Cracked Head Tube

Thanks guys, spent the day on the bike imagining my teeth smashing into various elements of the road! I think I'll chance it for the summer though and keep an eye out for a new frame to switch the parts on to. Any recommendations for a light aluminium frame that would take the colnago flash fork?

please don't ride this

seriously, it is not fucking worth it

^ exactly.
Why do you come on here for advice and then completely ignore it?
You could start your own thread in rider down though.

That looks corroded as fuck. Alu oxide not known for it's weight bearing properties

actually, we are telling lies and just want to buy this frame cheap from you so we can put a electrical tape around the head tube and make it safe.

That's not corrosion it's just dirt. Also I'm not ignoring advice I'm just trying to gather as much info as I can before I make a decision.

Sheldon posted this on another forum about a cracked aluminium head tube on a mountain bike:

*I'd say ride it. It was damaged not by any sort of road hazard or fatigue, but by (probably improper) headset cup installation.

The nature of this particular crack is that if it gets worse, the symptom will be a gradual loosening up of the headset, as the upper race may start to be able to wiggle in the frame. No way will this cause any kind of a crash unless you keep riding it way after it becomes noticeably loose, and probably not even then.

If you want to keep the frame, it might be a good idea to drill a "stopper" hole at the very bottom of the crack. This would be a small hole, maybe 1/16" or a bit larger, to keep there from being a sharp bottom to the crack. The place where the crack ends can act as a stress riser.

Think about tearing a cellphane bag...when you try to tear a straight, undamaged edge, it's almost impossible. Once a tear begins, however, it's unstoppable.

Sheldon "Might Still Have Some Serious Miles Left" Brown

P.S., another poster referred to an issue with a carbon steerer. That's not a good comparison. Steerer breakage is relatively common, and frequently causes grisly crashes. (Personally I don't trust even undamaged carbon steerers.)

Head tube failure, however, is just about unknown*

"Head tube failure is just about unknown" being some key info here. In contrast to the hundreds of other posters who say a crack in the head tube means catastrophic failure. If the actual chances of it failing are low then I am willing to risk cycling it but of course I will do more research and keep an eye out for a new frame.

it's your pearly whites mate do what you wish... me, i like soup and think chewing is over-rated anyway.

Do you KNOW what caused the crack? Or are you guessing / hoping / praying?
Why do you think it was for sale?

I came off my bike a few years ago now, and broke my fall using a rather novel combination of outstretched arm and then jaw- my arm was fine.

My jaw on the other hand smashed, on both sides- a bilateral fracture.

Not ones to be left out my teeth decided that they'd join in, and shattered and sheared en masse.

I had the majority of my teeth capped or otherwise repaired, and two of them (which were smashed off at the gum line) were wholly removed, then they drilled my gum and installed titanium pegs, then screwed implants into those- more titanium with a ceramic covering fused on top.

Total time from accident to having my teeth back? Around two years.

Total cost? Just over £5,000.

I would recommend getting a different frame.

I am sure the frame is worth more than £5K.

Sorted.

there may be some ideas here

http://www.lfgss.com/thread84847.html#post2861450

Remove the paint in the area, give it a real good clean and see if the crack looks nasty. Nasty is a technical term a couple of grades down from 'splitty'. If it doesn't look too nasty then ride it, it's your bike, your call. I'd ride it if it didn't look too nasty.

Its not the crack you can see, its the micro cracks and fatigue the frame has suffered in other places that you can't see.
Old alu is just as bad as post crash carbon IME.

Aghhhhh. I'm torn! Such a light frame! It's yellow! Might be able to get some cash back by selling parts and then turn it into a shrine...

By the way would a hose clamp actually help save it? Looks like I could fit two on under the weld.

By the way would a hose clamp actually help save it? Looks like I could fit two on under the weld.

You will get around 80p a kilo for scrap aluminium.

There's a guy who deals exclusively with cracked Colnagos of this model
address here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulevard_of_Broken_Dreams

Nice.

Would it be worth putting the frame up on Ebay or a classifieds site? Seems a shame to junk such a pretty piece of metal.

what the fuck?

it's dangerous, if you won't ride it why the hell try and sell it to someone else?

are you stupid, a troll or just have no regard for others safety?

You really ARE utterly nuts. This bike looks a complete write-off and you say you'll "chance it" for the summer.

Stop wasting everyones time and take it for some bunny hops over some nettle bushes (to cushion your inevitable fall)

Have you stripped the paint off to make sure that it is actually through the metal?? Had a frame that had a similar 'crack' that when I stripped off the paint around it didnt even go through the base coat....worth a check if you havent already....

While you are at it strip the paint off the rest of it, to see if is cracked anywhere else, then it won't be so pretty and much easier to throw away.