my trusty gardin, which i've been riding daily for the last 18 months developed a severe crack in the head tube today. it's cracked almost all the way around, right through the lug at the junction of the head- and downtubes.

i was hammering around and kept hearing this funny little distressed metal sound everytime i got up out of the saddle. thought it could be my bb or my pedals or something. but everything was tight and recently serviced. then i thought it might be the cheap-ass headset i'm using right now and that's when i discovered the crack. i let out a big eff you see kay and this lady on the corner asked if i was alright. i said yah, but my bike isn't! sheeeit.

i can get this fixed at a local framebuild/repair place for only 60 bucks, but the guy told me there are no guarantees with this kind of thing and it could crack again. not to mention, it might look butt-ass ugly with some big gnarly weld. i guess i wno't know til the dude sees it and has a chance to work on it. i may have to make the gardin my sunday bike and get something newer and stronger.

i'm sure there are threads devoted to this, but if anyone reading this wants to suggest a good durable frame that has geometry that's closest to a true track frame, i'm all ears.

b-ride: owner of TWO cracked track frames. grrrrr!

nah, it'll look bad ass. Like a scar across the eye, your bike'll be the bad guy.

Dude, sad though it is you gotta get rid of it.

Even when welded if that thing gives way while you are in traffic you may be ER fodder. It a pain in the ass when a beautiful frame dies but you are more important, and there will be other bikes.

Ditch it dude!!

Yeah man, you better mail it to me for proper disposal.

sure. shipping will be $1100 USD. mail me a cheque and i'll get the frame in the mail for you.

Just replace the lug if that is cracked.

Gardin is in Canada so contact them. If they are still around.

Post pics if you can.

Head to TTown this Sat Oct 7th for the swap meet. Fly, bike and get there.LOl.

S/F,
CEYA!

sorry

I had a Diamondback Viper when I was a kid that had been welded. I beat the living ***** out of that thing for 2 years before it started cracking right next to the weld. The heat from welding reduces the strength of the metal around the weld and it probably will break again. I would think you could get $60 worth of use out of it in the mean time, just keep an eye on it and start saving for a new frame.

Meh, do it. Even if the weld breaks completely around the head tube, your steerer will still be holding everything together well enough to steer.