dwood

With 45 years of welding experience I tend to agree that, although it is a sloppy weld, it will present no problems with strength. I might be tempted to fill the hole on the top with something to prevent the ingress of water . . . which 'could' lead to problems with internal rust.

hudsong

Yeah, I think some epoxy over the hole will do the trick. Thanks guys!

dy123

You'll will probably be fine riding it as is, but since they have offered why not just swap it out?

Interesting thing is that the rear "fork end" should have a been pushed up tight into the slot. There shouldn't be that extra gap at the end. Makes me wonder if one side is pushed in all the way in and this one isn't?

That is just the difference between handmade and factory made bikes. You just can't compare the attention to detail of a one man shop vs. a production environment with hourly workers. I'm not bashing factory made, just pointing out the differences. I believe there are customers and needs for both.

You could probably have ridden this for miles and miles and never noticed. Now that you know it is there, it will probably bug you.

shaan

you could also get a Magnaflux Spotcheck dye pen kit and check for cracks around the weld yourself if you wanna do that, just gotta get rid of the paint

dwood

Not necessarily. There usually is some 'slop' in the fit so that when the frame is placed in a welding fixture the dropouts can be shifted around some for proper alignment, then welded.

The small gap also allows for deeper penatration when welded and would normally be entirely filled with weld metal, therefore not visible.

Magnafluxing is not necessary. The problem is cosmetic!

dy123

Yes I agree...there can be some slop.

There is no reason for slop like this except speeding up production. It should be fit up correctly. If there is slop it should be side to side to allow the fork ends to be set up square and parallel in the jig. There shouldn't really be any gap at the end of the slot. Is this a fast way to correct for uneven chainstay length cutting?

I'm not saying it isn't done all day long all the time or that it would be a major issue, but it is not the way it is done on a custom level.

kill.cactus

You could use it as a secret bomb now since you can sneak in explosives through that hole

Torchy McFlux

Shoddy craftsmanship. That sharp corner is a stress riser in a high-stress location of the frame. Take Swobo up on their offer and get a replacement.