How I repaired my cracked frame...

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How I repaired my cracked frame...

Page Type: Article

Page By: Visentin

Created/Edited: Sep 28, 2009 / Sep 28, 2009

Object ID: 272110

Hits: 5541

Page Score: 78.27% - 9 Votes

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How I repaired my cracked frame...

First, the damage :(

First, the damage :(

First, the damage :(

I bought a seat-tube of similar diameter... starting to saw...

I bought a seat-tube of similar diameter... starting to saw...

Sawed seat-tube ... (and burin - the shiny one in iron, lower diameter)

Another thiner tube in iron will be used as a burin

Inserting the sawed part with the burin...

Inserting... hammer is needed ! (good sign indeed, it will not move)

Looks like it reached the expected position...

Inserting the sawed part... looks OK ! :)

Looks like it reached the expected position...

Inserting now the real sit-tube. Just the height I calculated, yeah ! :)

The real sit reaches just the expected position. Cool ! Interesting observation, I noticed after inserting the inner tube, that the crack narrowed to become almost invisible (it was about half a millimeter before...)

Thanks to Andy and his neighbour for this suggestion, a bit more sophisticated than mine, but here is the idea ! Thanks also to Corax for the tip and his experience with similar crack in the wild East ... And thanks to everyone who gave valuable advices on the forum :)

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Viewing: 1-14 of 14

Malibu

Looks like it will work

Voted 10/10

Keep us posted about how your repair holds up.

Dave

Posted Sep 28, 2009 5:12 am


	Visentin	Re: Looks like it will work
	Hasn't voted	Well I went for a ride the day after (yesterday indeed, Sunday). The ride was a bit more than a "soft one" as I planned to do. Haven't done any jumps but it was bumpy enough... so far everything is OK, so it looks good !
		Posted Sep 28, 2009 5:24 am

Ozclimb

Bike fix up!

Hasn't voted

Hey this is almost ingenious! hahaha congrats...I hope it holds up

cheers
Andy

Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:23 am

Andy Livo

Well done...

Voted 10/10

...Eric. Are you going to drill and secure the liner in position?

Posted Sep 28, 2009 12:21 pm


	Visentin	Re: Well done...
	Hasn't voted	considering how I had to use the hammer I think it's not vey necessary ! fortunately I've got the same luck as Corax, it fits exactly...
		Posted Sep 28, 2009 12:38 pm


	Andy Livo	Re: Well done...
	Voted 10/10	Hope it holds Eric.
		Posted Sep 29, 2009 11:50 am

Judd97

Good Luck

Voted 10/10

Good luck, hope it holds. Are there no warranty options? I'd be worried about... being worried, and then not riding as hard because of that worry. Still, pretty neat idea.

Posted Sep 29, 2009 12:01 pm


	Visentin	Re: Good Luck
	Hasn't voted	From the moment it's second hand, you can get in the best case a commercial gift from the brand... however QBikes apparently doesn't have a very good reputation for this. As for worrying about worrying, don't worry :) The last ride I did as a test was a bit tougher than I expected it to be, absolutely nothing happened at the level of my repair and I almost completely forgot about it...
		Posted Sep 30, 2009 3:06 am


	Judd97	Re: Good Luck
	Voted 10/10	That's awesome to hear! It's a clever way to support the damaged area, too bad it can't be done on any part of the frame. Hopefully it'll give you years of worry-free riding :P
		Posted Sep 30, 2009 6:39 am


	Visentin	Re: Good Luck
	Hasn't voted	true, pity that aluminium bikes have only one sit ! :)
		Posted Sep 30, 2009 7:31 am

Treetrimmer

Good!

Hasn't voted

Glad to see you found a fix. Looks like a solid fit! You may want to mark the edges of your crack with a permanent marker to see if they migrate. The gap probably closed because the tube had a slight bend in it, before you inserted the reinforcement tube. Also, check your shock and make sure its not bottoming out. Great job and report. Have fun riding!

Posted Oct 1, 2009 11:06 am

junodirtrider

Ohhhhh...

Voted 10/10

You did fix it!!
Way to do it yourself!!!
Mystery solved!

Posted Oct 7, 2009 6:16 pm


	Visentin	Re: Ohhhhh...
	Hasn't voted	Yes indeed, it was fixed ! (let's call it so). the skalnik ride was just the day after ;)
		Posted Oct 8, 2009 2:27 am

rustybike

Emergency procedures for the far out folks !

Voted 10/10

I guess it helps to get a crash course on how to repair your prized gem notwithstanding the foolish pride that arises from being able to tackle what at first glance looks like mission impossible !

While of late, despite being a casual observer, I have tended to be more active here on this site than I should, I'm glad to tell you folks that if ever a problem arises somewhere out in the forbidding wilderness I can take reference from you folks !

Although I was wondering ...

If I purchase one of those extremely portable butane torches, can I expect to accomplish a quick repair on a broken frame, lets say, with aluminium ? I'd be surprised. Although these last few years I always carried a pocket butane torch with some aluminium foil just in case ! Although I think using a short extra length of tubing would be more helpful to support a broken frame even if we would seem more sane to just use a longer seat holder...

Keep up the great work !

Posted Mar 3, 2011 11:27 am

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