Crack in aluminium frame near dropouts

Is this the end of the road? Or is it fixable?

Shit bike but I have come to love it so.

Crack is running through the hole... (not sure why there's a hole drilled there in the first place?)

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m318/3stripe/crack.jpg?1289160590

Not fixable in any sensible economic way. New frame before you end up under a lorry.

bin it!

Shiiiat.

Yeah I saw the crack and rode home in fear, steel or carbon from now on I think, had two aluminum bikes crack on me.

Ach well, at least I won't be riding a Langster any more...

warrantee?

Was wondering how easily I could stick all the components onto a Tifosi Pista frame...

Nah it's old, got it secondhand from Gumtree.

Al. It's cheap and light for a reason. Don't get me wrong, I have Al frames (got a new one yesterday in fact), but durability and fixability are not their strong suits.

wheel axles, seatpost and b/b are probably the same

Hole is there for water drainage. As said - bin sadly.

Specialized will warentee it.
I'm sure they will. Go to an evans, say you bought it yourself, ask them to warentee it. They will.

Was wondering how easily I could stick all the components onto a Tifosi Pista frame...

Check BB fitting and fork size (prob both 1 1/8). If they work, you're in. Even if BB is not compatible, small money involved unless you require carbon/Ti tossery.

Shiiiat.

Yeah I saw the crack and rode home in fear, steel or carbon from now on I think, had two aluminum bikes crack on me.

Ach well, at least I won't be riding a Langster any more...

You may want to think this through more carefully.

Carbon can be easily stiffer than aluminium, and therefore though potentially stronger, it is even more expensive/difficult to repair should a crack develop. In fact there are a million images around of that famous BMC track bike, suffering a crack during a competitive track race.

I've cracked a couple of aluminium bikes too, and I will buy steel in the future. But I won't assume any similarities in the reasons for our frames cracking, so I can't suggest what is best for you.

You may want to think this through more carefully.

Carbon can be easily stiffer than aluminium, and therefore though potentially stronger, it is even more expensive/difficult to repair should a crack develop.

Good luck with that. There isn't an Al frame on the face of the planet that's worth repairing, full stop. If it's cracked, it's fooked, simple as. Carbon frames can be repaired relatively easily and cheaply, depending on the damage, including as cheaply as a bit of body filler. And with a carbon frame, you can ignore some cracks entirely.

Contact Aladdins cave - Doug Pinkerton (brilliant restorer of frames as well as frame builder), he may be able to help? Pm him and send link of thread. cheers c_c

having just gone through this with my 06 Langster (exact same failure), i can say that Evans will need a proof of purchase to send to Spesh for a warrantee claim. Luckily I had one... :)

the hole is there to allow hot gases to escape during welding, not for water drainage.

You have to TIG it, anneal it, then heat treat the entire frame, then re-paint it. Forget it. It will cost you more than the bike of your dreams.

hamster, you did well mate!

i was going to just ride my old raleigh every day but it feels a bit sluggish in comparison, fancy something lighter

they threw in a new carbon fork and headset as a goodwill measure. result!

Ok, don't take it to evans, take it somewhere else.
We do it all the time, SBC are a very good company about it.

i guess it's worth a shot...

ta for the pointers on the pista conversion...

headset is 1 1/8" on both frames.

according to Parker.com... the Pista BB is "BSA", and the Langster "TH BB-7420 cartridge, square taper, 68mm shell, 103mm spindle"?

i guess it's worth a shot...

ta for the pointers on the pista conversion...

headset is 1 1/8" on both frames.

according to Parker.com... the Pista BB is "BSA", and the Langster "TH BB-7420 cartridge, square taper, 68mm shell, 103mm spindle"?

Lookey likey both English BBs (sorry, but making gravy (not euphamism at same time as doing this) so can't look it up). Even if not, solved for £10 - go for it.

Hi 3stripe,
I have been pointed to this thread by Colnago Costa. I have had repaired before alloy frames successfully by a local specialist welder close to my workshop in Redditch.
one way is to clean where the crack on the frame is and get it welded up.
Or we can try to seperate the tube, sleeve it internally and then weld around the outside.
It would probably cost between £45-65 with £15.00 for carriage.
Let me know if you wish to pursue either of these avenues.

Regards
Aladdins cave

Trying to repair a high stress area like that is absolute madness. Anyone doing that work must absolutely LOVE paying huge liability insurance premiums.

If it's cracked there, God alone knows what else is lurking under the paint/is ready to crack too. Do you really want to find out with a sodding great lorry behind you, all for the sake of a "shit bike"?

Don't do this to yourself.