Safe to ride?
 

Hello everyone,

Bought my first road bike -- a steel Basso bike off of ebay a few months ago. Has been fantastic to ride. Today, I was in my local bike shop and one of the shop mechanics noticed that there was a repair done on one of the drops. He said that since I don't know the quality of repair and type of metal used, that I should no longer ride the bike.

The dropout looks solid to me. What do you guys and girls think?

Repaired dropout (see that little hump?): http://i.imgur.com/WC2Umqj.jpg

Dropout on the other side: http://i.imgur.com/aF8MOGh.jpg

Whole bike: http://i.imgur.com/gwlJIsM.jpg

Thanks! I love this bike. Any help appreciated.

Edit: Thanks everyone for your quick and helpful responses! I'll take the bike soon to a local welder for an inspection. Until then, I'll ride carefree and happy.

I've broken frames there - unlikely to be a catastrophic event... if it fails it'll just feel kind of loose in the rear end and then you'll hear some clunking, and then you'll realize it's broken... nothing at all like breaking a fork or stem. Even if it completely snaps you're not going to land on your face.

Ride it in good health and inspect it every once in a while.

Hard to tell from the photos but the repair looks fine to me. It looks like it was brazed in properly and should be as good as new. I think your "mechanic" was either being way to conservative or wanted to sell you a new bike.

Sounds like a know nothing alarmist was just trying to scare you. I wouldn't think twice about riding this. Odds are it'll outlive you and the guy who has you worried both.

BTW-it wouldn't by any chance, be the right size for that shop rat, would it?

Maybe it's not nice, but doesn't look dangerous.

+1 on looking solid. Next time you have the wheel off, grasp the dropout with padded pliers or vise-grips and see if there is any motion or looseness in the repair. If there isn't - and there probably won't be, just ride and inspect once in a while. If there is any deflection, take it to a good machinist and get it repaired, then ride

Looks like the dropout cracked and then someone used an arc(stick?) welder to repair it. If you want to be picky about it there are plenty of stages to such a repair that can influence the quality of the work. But as others have already stated, should the repair fail it's hugely unlikely to be catastrophic. I'd have a look at the inside face too - a dropout is too thick to offer good penetration from only one side w/o extensive prepping of the seam. If the inside face shows a similar telltale budge, or at least smooth metal I'd consider it good and rideable.
For peace of mind, keep the surface clean so that it can be inspected for cracks. The filler materia used in arc welding often end up being stronger than the base materials, so the bike may eventually develop cracks at the transition from filler to base material.

Good to know! In my head, I was calculating failure=death. Thanks!

Haha. I don't think so. He seemed honest... maybe he's a perfectionist?

I'll take it to a local welder for inspection ASAP. Thanks for your response!

Will do!

Even if it breaks again, you can get a new dropout brazed in for not much money. So, ride in good health! Check it every now and again, and don't worry too much.

Don't waste your time & money with trying to inspect the quality of the weld, unless you have a knowledgeable friend. However even if you discover it's a poor weld, there's no percentage in dealing with it. It'll either break or it won't, and preventing breakage is as expensive as fixing it after.

Rear dropout doesn't lead to accidents. If it's going to break it's most likely to happen when the chain is pulling the wheel forward, and stressing it to the max. That's a compression load, so there'll be a slight shift in wheel position, but you may not even notice. After the bike will feel a bit squirrely but that's all.

First off, there's no upside for an LBS to say it's OK. They don't get to sell you a new one and they expose themselves to liability. In my experience they'll always say either it's not OK, or at best that they can't tell.

It breaking would be similar to getting a flat in terms of risk. People get lots of flats without serious consequence, but sometimes, like going around fast corners, they can cause a crash, the consequence of which can vary from barely a scratch to death.

Hey Francis, this is the first "broken part" thread I can remember where none of the replies predicted impending disaster. Maybe we are getting less overly cautious.

I doubt it, we just might be contrary. The OP referenced a shop rat who warned of imminent death if he rode the bike. If the thread had said, "Is this OK?. I asked a mechanic and he said he thought so, but I wanted to confirm", I'd venture that the boo birds would have posted in force.

You and have been around long enough to know that the answer often depends on how the question is asked.

i cannot see the pictures
but i predict death for the op
maybe not immediately
and maybe not caused by frame failure
but eventual death is certain

Reminds me of my friend the oncologist who considers it a successful cure if the patient dies in a car accident while in remission.

i can see him now
reading about the accident in the paper the next day
and exclaiming
problem solved

Good thing he doesn't treat on a contingency fee basis. Imagine sending that bill.

Short of x-ray, ultrasound or perhaps magnaflux, the local welder won't be able to see or say anything more than you can. All I meant was to wipe any grime off every now and then to see if the layer of paint is still unbroken.

Ok cool. Maybe I'll ride by our local veterinarian's office.

Just kidding. Thanks again.

Your more likely to have a failure due to that dirty chain.....

Beat me to it longbeachgary. My response was - Looks better than that chain. Perhaps throw in some bar tape while your at it.

Keep an eye on it for cracking, and ride on.

Of course, we would all do well to visually inspect our bikes more often...