Cracked Chainstay
 

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?

Thanks in advance.
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Were the crack only involving the stay I would say repair is not unreasonable, however it looks to me like the dropout is what has cracked. This is a larger job, and I suspect there will be opinions ranging from just JB Welding it to needing a new frame.

If this was my bike I would explore a repair but only because I can do my own labor. If this was a customer's bike I'd suggest moving on. Undoubtedly there's other stuff this frame could be bothered by, like nearly rusted through seat tube at the BB shell or the RH chainstay also at the shell. I don't think I could suggest a repair without more info and perhaps some initial disassembly to see inside better. Andy

Some things to think about

- It's an 11 year old bike with apparently 11 years of use
- What else is wrong or soon to break on it?
- All the paint the area would need to get stripped before welding
- What is the price and effort involved in getting the work done?

Cracked chainstay's a little bit of an understatement. From those pics it looks to me more like a broken DO as others have pointed out.

11 years of ownership and (I assume) frequent (heavy?) use would lead me to think repair might be possible if time and resources permit.

Meanwhile you're without a bike? I'd start shopping around... maybe a local co-op, or even FB Marketplace, at minimum for a proper frame to fit you or maybe you'll find your next decade+ ride... if all or even most of the removable components are in decent shape.

Nothing lasts forever, even some memories. (Does REI still sell Novatas?)

Honestly I would just move on and put that money towards a nice new bike. You have put some good heavy use on that bike so I would suggest taking that knowledge and figure out what you liked and didn't like about it and get something new. It is not a super rare or valuable bike so unless it has some super deep sentimental value it won't really be worth a repair. However there are plenty of great steel bikes out there and plenty of frame builders as well who could build you the bike of your dreams or if you just want another entry level type bike there are tons of those as well. Cues 10 or 11 speed is becoming pretty popular on entry level road bikes and is pretty functional. Or go in a different direction and think about something new?

Thanks all for the responses! Your comments are in line with my gut feeling, but I'm no expert so I figured I'd ask.

I appreciate the advice and that no one proposed something as crazy as JB Weld 😆

One more ....

How rusty are the inside of the tubes? If it's anything more than just plain-old surface rust ... it's time to say goodbye (because this probably won't be the last catastrophic failure she experiences).

And with the weather in Dayton, and from the little I can glean from the pictures ... I'm guessing there's puh-lenty of rust lurking within.

No bueno.

I'm still riding a 1972 Motobecane Grand Record I bought on Easter Sunday that year. Just about everything BUT the frame's been replaced since then, with an emphasis on a NoS pair of MAVIC rims I laced myself onto a pair of eBay'd Campy LF hubs identical to the pair it came with. New VO BB, Stronglight 3-ring 93, VGT-Lux DR in back and a sweet 14-34 FW PastorBobinNH had to sell me, all for the hills around where I live now.

I bought a new Specialized alloy Diverge late last year (fall sales you know) that has a 10-speed CUES groupset fitted. 'Cause many 'interesting' roads around where I am now aren't paved and I don't want to break my MB after so many years!

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.

I build and repair bicycle frames and, as far as frame repairs go, this one is pretty easy. Welding that dropout back together is not going to affect any other joint around it and the weld will be in an area that doesn't require it to be ground flat. You probably don't want to take it to the neighborhood guy with a welder, though. Someone with TIG welding experience would be the best option. Whether it's worth repairing depends on if you can find someone near you to weld it for a reasonable price. If you were near me, I would do it pretty cheap or free just to keep it on the road.