Locating a fabricator
 

I have a steel CX frame with limited room for tire clearance between the chain stays. I am willing to pay a fabricator to modify the frame by any means necessary to do this, but I can't find one to do this. I have asked on every forum, Facebook group, and red_it page I could think of no zero skilled craftspersons have come forward to offer their services. I have always heard that steel is easy to work with, but it's pretty hard when metalworkers apparently no longer exist. Any tips for finding these reclusive folks in central Texas?

I have tried adding dimples between my chainstays: waste of money and shattered several tools in the process. Chumba is nearby but they won't work on other companys' frames, which is fair.

I wonder if it's more about no one wanting to take on this modification... There's lots of us steel working guys out here. Andy

I can't find a metalworker PERIOD. I think I am looking in the wrong place, but I don't know where to look.

Have you tried to ask the LBSs? The shops that are older and/or focus more on service might be better then those who drink the current corporate Kool Aid.

https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...ors-43632.html Here's another forum's list of framebuilder "mentors" to try contacting. I believe at least a couple are in TX.

A few of us have made rather specialized tools for stay denting. A general metal fabricator might understand the issues but doubtfully have tooling. Andy

I asked around at some shops and the only place that came up is Violet Crown Cycles. Their website has been taken over by a casino and they have not used their Facebook page in a few years.
The list on Velocipede Salon should be handy. I occasionally post on that forum as well and my questions were never successfully answered there either.

what frame and how big are you trying to go?

Traitor Crusade. Barely has room for 700x35 and my tire measures 38mm at the widest point. The tiniest bit of mud locks up the bike. 38mm is not enough for the terrain I ride, so looking to get 42 in there. I've tried dimpling it myself by several methods and only managed to smooth my dropouts together.
Wife put a hard no on buying something new. This is my life: buying cheap **** and nickel and dining myself into something that almost works but always misses the mark.

Spec max on that frame is 35. going to a 42 is 9mm (almost a centimeter) over spec. I am not the hands on guy, just a numbers guy so go with what the hands on guys say, but that seems to me to be a lot to expect even steel to do Good Luck

As Clint said, "a man needs to know his limitations". Andy

I would have to see a picture before offering any opinions. I think you might have to ship the bike.

People use a die in a bench vise to do this, I can't imagine you breaking that.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b9df861d0.png
chainstays on my Traitor Crusade

I think the cost of shipping this frame anywhere would make it totally not cost-effective. the whole bike was $600.

I made a few attempts at dimpling it. I have a bench vice but there is not enough room between the chainstays for either side of the vice to fit between them. I made a few dies out of various materials and none of them worked. I shattered a c-clamp immediately while making another attempt. most of the good dies I have seen require some welding and machine work. if I had access to the tools needed to do that, I'd just modify the frame with those rather than trying to smoosh it.

Thanks for the picture, that clarifies the situation a lot. I think your problem is that it's too close to that bridge to make much headway.

C-clamps aren't what they used to be. A good one costs quite a bit of money, which nobody wants to spend, so we can only get cheap ones. One the right size is most of $200 on mcmaster carr.

that's what I was thinking. I was hoping to find someone who could cut that bridge, widen the stays, and weld a new bridge in there. I don't care what it looks like—it just needs to be functional and allow a tire that does not beat the snot out of me on the dirt. most likely, that won't be cost-effective. buying something new is not an option either, so I guess I'll ride this until it breaks (or I do). I'll probably go first because this thing is a tank.

What size is that tire, looks like a 38mm? Have you thought about going 650b?

That's a 35mm Gravelking SK on a Stan's Arch EX rim. it actually measures to 38mm. I mostly ride this bike when the trails are too wet and muddy for mountain biking (mud here is like peanut butter, leaves deep ruts and sticks to your bike with tenacity). i ride it on roads and mix in as much gravel, odd shortcuts, dirt, and anything else I can find on the route. If I happen to ride through ANY sort of mud, it clogs up the bike instantly and I have to stop. i have started carrying a toothbrush with my on rides to scrape mud out from between the stays and the tire because there's so little clearance.

