'm sure.

I wasn't sure I found good info on the warranty. The thing I did find said 5 years. If it's less than 5 years old, and the OP is the original owner, I urge him to report this incident to his state's Consumer Protection office, which is probably a division of the Attorney General's office. And I would also make sure they got $1000 worth of free negative advertising out of the deal.

It might cost a few $ but a good frame repairer should be able to fix that up by welding up the crack and then welding a strengthening gusset around the affected area.
There's plenty of photos of how frames can be repaired on this link: http://www.gripsport.com.au/bike_main.php?part=bike_gallery (http://www.gripsport.com.au/bike_main.php?part=bike_gallery)

A full wrap gusset like on this headtube below and maybe even another strengthening gusset should fix it.

101818 101819 101822 101823 101824

+1 on the gusset. That is one hell of a lever arm running through there; seems like the manufacturer should have reinforced the area to begin with.

It's possible that the real problem is the seat clamp. I'd think about grinding that off and replacing it with a more conventional design.

Man, you got some strange taste in bikes. I definitely wouldn't hang it on the wall where someone might see it. It does look like it could be fixed though if you really wanted to.