interceptor

Bought a used homemade recumbent, am told it is aluminum, got it home,rode for awhile. Noticed creaking coming from crank area,looked and found crack
where crank connects to frame (see pic). Did not notice when I bought it! Can this be repaired or am I stuck with it?
Already have 325.00 into bike. Seller can not be found!

Jeff Wills

Well, it sounds like you're stuck with it!

Homebuilt aluminum sounds problematic to begin with. I would post these pictures on the framebuilders forum and ask their opinion. It may be salvageable, but it may not be cheap. If it were mine, I'd strip it for parts and build up a Bacchetta frame kit, but that's pretty expensive: https://bacchettabikes.com/bikes/frame-kits.php

Dchiefransom

Weld weakened the tubing.

interceptor

Yes, velocity front wheel.

BlazingPedals

As it stands right now, that frame is an accident waiting to happen. I'm sure you can get it re-welded; but with that design it's only going to break again, either there or at the head tube. And failing at the head tube might buy you a nice hospital stay. Regardless of material, that design was going to fail eventually. About the only way to save it would be to have a welder add more tubing to fully triangulate the BB in both directions, and in addition, add another tube between the top tube and the head tube, to reinforce that. Personally, my preference would be to buy a new frame from RANS (BIG bucks) or one from Recycled Recumbents. Either way, you'll get a proven design.

gcottay

Recycled Recumbents
https://sites.google.com/site/recycledrecumbents/home

interceptor

bike is gone ,,,thanks for all the input and info...

kennpro

Two things you don't want to do: 1. Don't buy a car that's been in a flood. 2. Don't buy any homemade recumbent.