Bicycle Mechanics - Broken eyelet at dropout

An eyelet at the dropout of my chromo Bianchi San Jose frame has broken after about 5 years of use. It is still intact on the rack bolt, but snapped off the dropout. I don't have any friends with welding hobbies, so what would I expect to pay to have someone replace the eyelet? It seems like something pretty tiny and simple to weld on, but I know nothing about it. The bike takes a commuter beating and I often have quite a load on the rack, so I wouldn't want the fix to be particularly weaker than the original condition.

The rack is still usable on the bike at this point since the eyelet bolt rests on the dropout where the eyelet was when I have a pannier loaded on that side. It just clanks routinely and annoyingly on rough pavement and bumps and I assume the bolt is going to break off eventually.

If this is indeed a Bianchi....immediately visit a Bianchi dealer. Bianchi warranties are right up there with Trek warranties and service.

Let them take a look at it...and tell you want Bianchi can or cannot do.

=8-)

You might consider temporarily attaching the rack using a P-clamp or stout zip ties to avoid the bolt banging around and damaging the finish unnecessarily or, worse, having the rack foul the spokes and damage the wheel or cause a crash.

You might consider temporarily attaching the rack using a P-clamp or stout zip ties to avoid the bolt banging around and damaging the finish unnecessarily or, worse, having the rack foul the spokes and damage the wheel or cause a crash.
+1 As a temporary (or even permanant) fix, a P-clamp around the seat stay right above the dropout will give a firm mounting point. You may have to use P-clamps on both sides to make the rack sit level. In fact, P-clamps are commonly used to fit racks to frames with no dropout eyelets and any hardware or Home store carries them in a variety of diameters including vinyl coated ones to protect your paint.

If you're the original owner, try getting Bianchi to fix it as a warranty issue. Failing that, it would be trivial to braze the eyelet back on, but not without local paint damage.