frame integrity?
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Tête de Limace
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frame integrity?
I was at a salvation army recently and spotted an old 10-spd steel lugged bike. I've always wanted to build a bike up from its frame, and this looked like this could serve that purpose. I was going to buy it, when the thought occured to me: how do I know if this frame will hold up? I mean, I could more or less tell that most, if not all, of the components were trash, but what about the frame? I can always search it over for signs of rust, but sometimes it's not that obvious. Are there other things I should be looking at when pondering the safety of a frame?
#2
Tiocfáidh ár Lá
I would just look for obvious stuff like cracks or rippled or bent tubing. Even if it has a little rust its still ok. Even if its bent a little you can bend it back. What kind of frame is it?
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Originally Posted by jfmckenna
I would just look for obvious stuff like cracks or rippled or bent tubing. Even if it has a little rust its still ok. Even if its bent a little you can bend it back. What kind of frame is it?
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Beware, not all lugged bikes are of any quality. If its a heavy bike, its possible that its made out of really cheap tubing, lugged or not, and isn't worth its weight in lead. Also look at the dropouts. Are they a good 1/2" thick or so like many road bikes have? Or are they 1/8" steel plate? That will tell you alot about the quality of the bike. If its a good frame, and its straight, have fun!
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Good dropouts are also moulded rather than stamped so look for some curvy detailing. Even if the tube labels have worn off, dropouts are a sure sign of bike quality.
Bike frames tend to fail in non-critical parts such as the drive-side chainstay. It is rare for a steel bike to fail catastrophically and dump the rider. You just notice a noodly feeling and behold, your chainstay is waving in the wind.
Bike frames tend to fail in non-critical parts such as the drive-side chainstay. It is rare for a steel bike to fail catastrophically and dump the rider. You just notice a noodly feeling and behold, your chainstay is waving in the wind.