Free Frame!

ok, same frame

yeah. i figured if they were chucking it then it's probably not worth their time to try and fix or sell on or whatever, but i hate seeing bikes go to waste and i like playing with fire! so thought i may as well have a go at some brazing.

chris king makes a stainless steel headset that has much taller inserts that most headsets, maybe that would provide the reinforcement you would need? maybe...

mister k i have access to a workshop that does welding if that helps. one of the guys who works there can weld and rides a fixed wheel bicycle and therefore is sympathetic to the cause.

chris king makes a stainless steel headset that has much taller inserts that most headsets, maybe that would provide the reinforcement you would need? maybe...

hmmm. i think the crack is a bit too long for that. the guys in the shop said someone rode it for a bit, then it got worse so he gave up.
also, i think the pressure of inserting a headset cup would just make the crack bigger...

mister k i have access to a workshop that does welding if that helps. one of the guys who works there can weld and rides a fixed wheel bicycle and therefore is sympathetic to the cause.

haha! nice one josh.
would be amazing if you could give him a bell...

you say putting bikes to waste i had to cut up a £3500 felt carbon frame because of a little crack in the seat stay

It's real Long shot...but Speak to Matt @ Bike Fix on 0207 405 4639

jesus i bet that stung!

@ sam (seb), i don't know the guy well enough to call him and i don't have his number anyway. i'll be in the workshop all day tomorrow though so i'll ask.

pint?

@josh: pint sounds good. when/where?

@max: ouch!! would prav's gaffa approach not have worked on it? ;-)

dunno you're kings cross way yes? not sure really where. just a quick one mind. tempted to say lord stanley cos it'll be beaut there on a day like this, but i realise that leaves you a little short changed. or camden? outside like.

So here's my plan:
I don't really want to spend much money so I've narrowed it down to two options.

1. Do all the prep work, then try and find a friendly welder to help weld it. Welding takes a lot of skill and experience. I think I'd just destroy it if I tried myself.
   
2. If I cant get it welded, I'm going to braze it myself. I doubt braze alone will be strong enough, so I'm going to find a steel ring to go round the bottom of the headtube, then braze both the crack and the ring.
   Any thoughts or opinions?
   

.... braze both the crack and the ring.
Any thoughts or opinions?

Pure filth!

your plan for brazing sounds like a good'un

CSM has workshop/welding equipment/technicians who like bikes. :) Lemme know

get that shit welded up once and for all!

i neglected to ask that chap at school today about the job cos it's a bad time of year and he seemed frantic. hmm.

i thinking today about paintjobs, you can't roll around on a gold/pink/neon yellow bike!

i quite like the colour scheme!
just needs a equally garish bladed fork and some white arrospok!
although the gold paint is really weird. i swear i can taste it when i'm just holding the frame! and it keeps coming off on my hands. must be some serious chemicals in there.

the guy in the workshop at my uni would've fixed it there and then for nowt, but they (the uni) took away all his welding and brazing gear cos of health and safety!
there is another workshop which does have the gear, but it's closed atm :-(

might try and hassle asm's uni techies...

just got it brazed up by the angry technician at uni!
he machined a ring to go round the bottom then brazed it all up. looks solid enough.
just need to file the bumps down, then get a headset in there.

ride slow

you say putting bikes to waste i had to cut up a £3500 felt carbon frame because of a little crack in the seat stay

Theres a mechanic at Mend a Bike in Fulham who can fix carbon - i was in there on tuesday and he was repairing a giant full carbon road frame.

Some dude had bought it for 400 quid out of loot, turns out it was stolen , the left hand side of the rear triangle had been cut out to nick it, then glued back together - the thief had just put stickers round where the frame had been cut - the buyer only realised when he took off the stickers.

The mechanic has loads of experience with carbon from a previous career, and was fixing it up proper job. I would highly recommend taking them anything that you think might be beyond repair, as they can work miracles

repaired carbon will never be as strong though. the strength of it lies in the length of the individual fibres.

Wrong - if you can match the weave then its usually ok - Repaired carbon parts that last the distance are very common in club motorcycle racing, where the stresses are umpteen times more than a road bike. I run a repaired carbon BST wheel on my hard tail chop with no probs. Check this . .

http://www.calfeedesign.com/howtosendrepair.htm

ah, i stand corrected.
i read an article about frame repair that said it wouldn't be as strong. they were talking about using some kind of epoxy/fibreglass mixture to seal it up though. makes sense that it wouldn't hold as well as matching the weave.
maybe it was old info...

ah, i stand corrected.
i read an article about frame repair that said it wouldn't be as strong. they were talking about using some kind of epoxy/fibreglass mixture to seal it up though. makes sense that it wouldn't hold as well as matching the weave.
maybe it was old info...

Actually on re-reading my reply i was perhaps a bit harsh, which i didnt mean to be - i would say it is pretty much impossible to repair a monocoque carbon structure where retaining the original structural integrity is essential (although i may be wrong), whereas it is possible to effectively repair carbon used in more conventional ways. Carbon tech is evolving so fast (and has been around for long enough now) that what they can do with/to it is constantly changing.

Post some pics of the repair could you please mister k.

can't wait to see this