I tried a 32mm Gravelking SK and had to live with the compromise of riding with pressure so high that it rattles the fillings out of my teeth, or walk home every time due to slicing tires. I went though a few tires that way. so far, the 35(38)mm is the bare minimum I can tolerate. 40-45 would be perfect though. i'll take a bit more weight if it means I don't have to tiptoe over all the "interesting" terrain. I'm not racing anyone, just exploring in places where riding my mountain bike is like slogging around with cement blocks strapped to my ankles.

I borrowed a 650B wheel with a 42mm tire and it and the tire was too wide to even fit in the frame and spin at all. the space between the chainstays is the same where a 700C and a 650B tire pass through the frame. so 650B is a dead end as well. I might be able to it with a 26" wheel but then my cranks are getting dangerously close to the ground.

You could just delete the bridge. They don't really serve any purpose other than being something to attach a fender too. What's strange about the picture is how much clearance there is for the chainring, like it's got an MTB chainline, in which case they could have easily given you more tyre clearance.

I'll keep that in mind. I thought about cutting it myself but if that causes the frame to flex and drop the chain or allows some other undesirable side effect, I'll be SOL.

that's a 39t chainring on a road double crankset with the ring mounted in the inner position. I can easily fit a 42t on there in the same spot. there's gobs of room in there and the bike was sold with a 36t ring with a 16t cog for cyclocross racing. they could have spread those stays and made a ton more room.

I was thinking it would be easier to dimple the stay where it would need to be dimpled for 650b. I thought about mentioning that you could just delete the bridge. I always put bridges in, but that's because I want to be able to mount fenders. You can't mount a fender on that bike with the size tires you want to use, so it wouldn't be a big loss.

When I see that image, steel frame does not come to mind. Looks budget aluminum. nicked clear to the metal, no rust... (found the model - claimed to be steel)
The comments of 650b would help, but entail a whole other cascade of cost.
there is little real estate to work with.
There is a time to call it a day, sell it and buy a used something else.

After looking at the bike on an old website- I think the path of least resistance is a different frame, or entirely different bike.

It's definitely steel. The Traitor Crusade / Transition Rapture are chromoly. Look that up.
New frame is definitely not in the budget or I would have done that a long time ago. New bike is absolutely out of the question. That's why I am so desperate to make this one work cheap.

use lower tire pressure? Or get a redshift suspension stem, people seem to like them

The lumps in the weld definitely say steel to me.

I am using the lowest pressure I can manage without bashing the rims on the ground. Yes, the tires are tubeless. If I go any lower than 35psi, I get rim dings. I weight 160 pounds.

A suspension stem does nothing for the rear wheel. My hands and wrists are fine because the bike fits. I could fit a much larger tire in the front but that is not the problem. I larger front tire would only encourage me to let the front wheel write checks that the rear can't cash, so to speak.
A larger rear tire would help, which is why I want to modify the frame.

I used to ride my 38mm tires at 20psi, but I do have a dent to show for it. Suspension seatpost then.

You don't' really have enough space to get 5mm on both sides for 700c tires. 650 will move you back where the dent isn't so deep. That's expensive too though. There is always the risk that you are going to permanently damage the frame.

at moments when this is a problem, my butt is nowhere near the saddle. standing and hammering over dirt paths with unpredictable protruding rocks is the issue. it's not my body that is getting beat up, it's the bike. I went through this in another thread and several people came to the same conclusion: 32mm tires were not enough. 35 is an improvement but it's still severely lacking. 35mm tires at 35-40 psi is the only way I can ride this bike, standing up and being as dainty as possible over the rocks, otherwise I trash tires and rims. I rode BMX for 20 years. I can bunnyhop this bike up a foot-high ledge (which is not all that impressive), so I know how to be light on the bike. the tires are just too small for my riding style and terrain.

if what you're saying is that modifying this frame is absolutely impossible for any metalworker to pull it off, or at least at a cost that is reasonable considering the cost of the bike and my limited budget, I guess I am screwed until I win the lottery (which is also impossible because I don't throw away my money on that, just crap bikes that never suit my needs) so I can afford a bike that will hold up for my riding style.

So here are two ideas for a tool to crimp the stays with. For built frames i find the second one is better as it has more fit clearance WRT the other stay. I could be tempted to loan one of these... Andy

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d12ed9cd0d.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...176ab85438.jpg