I noticed this a couple of days ago...I am not sure if it is just the paint or if the frame is actually cracking.....Im not really sure how it would crack like this, but if anyone has any ideas or any experience with something similar, please share. I bought the bike from my LBS back in Feb. and the guy told me that the manufacturer (Bianchi) guarantees the frames for life, so I am going to talk to them this weekend...... but for now, anyone know whats going on here?

Cracked, may have been there for a while as it looks like there's some rust in there.

Do take your bike to the dealer. Please.

damn....so, unless my guy was blowing smoke, is this something that I can take to Bianchi to get replaced, since they apparently guarantee their frames? If not, is there another fix? A filler of sorts? Re-solder?

Retire it. Any fix is going to involve,at best, a seat tube replacement...not cheap. As far as Bianchi replacing frames for life...well, good luck with that.

Since there's visible rust, the paint/finish may simply have cracked and exposed the metal beneath. Still...What made the paint crack? Normally, that would be stress...
You could remove some of the cracked paint to better inspect the metal itself, but I concur that you should have a professional look at it. A failure at that point could result in a nasty injury.

try having your LBS replace it, since it's entirely possible they sold you a cracked frame, and if they didn't, they misrepresented the replacement policy.

Pull the seat post and check if the crack extends all the way through the seat tube. If it does, the tube is toast.

If you're the original owner, take it back to the shop and have them contact Bianchi about warranty return. It's not worth trying to fix a frame like that.

Maybe to the original owner, I am guessing the bike was really used whe you bought it.

He said he bought it from his LBS.

More than a few local shops sell used bikes as well as new.

If that were my bike, I would insist on a new frame. If the LBS balks, get in touch with the manufacturer directly and complain.

Another thing is that I don't think that the Bianchi frame warranty is lifetime anymore, so he gave you the "salesman's version"

https://www.bikyle.com/Warranties.htm

Went and spoke with my guy at the LBS about my problem. Once I pointed it out to him he said that it is probably a manufacturing problem, since it is cracking right at the weld seam. He said something about sometimes when welding, air bubbles can get in there and later lead to cracks. Whatever it is, he got on the phone with Bianchi right away. They are sending out a new frame tomorrow morning, and it should be here by Thursday. Good job by Bianchi and my LBS ... very satisfied ... the only problem is that I will have to deal with this for a week or so.

Good work, and kudos to your LBS and Bianchi!

This 2002 SL Lite Alloy was a "lifetime" warranty replacement for a Columbus SBX frame. Appears to have torn right at the TIG weld with the seat tube and the bottom bracket. Now I have apparently lost my "lifetime" warranty as Bianchi USA is being unresponsive. They actually offered me an Impulso for $1200, pretty much what the market is asking for it.

Guess when I bought a steel framed, Columbus Bianchi with a lifetime warranty, I didn't expect to be left without a bike.

What do people think about this being a failed TIG weld? Searches showed quite a few problems with this triple-butted aluminum and TIG welding.

It looks like poor workmanship, the majority of the weld on the seat post tube and the bottom bracket, is on the bottom bracket. It was doomed to fail.


BTW, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

Maybe a little more weld on the bottom bracket than the seat tube, but it looks like the tube cracked above the weld. It looks like the weld held fine.

No. Look more closely. The crack which is more like a tear comes right out of the weld on the drive side of the BB then goes around the back of the seat tube.

Why not ride the steel framed one while you sort out the replacement of this aluminum one?

NM.

Just read gkams post more closely and realized this was the replacement for the steel bike.

Please don't sidetrack my point for others. The SL Lite Alloy was my "lifetime" warranty replacement for the Columbus SBX with a snapped chainstay.

Eh, I don't know. It's hard to tell, but it still looks to me like it cracked right at the top of the weld. This is a common place for welds to fail because of undercut, but that isn't so much an issue with tigged aluminum. It does look like the weld cracked at the front where the two welds (st and tt) meet.

Either way, I'd fight for your lifetime warranty. You paid for it.

I don't know whether a replacement frame totally meets the sellers obligation under a "lifetime" warranty, or whether the warranty attaches to the replacement.

But the failue itself isn't all that rare. The BB shell/seat tube joint is possibly the most highly stressed joint on a frame, especially for strong riders, hill climbers, and sprinters. The high pedal loads alternating from side to side, create a rocking motion on the shell, which stresses the joints to the seat tube. Welded aluminum frames are especially prone to fatigue failures at the welds because of the nature of the welds themselves that create stress risers where the tube meets the welds.

As to you and Bianchi, I doubt you can win outright, but should be able to negotiate hard and get some decent compromise resolution that may be acceptable.

If that bike was new in February, it's been rode hard & put away wet!

What does that mean? This is a "mint" 2002 SL Lite Alloy. Not a decal out of place, no scratches, dents, etc. Just a crack emanating from the BB cluster TIG weld that I found when cleaning some grungy Gatorade from the area. Unfortunately, what I thought was dried on fructose was a crack that is almost more a tear.

He's talking about the original post from 2009 that you kind of hijacked (though admittedly with a similar problem).