ebeard

Hi,

I'm just getting my steel framed tourer ready for a couple of weeks in france, and noticed what looks like a tiny crack above the front derailleur fixing on the seat tube. The paint work above and below the fixing appears to be absolutely fine. Does this look like something to worry about with a fully loaded tourer and a 100kg cyclist?

Any help much appreciated!

Ed

Ed

rithem

hard to tell looks like indents in the paint from front d clamp ... clean bike remove front d inspect closer and repost pic after you clean that filth off

DannoXYZ 

Looks like someone tightened the front-derailleur clamp way too tight. The slot between the two clamp-ends should be parallel, not pinched inwards like that. That will distort the internal round-shape of the clamp and force the inside corner into the frame-tubing.

Take the derailleur off and inspect the tubing. You can get the crack brazed over and filled pretty easily. The repair should extend at least 5mm beyond the ends of the crack in each direction. Then filed down and polished smooth.

You may also need a new FD. Once the clamp is distorted like that, it may be permanent and the inside corner will always pinch tighter than the rest of the band.

ebeard

Hi Danno,

Thanks for that. I've taken it off and you're absolutely right - that's exactly what it looks like. The steel tube is slightly distorted in shape as well. Have spoken to LBS here who reckon it's fine to tour on and I'll get it fixed as you suggest when we get back.

Ed