dramiscram

I everyone.

I've been given a bike by my best friend, it's a Specialized Allez (I think it's entry level, guessing 2008)but the chain stay on the drive side as been broken and welded back and the rear wheel as a broken spoke and is bend. The wheel is no big deal but my concern is about the chain stay : when I tried the bike with another wheel with a wider tire (700x25 instead of the original 700x23) the tire was rubbing a bit on the repaired chain stay. The frame doesn't seem to be bend, I think they put to much metal when they welded the tube. A 700x23 will clear the chain stay but it's very close. I don't have pics yet (I'm still at work).

My question is do I ride it like that or do I take the grinder to increase the clearance? Do I dump the frame and keep the rest for a futur built? I took a short 2-3 kms ride with the bike and the ride is very nice.

Thanks

Myosmith

Don't be grinding on a repaired aluminum frame. My first concern would be who did the repair. If it was a frame builder with knowledge of aluminum you're probably OK. If it was just any old welding shop that had some alumium repair rod on hand, maybe not as there is a lot to welding aluminum.

Face Palm

Personally, I would ask an LBS for a reference to a local framebuilder, and ask them to check it out or re-weld the part. I doubt it would be super-expensive, and considering the bike was free, would be a small price to get a pretty nice bike and peace of mind.

math is fun

Sounds like we have a perfect use for the $75-100 frames from Nashbar. I dont mean to shill for Nashbar, there are plenty of online retailers that sell some inexpensive aluminum road bike frames.

7005 series aluminum is rather forgiving on the heat treating front but not knowing who welded the frame back together I wouldn't ride it.

onespeedbiker

If the bike is the steel Allez than it's probably worth keeping (I'd still have a local builder look at it and probably redo the repair). If the bike is aluminum I would trash it. Aluminum frames are all heat treated and any attempt at such a repair would negate the heat treatment, considerably weakening the stay and setting you up for a catastrophic failure.

dramiscram

Here's some pics of the repair. You can see the difference on the left side.

onespeedbiker

runaway!

Bill Kapaun

That looks like Heli-arc was used. It appears the weldor had reasonable skill.

I wouldn't be as concerned as some of the posters.
Stand on the pedals and run it off a curb and see if things move.

dramiscram

My friend put about 75-100 kms on the bike in the years that followed the repair and he is a big guy , 6'6'' and 260 pounds. I also went for a 2-3 kms test ride and the bike feels strong. The rear wheel look well aligned. As I said with a 700x23 it's fine and the tire clear the repair. A 700x25 is rubbing a bit, you can hear it but you don't feel it on the road.

demoncyclist

A proper repair would have left the tire clearance as close to factory as possible. I think it will probably last for a bit, but you may have to be choosy about which tires you put on.

Bill Kapaun

Looking at bikeapedia.com, it appears to be a 2005 Allez Triple.
Factory tires are listed as 23MM, so maybe there isn't room for a 25MM regardless of any repair?

dramiscram

I took a look at bikepedia and you're right on. exact same bike. I was just thinking that there was suppose to be a bit more clearance for the tire but maybe not.

Trunk Monkey

Any idea on how it was originally damaged? It looks like the rear triangle was "squeezed" with the rear wheel off. If that's the case I think it's fine structurally while assembled.

Personally I might try to clearance the frame with a generous feather by 1/2-1mm (at the most) if I was dead set on a 25mm tire. I'm not sure I would recommend anyone following my advise though, LOL. I trust myself to do the work and take responsibility for it but not anyone else. Regardless, keep an eye on it but it's probably fine (I don't think this is a particularly high stress area).

However, I would still like to know how it got damaged. If it was a structural issue from regular use I'd definitely consider a different frame unless I could figure out why it happened and take steps to prevent it form happening again.

TM

dramiscram

The first winter my friend got the bike he stored it on is patio (small apartment in Montreal, no storage space he defended himself) When The bike unfroze in the spring the frame was cracked. We're guesing that rain accumulated in the frame and it got damaged when it froze.

I was thinking of a feather myself but I'm not dead set on a 25mm, it's just that the only straight wheel I got that fit the bike is mounted with a 25mm. When I get the bike's wheel fixed and trued I will be OK because there's an almost new 23mm on it.

Bill Kapaun

So why not swap the 23MM tire to the straight rim?

dramiscram

The straight rim came from my daily commuter, I ride 57 kms round trip 4-5 days a week.

Flying Merkel

I love my Nashbar MTB frame. Ride the Allez. If cracks appear, Nashbar to the rescue.

I had a Specialized frame crack after severe abuse. They honored the warranty and replaced the frame at no charge.

noglider 

It could break in a most inopportune situation. On the other hand, you got much more than you paid for. If you can't or don't want to buy another bike, enjoy it. For all we know, you'll die before it does.

cycle_maven

Yeah, grind it down and ride it till it breaks. But keep an eye on it. Be ready to buy a new frame. Don't worry too much about it- a broken chainstay is more of an inconvenience than a death-trap. If it were on a downtube or fork, I'd say scrap the frame.

dramiscram

That's what I'll do.