Can 531 be welded

I have just noticed a crack in the downtube of my frame. Can it be welded or does it need replacing. Are there any gppd places who can fix my frame

likely to need replacement of tube which is expensive. might be an economic write off unless it's a really nice bike. great 531 road frames can be had for 40/ 50 quid

• see places like bob jackson - but i'm sure they are not the cheapest
  
  

though i'd have thought some sort of metal sleeve over the tube would be possible and quicker / cheaper but i've never seen it being done .

531 can be welded but it has to be TIG - which is more complicated and specialist then MIG (i think)

531 has been phased out largely because it's not easily welded and it's easy and cheap to make welded frames. 631 (531's replacement effectively), (and all cr mo ) 500 501 520 and 525 (525 is same stuff as 520) are all easily MIG welded apparently, hence loads of newer frames are lugless. 753 and the higher numbers are - i think - difficult to work with (you needed a licence to build 753 and you had to use silver)

531 can be welded

Is this true?

I thought 531 was seriously weakened by the high temperature involved in welding, hence why it is always brazed, and why we didn't get welded Reynolds frames until they changed the alloy to 853 which doesn't lose strength from the welding heat cycle.

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/brazing-welding-norris-builders.html

Alloy steels such as Reynolds 531 are known to become what in the UK is known as 'hot-short' at higher temperatures, that is, they can become brittle and break up.

it's 2nd hand knowledge to me. so i can't swear it's right . even if it's possible it seems a bit pointless

it's what i was told by a friend (a guy who knows what he's talking about re; bikes )- i had a welded 531 frame off him .i said it's not 531 because it's welded, and he told me the above. it was welded not fillet brazed . can't remember make now - might have been ribble . had the newer triangle 531 sticker on .

Is this true?

absolutely not

it's 2nd hand knowledge to me.

2nd hand in this case meaning wrong and dangerous

OP... Your down tube prolly needs replacing.
It may be possible to stop the crack propagating by drilling a hole right at the end of it.
But without seeing it, nobody could say.

Mercian is a good place

Just replace the tube.

%31 and 531c was some good stuff.
5
You have alot of good builders there.

Somebody still has stock put away.

S/F,
CEYA!

idle question

how do you replace 1 tube without knackering the adjoining tubes and lugs?

idle question

how do you replace 1 tube without knackering the adjoining tubes and lugs?

you heat the head lug and bb lug.

Some frame builders heat both top and down tube lug and take off the whole front.
then heat bb lug to take off the down tube.

Some cut the tube in 3 pieces and heat down tube head lug and BB lug only.

S/F,
CEYA!