Bicycle Mechanics - What to do with cracked aluminium frame

Hi - I had a collision on my Specialised Sirrus Elite 2007 and the aluminium frame cracked on the bar that goes from the handlebars to the pedals, about 6" from where it attaches to the handlebar column. Amazingly everything else, inc the wheels and carbon forks, are absolutely fine.

The local bike shop wants £400 to fit a Sirrus Sport frame to all the old bits, which is a bit rough since the Sirrus Sport bike new costs < £400!

Is it possible to get the frame welded or something to fix it? Or any other ideas?

The cost of welding alone plus repaint will be in the 300-400 range. If it's sentimental - go for it...

...otherwise:

1. Recycle
2. Turn rear triangle into truing stand for rear wheels.
3. Re-use or turn forks into truing stand for front wheels.
4. Use cut out portions of tubes to make a wind chime.

...etc.

=8-)

1 Shop for a new frame and swap the parts over yourself. Would not trust an aluminum repair unless it was done by someone who REALLY knew their business, and it IS expensive.
2 Sell off parts, buy new bike

Aluminum replacement frames from major online retailers are usually ~$100 or so. A shop willl likely charge you ~$100 - $200 to do the build, plus some things willl likely not be compatible between frames (seatpost, front derailleur), and you will likely need new cables.

I would not trust a frame that has been crashed so hard that it broke the down tube. Even if you got the crack welded, that frame will likely never ride the same again, and is probably not safe.

Carbon forks won't always show damage but they can be weakened. If you hit with your front wheel I would think about getting a replacement frameset.

Why not buy some of the tools instead of having a shop do the whole swap? If you get a frameset with the headset already installed (that's the bearings the fork turns in) then all you need is a bottom bracket tool and a crank puller besides the typical screwdrivers and allen wrenches.

Carbon forks won't always show damage but they can be weakened. If you hit with your front wheel I would think about getting a replacement frameset.

Why not buy some of the tools instead of having a shop do the whole swap? If you get a frameset with the headset already installed (that's the bearings the fork turns in) then all you need is a bottom bracket tool and a crank puller besides the typical screwdrivers and allen wrenches.

That sounds like a good plan if you're at all mechanically minded. If not and a new bike is really the same price as transferring the parts over, buy the new bike, strip the old frame of its parts (so now you've got a back up if something on the new one breaks), and toss the old frame in the bin.

If you bought the bike new Specialized offers a crash replacement policy that covers anything, including stuff like driving the bike into your garage on a roof rack. It is basically a new bike at wholesale cost.

Is it OK to reuse a carbon fork on a bike that was crashed so hard it cracked the down tube?

Did the crash go through the fork or did you hit what you hit with the down tube and spare the fork?

For all intents and purposes the frame is toast. If whatever you collided with was enough to crack the DT I wouldn't trust the fork, either.

Converting to USD that's ~$650... with the cost of the frame set/ fork+ labor and any ancillary pieces that sounds about right.

Strip everything from the frame so it's completely devoid of components, get some cool paint colors, and give it to your kids (if you possess any).
Have them paint all over it, and hang the finished artwork in your garage!

:thumb:

Wiggle is selling a Raleigh Airlite 200 Sora 2012 for £488 delivered. http://www.wiggle.com/raleigh-airlite-200-sora-2012/