Originally Posted by
AstroEng
I have a 11 year old Novara Verita that is my daily/year round commuter (if you can't tell by the grime). The chainstay recently cracked right where it connects to the dropout and seatstay. The frame is chromoly. My gut says that it probably isn't worth it to get someone to weld this back (heat damage to surrounding joints, alignment, probably other stress issues nearby), but I'm not expert.
Is it worth the cost and effort? Or should I just say it's been a good 15,000 miles and 11 years and sat goodbye?
It doesn't look like a difficult fix: open up one end of the crack with a grinder, tack the other end to hold it accurately in place, weld that first half of the crack. Then grind out the other half and weld that. Splash on some paint if you think it's worth it.
This doesn't address the cause of the failure, or any other wear and tear on the bike, so it's probably time to start looking for a replacement even if you can find someone to fix this quickly and cheaply.