TimothyH

It's risky not to take chances.


-Tim-

Iride01 

For me to write all the if's and's or but's in my statements will make the post unnecessarily long and the message will not be noticed. Maybe I did that and that's why you don't see my message. Maybe it was a bad choice of words on my part. But to argue about how I said something instead of the intended meaning only draws further from the topic.

We both know that rider weight affects the factors that will distort or cause failure in a frame so why is it wrong to make the comparison. My intent had more to do with to what extent he could go to lighten the frame. More if the rider is light and less if the rider is heavy. Which is what you agree with me on in your next statement.




So only people with an engineering degree should experiment? Or those that can afford to hire engineers?

The risk is only to the OP. If they are competent enough to drill holes in the frame, they probably have enough intuition to tell if they've gone too far.

I was wrong about the OP wanting to do it for novelty. I re-read the post and they want to ride paved trails and commute. That is still a maybe it's okay and maybe it is not. My trails maybe. Your trails, maybe or maybe not. My commute, probably not. Your commute, I don't know.

Don't think me bad to argue with you. I actually have more respect for people that are willing to argue. In fact my closest friends are people I argue and nitpick about everything. I have had my opinions on things changed by supported argument.

SquidPuppet

That is a huge assumption. And 99.9% likely to be wrong. Once someone makes the decision to start drilling holes the size of half the tubing diameter in a bicycle frame, they've already gone too far.

Iride01 

Did the OP say they are going to drill the holes that big? Still it may not be an issue depending on how many.

It's okay for you to assume but I can't?

cyclist2000

I doubt it, when I read Darwin Awards and similar publications it appear that there are many that don't know that they have gone too far.

indyfabz

As a matter of fact, he did. Indeed, he wrote possibly a bit larger. See post #3.

jefnvk

Yes.

The problem with these types of posts? If the question has to be asked, the OP probably doesn't have the knowledge required to actually do it safely. I generally err on the side of not encouraging people to do things that can seriously hurt them, if they don't have the skills to do it without asking very basic questions.

SquidPuppet

Yes.

That is absurd. It's a recipe for disaster. Period. Any other notion is insanity or stupidity.

I'm not making any assumptions. I know what I read. A person that will drill multiple large holes in a standard steel bike frame is not competent to make a good decision on when to stop, because not starting is when to stop. That's neither an assumption nor an opinion, it's a fact.

mirfi

Maybe an idea for Science Channel Mythbusters.

High Fist Shin

-Shin

indyfabz

Successful troll is successful.

corrado33

You should totally do it, if only for a cool looking frame. Please post pictures I want to see it!

If I were to do it, I think I'd do it only in the horizontal plane (as the picture above did.) I think drilling vertical would weaken the frame too much in the direction of the majority of the force.

Maelochs

As I understand it, the ends are thicker and the stresses higher because of the welding/brazing, and the transfer of force through different planes.

However the middle of the tube has to survive forces from both ends, with the length of the tube being a lever. The middle of the tube is allowed and expected to flex a little --- and drilling it would mean that that bend and flex would break the tube.

I'd say, everyone who wants to tell this guy it is safe and a good idea, should prove it on their own bikes. We can always find more posters.

(Russian Roulette? It's perfectly safe 80 percent of the time. Go for it.)

SloButWide 

Nah, drill alternate sets of holes in different planes. Then when the frame cracks, you'll know which set of holes to leave out (leave off? leave in? not drill?) next time!

jefnvk

While I have no desire to ride such a bike, I do really want to do some destructive testing on a bike frame now, just to see how many holes one can get away with!

Maybe the next time there is a $5 Free Spirit sitting at the thrift shop, I'll have to buy it...

WNCGoater

+1, and besides we want to watch so be sure and mount your GoPro! Especially interested in the clips of "whistling like a banshee at speed".

Worknomore

Here, Hold my beer.

kaos joe

DAMMIT, I was about to offer to hold his beer myself.

CliffordK

Why worry about precision drilling?

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...y-ads-583.html

Hoopdriver

The Darwin Awards folks are soliciting for candidates.

CliffordK

So.... what is the answer if one finds a crack in their bike?

Drill a hole in it

I'm not convinced that many components that are frequently drilled out really cause a problem. Chainrings, for example, have been safely drilled for eons. I'm not into drilling cranks, but some people do it. Other components?

My guess is that the frame will be fine, if one is judicious with the drilling. not too big of holes, not too many, keep ends clear, etc. Nor do I expect it to suddenly collapse with no warning whatsoever.

Steel?

exwhyzed

Okay thanks for the input everyone. My conclusions are:

- strategically drilling holes such that safety isn't impacted wouldn't reduce the weight enough for me to make a "poor man's" light bike
- steel bike tubing is not as thick as i thought, and while an excessively drilled frame might bounce around and be flexy while riding, a tube may overstress and kink at a certian point, which will yield a folded bike appearance.
- making a drillium frame would make for a nice conversation piece at home, but i don't have many guests over so its not worth the effort
- I'm 200lbs, i'd better play it safe for now and not buy or try to make any SL parts.
- my wrenching faculty is unhappy about these conclusions
- I will now resort to plan B which is to cut off the section of the drop bars that i don't use, since I only ride the hoods. I like when my fingers touch a bit of the drops so I'll probably cut around here...

rachel120

I asked a bike shop if they could put two holes in my steel frame to permanently mount my water bottle. They were very clear that even just that will weaken the structural integrity to a dangerous point.

CliffordK

You'll find basically 3 types of steel in vintage frames:

• High Tensile Steel (generally straight tubing).
• Chromoly or similar alloy - Straight Tubing
• Chromoly or similar alloy - Butted Tubing

If you have a basic high tensile steel frame... why not... you can't really reduce its value any more.

With a straight tube chromoly frame, then you likely have a fair amount of excess material mid tube that could potentially be removed. Sanding, lathe, or... DRILLING.

Butted Chromoly frames (or Reynolds 531, or various Columbus Tubes) already have awfully thin tubes, and any gains would be minimal.

Siu Blue Wind