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I've seen a nice Trek road bike from circa 2000 to 2002 crack at the weld at the bottom of the seat tube. Replaced under warranty by Trek. I think it might have had 30,000 to 40,000 miles on it.

My very nice 2005 Orbea Marmolada, with an aluminum main triangle with carbon stays, cracked on the weld at the bottom bracket. It was about 5 years old, about 20,000 miles. It was replaced under warranty by Orbea with an all-carbon frame and fork, since they didn't make any comparable aluminum frames at that time. Thanks, Orbea!

The replacement Orbea Orca Bronze was retail priced maybe $100 higher than the Marmolada was. Frames have gotten cheaper and better.

I noticed a tiny hairline crack on one of the welds, marked it with a sharpie, and rode it for most of a year before it started extending past the weld onto the tube. It still hadn't cracked far enough to separate a tube or affect the ride when Orbea replaced it.

I think it's hard to consistently weld aluminum on every frame to avoid cracking.

Leebo

OP, racing cross with the bike?

Juan Foote

I would like to think the OP's "only road" comment would cover this?

Leebo

His linked photo albums show some 'cross stuff, maybe not him.

Cyclemark

The frame is under warranty review by the manufacturer, so can not talk about brand. I will post when I find out if the company honors the limited lifetime warranty. To ease you opinions, the frame was made after the year 2000 and was a top of the line bike model at the time. Valued at over $1200. The brand is irrelevant as almost all top end frames designed after the year 2000 are made in Taiwan by a small number of companies.

The point is that a bike normally ridden without crashes failed without warning. The frame tubes and welded area failed near a major stress point of the bike.

asgelle

Odd

Cyclemark

That is not me racing. I do not race.

Cyclemark

The post is about showing an aluminum bike frame that failed. No conspiracy, hidden agenda, covert government operation, or anything else. Yes, not Trek and not Cannondale. Frame was made in the 2000's, but exact date not stamped on frame. As a former bicycle mechanic, I can vouch that the bike was a road racing bike sold by a major brand. The company did not make the frame, but sold under their brand.

Cyclemark

Frame was made in 2000's and not used every day or every year. Actual use cycle impossible to know.

skye

This thread has the strong aroma of troll about it.

Cyclemark

Bike came with Shimano 105 road crank with their ISIS type bottom bracket design. Crank was removed recently and replaced with a Shimano triple crank. Crank was from another bike that had a square tapered Bottom Bracket.

Cyclemark

Do not have frame as it is with the bike shop that sold bike. Waiting for warranty response.

Cyclemark

If I get the frame back from the company, you can see it live if you fly out to California.

Cyclemark

Bottom bracket came off another bike. Original crank was a Shimano 105 double with ISIS style BB. Replaced with Shimano triple crank with square tapered BB. Painted stays blue since I wanted new look. Very simple.

Hypno Toad

It's been covered by other, I'd suggest poor quality welding and heat treating are the make cause of the failure. I just lost a frame to a similar crack in the bottom bracket weld - here's my thread with pictures.

Cyclemark

Troll for who and what purpose?

skye

1. Make brand-spanking new account, no posts outside of this thread.
2. Original post voices vague complaint about unnamed product, unresponsive to requests for details
3. ???
4. Profit.

indyfabz

In theory, to get people arguing about frame failure rates across different frame materials as so often happens with these types of threads when started in the Road forum. That's just one possible motivation. Not saying that is your motivation. Just answering your question. One thing that possibly makes people suspicious is that you recently joined and your first post is the original post in this thread. As noted, this sort of subject often leads to arguing. Again, not expressing an opinion as to your motivation, but it would not be the first time someone intentionally set out to cause arguments in such a way.

Cyclemark

1. Make brand-spanking new account, no posts outside of this thread.

....New account as I am new to this site. Simple.

2. Original post voices vague complaint about unnamed product, unresponsive to requests for details

...Brand is irrelevant for discussing frame strength. Do not need brand to sue me for talking about their product. Not worth it. No benefit to name brand anyway as most aluminum bikes are made in Taiwan or china by a few companies.

3. ???
4. Profit.

...Show me how to profit from a public service announcement. Would be interested to know.

Cyclemark

... The whole point of a forum is to talk about something of possible interest or point out something. If someone wants to argue, it is their problem really. Post is not about one material is better than another. I have bikes of all materials. This is the first bike of mine to fail that was not caused by a crash.

CliffordK

Was the bike worth $1200, or the frame? If it was the whole bike, even 10 years ago, that would put it as a pretty mid-level bike. What component group did it come with?

I believe at that time, Trek was still making their top of the line frames in the USA (do they still make some frames in the USA?)
I think Cannondale was making frames in the USA until 2010 or 2011.
Colnago was making Aluminum frames of the era in Italy.

Nonetheless, it is an old bike now with a design that has generally been superseded.

Yes, I do find those kinds of stress fractures troubling. But, 10 yr old aluminium frames in fairly good condition are hitting the market around $100. So, it wouldn't take much to just rebuild the bike and get back riding.

One of the things that has happened in the last decade or so ago is utilizing tubing the full width of the bottom bracket shell, or nearly so. And, far more engineered shapes. Gone are the days of straight tubes, or simple double butted tubes on the high end frames. Hydroformed (or mandrel formed) tubing is here to stay.

No doubt that some of these stress fractures have played a roll in encouraging more robust frame designs in general.

CliffordK

You've been extremely vague with all of your posts. Perhaps the actual frame isn't a big deal. But, it is hard to talk about a point of interest without actually having a reference point to start with.

If you wish to discuss frame design, undoubtedly there are much better frame designs out there. As I mentioned, one of the things that is being done is utilizing tubes that extend the full width of the bottom bracket to maximize support. Perhaps computer modelling of stress patterns also helps. As does field testing

As far as warranty claims, there have been people that identified a failed frame, then posted whether the company was responsive or not which actually tells one a lot about the company.

FrozenK

A company will not sue you for posting about a broken frame. Not even sue-happy Specialized (and I'm not saying that frame is a Specialized) would do that. And make and model are somewhat relevant to the discussion. Some brands and models are notorious for cracking (Fisher Paragon) and if I were pursuing a warranty claim I'd like to know about things like that.

To me that frame looks like it failed due to fatigue. It happens. The lightweight aluminum frames can trade durability for weight. Modifying the frame by painting it will not help with a warranty claim. A lot of manufacturers will flat out void the warranty if the frame is modified.

BlazingPedals

Yawn. Person joined the forums just so he (she?) could complain about a broken frame. Maybe this is news, but the reason it broke was NOT because the manufacturer makes terrible frames or deliberately gave you a shoddy one. It broke because it broke. Based on what I've seen when I cracked a few aluminum frames, that crack was propagating for months before it got to that point. Let us know if/when you get a settlement from the manufacturer.

skye

Although the same factory may manufacture for several clients, it is the client who specifies the frame design, materials used, processes and quality control. So, yes, brand *is* very relevant.