Originally Posted by
Peterpan1
"all that was needed was a bead of SS to stabilize a BB lockring that was the wrong one (and put on by a LBS in Canada - and they were reputable and supposedly knowledgeable). The trip would have ended there IF the frame was Al."
Epoxy should have done it, it would retain the BB without a lockring. Carbon and epoxy or epoxy and wood will repair a lot of aluminum problems. Welding is probably not a roadside option in most places.
The SS weld bead gave way after another 1000 km. The issue (discovered by another LBS when I returned to Canada) was that the Truvalev lockring that the
first LBS used had a hole that was larger than the appropriate Shimano lockring, for the Shimano cartridge he used. He should have changed the lockring as well. So much for expertise at the
first LBS
I kept tightening the lockring and using Locktite until I found a copper mine near the road. The welder/boilermaker at the mine had SS which he used. The only way to get an Al frame repaired was to put the bike on a truck and take it to Mt. Isa or to Darwin. The Locktite worked for only a short while. I'll bet a dollar to a donut that the same
may have also been true of the epoxy. Then of course there would have been the issue of getting the BB out when it came time to "fix the bike" after the trip ended ... That would have been a b***h to do.
No matter, I finished the tour. On the Folder forum folks suggested some Chinese folders that have Al frames. They may be fun for riding around, but not for sustained touring - IMHO and YMMV.
