Your busted bikes?
 

I bought this Raleigh in 2010 and just had it tucked away until several months ago. I began to clean up the thing with all my own parts and my own hand built wheels. This is my first "restoration" project
http://www.pedalroom.com/p/raleigh-a...ad-3415_11.jpg

until I saw this last night!

http://www.pedalroom.com/p/raleigh-a...ead-3415_8.jpg

You can get that fixed at your local frame builder. They will have to strip the paint in that area, though.

I remember this Unterhausen saying this about a Raleigh Grad Prix http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=#post13960981

I realize it can be fixed but I don't know if it is worth it. I don't know of any active frame builder in the area besides one shop that does aluminum bikes.

That bike is made of steel and is an easy fix. The paint will be gone but that is it.

Probably cheaper to move on to another project.
Hardly anyone has a local frame builder. Surely you can find one somewhere in LA, but $$$.

This guy is in or close to L.A.

http://www.townsendcyclesltd.com/nu-contact.html

Bilenky (my locaol builder) charges $175 to replace the entire stay. I would guess the bike in question could be done for less.

I wonder if you even need a frame builder for that? I'd take it to the warehouse complex next to the local airport and knock on a few doors.

You could probably even do it at home if you have a torch, but it's in a kind of complicated area to braze since you have a bunch of joins right there.

Not to mention it's already broken; how badly could you screw it up? Could be a good learning opportunity.

I am going to be start taking welding courses and brazing is on the course list. Fixing this could be taken as just another part of my "restoration", but it just bums me out because of all the work I put in and there were some things I still wanted to add. This is also my commute bike, so I'm back to my two road bikes

This one screams for DIY- it's only a Grand Prix, not something irreplaceable.

I'm a part-time silversmith, and one of the tricks we have is to use different alloys that melt at different temperatures to join complex partially-assembled pieces. In the case of that broken stay weld, just clean it up, file it to fit tightly, flux it and flow in a little silver alloy- the brass/bronze used in the original joint won't even come close to melting at typical silver temperatures. A Mapp-gas torch would be hot enough, but it will probably require the whole seat stay cluster to be heated- best to use oxy-propane or better and the heat can be localized better.

If it's just your commuter, I'm with Chris_in_Miami, clean the vicinity of paint, brass, and let a welder TIG/MIG it back together. A solid cap and seat lug should be thick enough that an experienced welder won't risk burn-through. Should cause minimal paint damage, a bit of matching spray paint and you won't be able to tell from several paces.

No, please don't TIG/MIG it together- it was designed to be brazed, it was brazed originally and it should be repaired with brazing. Any competent welder could do it in 5 minutes.

Oh, I just looked again- it's not a Grand Prix, it's an Alyeska! It's definitely worth doing right- possibly one of the local bike shops will have a framebuilder they work with, or one of the mechanics dabbles in frame modification.

I have a PX-10 with a paint cracks suggesting a crash. Can't decide what to do with it. Not my size.... No your frustration.

I think Greg Townsend might be in or around Los Angeles, maybe Pasadena. http://www.townsendcyclesltd.com/nu-contact.html or maybe in Monrovia.

Cleaning up and rebrazing the seat stay to the seat cluster is a very simple and inexpensive repair, and I'd recommend contacting Greg Townsend. If he doesn't want to do it, he should be able to recommend someone who will.

You'll have to repaint the repaired area.

+1 I would try that...but that is the way I roll

My father does have an oxy-acetylene torch set. So for DIY, I could practice on some junker frame. It will have to wait for the summer though, I'm only 21 and I have classes. DIY is half the fun with bicycles, for me at least.

Here's my bit of commiseration: I picked up a battered Trek 950 that was too big for me - the seller suckered me in with a photo of a smaller (and cleaner) bike that he grabbed off the internet, but I figured I'd make the best of it, and it was nearly worth the asking price for the the Deore group & wheels. I figured I'd take the parts and sell the frame on craigslist later, but when I was stripping it down, I noticed some ugly bubbling under the paint:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...800/950_06.jpg

It didn't look good, especially with the amount of rust flakes that was coming out of the stays. I scraped the paint off, and sure enough:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...800/950_10.jpg

That'll buff right out

My late 60's Raleigh Grand Prix broke at the seat stay like yours did, I took it in to the shop where I bought it and the shop owner brazed it, then used Raleigh paint (base and color) to touch it up and it looked great when he was done. It held up, too.

Maybe I need a new buffer. Ok, how about this one I picked up from the side of the road:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y..._sierra_01.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-v..._sierra_02.jpg

Maybe it just needs an oxalic acid dip?

If you have faith, duct tape and several 'Our Fathers' and you should be good.:thumb:

This was an '89 Miyata 312 till its geometry was rearranged by a truck bumper. A testament to Japanese frame building, the dropouts are still square and the chainstays appear to still be in alignment.