RedGreen

Hello, I'm new to these forums and found them through trying to figure out a solution to a bike problem of mine.

My bike:



Given to me by a friend that found it at a dump. My understanding is that most everything other than the frame has been replaced. I bought some cheap pedals to replace one with a broken toe clip that I couldn't find a part for.

The Problem:



I was riding around when a little bump felt really weird to me, and upon further inspection I realized what had happened. The frame has broken on both sides of the back wheel, it felt as though that happened on going over a little bump on a relatively flat street, but I very well may have ridden around for a while on it as it is now.

I'm not sure what my next course of action should be. Do I give up and buy a new bike (I really like this bike and am not sure I can afford to buy something new)? Or are there any steps I can take to get this frame fixed?

I really like this bike, and it has been my first foray into road biking. I have gotten to the point where I ride most everywhere I go, and I would like to be able to continue that.

Thanks for any help and advice anyone can give.

-Brian

Edit:

After going to Bike Works here in Seattle I bought a frame for cheap and was able, with some help from a friend, to move over almost all the parts. With help from Kent (awesome guy) at Bike Works I now have a working bike in good condition.

c_m_shooter

I think with a little bit of duct tape....... Sorry I coldn't resist, I used to like the Red Green show when it was on locally.

nowheels

probably get someone to weld it back if the stays are not rusted .... but you might be better off finding a new frame and transfer everything over.

RedGreen

Ha, that was one of my first thoughts too.

Any advice on how to go about finding a welder? Should I just go to a bike shop, do they do that? Or do I need to go to a phone book and find something there?

nowheels

If you want to do it on the cheap.... see if you can find a vocational school, or a small local welder. On the flip side you could check the lbs and see if they know of a frame builder that would weld it. In the end it still might be cheaper to find a frame and teansfer everything over. Unless of course it is a vintage frame..... the parts will work on almost any road frame of similar size.

nowheels

You can probably find some one that does welding in the local newspaper, or craigslist or something like that.

RedGreen

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

I'm going to start looking around for someone. Any idea what this is going to cost me?

nowheels

no idea on the cost..... if it were more than 100.00 I would look into a new frame like a pake c'muter https://store.somafab.com/pacfrfoset.html or something off of ebay. If the parts are good.... get a new frame.

Pepper Grinder

It's over. Done. Finished.

nowheels

probably ........

RedGreen

Huh? Should I not be trying to find welders?

nowheels

It never hurts to talk to one..... basically they would have to reinforce the broken area with an addotional steel plate on either side. I have seen it done before, it is functional, but not pretty.

https://hhracinggroup.com/

You can see some of the prices here from a bike builder..... these are the guys that built my frames.... they are not cheap.

I think it comes down to economices ..... if you can get it done cheap then fine..... if it's over 100.00..... it's not worth it.

Sp call a few places and see what they say?

JanMM

Put the time, money and effort into a new old bike.

nowheels

what type of frame is it?

Michel Gagnon

How salvageable is it? A lot depends on the general state of the frame. I almost feel that the frame had a failure point on one side, and that the bump simply allowed it to finish breaking apart. Assuming it's a good cut, a welder could do a half-decent job, but it would cost you more than the frame.

Another solution – around here anyways – would be to look in garage sales and the like and to find another bike with a good frame and trashy parts. Usually, bikes put on the roadside have trashed wheels, quite often a transmission in serious disrepair, a questionable fork... and a good frame.

Then transplantation would work.

BCRider

That's pretty scarey since it's apparent that the steel in both dropouts fatigued and snapped off. Frankly the steel around the crack is likely not much happier about it's lot in life either. If you weld these back together then there's no guarantee that the dropout metal won't crack and do this right at the edge of the weld. The sort of action that fatigues steel like this is generally not going to happen right in one spot. Hell, even the simple act of welding the parts back together will affect the already stressed steel at the edge of the weld and it may well crack just from the thermal shock.

Personally I'd give the frame a nice service, hold a wake for it with lots of drinking and crying and dancing and laughing and then move on. There's lots of nice used frames out there that won't crack on you like this one did.

goatalope

That looks pretty cooked. I had a bike that snapped like that at the seat tube/seat stay. I got it welded ($10 for an ugly weld from a family friend) and it did last a couple more years of casual riding, but then the bottom bracket snapped. I'd just look for a nice used frame or bike on craigslist. Or Nashbar.com was selling new aluminum frames for $70 last week (although they're back up to $130)

FlatFender

look for a new used bike on craigs list?
What part of the country are you in? I may have just the thing for you.

CHenry

Put the money into a replacement frame. It isn't just a simple weld job, he needs someone with a frame jig and depending on the condition of the dropouts, new parts and possibly repainting. For the welder's time alone, a replacement frame would probably be cheaper. Take this frame to a recycler.

ultraman6970

1st time i see a frame with both chainstays broken at the same time. Well u can take the drop outs out and put new ones in. The frame just broke in the right place to get them replaced. A cheappo pair of droputs can go for 30 bucks maybe or less. Electrical welding (arch)? nah it will brake again. Tig/mig with reinforcements might work fine. Well unless u have a super attachment to that bike i would share others people's opinion, that frame is done! I would think in getting a new bike. Get a frame to put all the old parts in there? hmmm... old parts, dont worth it in my oppinion.

Get a used frame for free somewhere?

RedGreen

The friend of mine that gave me the bike asked for some pictures to send to some bike shop friends of his. So I'll see what the experts have to say.

After all the talk in this thread of giving up on my favorite (only bike) I have been drooling over new bikes that I cannot afford. Although for those of you that say I should get rid of the frame, and maybe keep the rest of the parts (at least for now), I'm definitely up for frame suggestions, with the idea of using the parts I have now and upgrading them later.

I'm all the way up in Seattle, in Washington State. Pretty much the other end of the country from you. What'd you have?

DannoXYZ 

Could've been too much heat in the HAZ during manufacturing. Might have been weakened by someone spreading out the dropouts to fit in wider hubs. And you wouldn't want to weld that back as that particular metal-alloy probably wasn't designed for welding; brazing is much safter. Anyway, if you were in SoCal, I'd offer to braze that right up for you in 5-minutes.

CHenry

Looking at the photos, it appears that the break is through the dropout tongue that was fitted into the slotted chainstays; it looks like a vertical shear. The dropouts would have to be replaced, most likely. Unless the dropout could itself be welded (cast part, most likely), I doubt an end-to end braze job would work.

I suggest you replace the frame.

Thumpic

What a great oppourtunity to build up a sweet ride! You've got all the components you need. Find a frame that fits (was this one perfect?), clean it, paint it and swap your stuff over. Take your broken frame over to the Votech school and let'em weld it. You might wind up with 2 bikes you love.

Joshua A.C. New

Yeah, I agree with the plurality here: all you need is a frame with similar or better geometry and a 1" threaded headset. If the frame you find has a fork, you don't even need to worry about that. This looks like a really fun project, actually. Craigslist and garbage rummaging are the way to go on this. You'll learn a whole lot as you go and have a bike you'll have built yourself!